Joanne Ma
Joanne Ma (she/her) is a researcher and designer based in the San Francisco Bay Area working on Responsible Innovation at Google. Previously, she was a researcher at Niantic (the creators of Pokémon GO), where she worked on safety-by-design for emerging technologies in AR/XR and social platforms.
Interested in learning more? Reach out on Linkedin.
Experience
Positions
2024 – present
Responsible Innovation: AI Safety and Fairness
Google
2023 – 2024
Trust and Safety Mixed Methods UX Researcher
Niantic
2022
User Researcher
Square (Block Inc)
2020-2022
Graduate Student Researcher
International Computer Science Institute, Blues Laboratory for Usable and Experimental Security (BLUES) https://cltc.berkeley.edu/2021grantees/
2021
Lead UX Researcher
World Resources Institute, TerraMatch
2021
Visiting Researcher
Carnegie Mellon University Co-Augmentation, Learning, and AI Lab
2020-2021
Research Fellow
The Center for Technology, Society & Policy
2019-2020
Undergraduate Researcher
UC Berkeley Center for Long-term Cybersecurity
2015-2016
Design Researcher
Stanford Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences
Other Work
2020
Cybersecurity Consultant
Citizen Clinic
2019
Glass Room Ingenius
Mozilla x Tactical Tech
2017-2018
Civic Engagement Manager & Public Policy Associate
Asian Law Alliance
Teaching
Fall 2022
Guest Lecturer / Fung Fellowship
Beyond Human Centered Design / Rapid Prototyping https://fungfellows.berkeley.edu/
Spring 2022, Fall 2021
Head Graduate Student Instructor
DESINV 200 Design Frameworks https://design.berkeley.edu/
Fall 2020
Graduate Student Instructor
MS 112 Media Theories and Processes
Service
Spring 2024
Final Project Guest Critic / Stanford University
Trust and Safety Engineering
Winter 2023
TrustCon 2024 Program Commitee
Spring 2023
Final Project Guest Critic / Stanford University
Trust and Safety Engineering
Spring 2023
Alumni Critic / UC Berkeley MIMS x MDes
Portfolio Review Night
Professional Memberships
Integrity Institute
Trust and Safety Professional Association (TSPA)
2024 – present
Responsible Innovation: AI Safety and Fairness
2023 – 2024
Trust and Safety Mixed Methods UX Researcher
Niantic
2022
User Researcher
Square (Block Inc)
2020-2022
Graduate Student Researcher
International Computer Science Institute, Blues Laboratory for Usable and Experimental Security (BLUES) https://cltc.berkeley.edu/2021grantees/
2021
Lead UX Researcher
World Resources Institute, TerraMatch
2021
Visiting Researcher
Carnegie Mellon University Co-Augmentation, Learning, and AI Lab
2020-2021
Research Fellow
The Center for Technology, Society & Policy
2019-2020
Undergraduate Researcher
UC Berkeley Center for Long-term Cybersecurity
2015-2016
Design Researcher
Stanford Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences
2020
Cybersecurity Consultant
Citizen Clinic
2019
Glass Room Ingenius
Mozilla x Tactical Tech
2017-2018
Civic Engagement Manager & Public Policy Associate
Asian Law Alliance
Teaching
Fall 2022
Guest Lecturer / Fung Fellowship
Beyond Human Centered Design / Rapid Prototyping https://fungfellows.berkeley.edu/
Spring 2022, Fall 2021
Head Graduate Student Instructor
DESINV 200 Design Frameworks https://design.berkeley.edu/
Fall 2020
Graduate Student Instructor
MS 112 Media Theories and Processes
Spring 2024
Final Project Guest Critic / Stanford University
Trust and Safety Engineering
Winter 2023
TrustCon 2024 Program Commitee
Spring 2023
Final Project Guest Critic / Stanford University
Trust and Safety Engineering
Spring 2023
Alumni Critic / UC Berkeley MIMS x MDes
Portfolio Review Night
Integrity Institute
Trust and Safety Professional Association (TSPA)
Education
2022
Master of Information Management and Systems
UC Berkeley School of InformationCapstone: Sense-making for Algorithmic Content Harms
Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies
UC Berkeley
Focus – Human Computer Interaction and Public Interest Cybersecurity Thesis: The Diasporic Subaltern Counterpublic – How subtle asian traits Users Remediate COVID-19 Misinformation
Master of Information Management and Systems
UC Berkeley School of InformationCapstone: Sense-making for Algorithmic Content Harms
Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies
UC Berkeley
Focus – Human Computer Interaction and Public Interest Cybersecurity Thesis: The Diasporic Subaltern Counterpublic – How subtle asian traits Users Remediate COVID-19 Misinformation
Publications
Keming Gao*, Joanne Ma*, Julia Wang*, and Clarissa Wu*. 2022. “How much connection did you get?” Drinking Journaling Data through Hot Cocoa. In Extended Abstracts of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 409, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1145/3491101.3519800
Alisa Frik, Juliann Kim, Joshua Rafael Sanchez, and Joanne Ma. 2022. Users’ Expectations About and Use of Smartphone Privacy and Security Settings. In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 407, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3491102.3517504
Nikita Samarin, Aparna Krishnan, Moses Namara, Joanne Ma, and Elissa M. Redmiles. 2021. Examining the Landscape of Digital Safety and Privacy Assistance for Black Communities. Workshop in Inclusive Privacy and Security, USENIX Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS) 2021. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2210.17511
Emnet Almedom, Nandita Sampath, and Joanne Ma. (2020). Child Welfare: The Disparate Impact of Family Surveillance in Risk Assessment Technologies. Berkeley Public Policy Journal Fall 2020.
*denotes equal first-author contribution
Alisa Frik, Juliann Kim, Joshua Rafael Sanchez, and Joanne Ma. 2022. Users’ Expectations About and Use of Smartphone Privacy and Security Settings. In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 407, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3491102.3517504
Nikita Samarin, Aparna Krishnan, Moses Namara, Joanne Ma, and Elissa M. Redmiles. 2021. Examining the Landscape of Digital Safety and Privacy Assistance for Black Communities. Workshop in Inclusive Privacy and Security, USENIX Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS) 2021. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2210.17511
Emnet Almedom, Nandita Sampath, and Joanne Ma. (2020). Child Welfare: The Disparate Impact of Family Surveillance in Risk Assessment Technologies. Berkeley Public Policy Journal Fall 2020.
*denotes equal first-author contribution
Select Awards & Fellowships
2022 Curtis B Smith Cybersecurity Fellowship
2022 Conference Travel Grant, ACM CHI 22
2021 UC Berkeley Center for Long-term Cybersecurity Research Fellow Grantee
2021 Center for Technology, Society & Policy Fellowship
2021 GREPSEC V Scholar
2021 USENIX Diversity Grant
2020 RSAC Security Scholar
2018 UC Berkeley Estha M. Rodkey Scholarship
2016 Apple WWDC16 Scholar
2022 Conference Travel Grant, ACM CHI 22
2021 UC Berkeley Center for Long-term Cybersecurity Research Fellow Grantee
2021 Center for Technology, Society & Policy Fellowship
2021 GREPSEC V Scholar
2021 USENIX Diversity Grant
2020 RSAC Security Scholar
2018 UC Berkeley Estha M. Rodkey Scholarship
2016 Apple WWDC16 Scholar