Hi, I’m Yuan
I excel at supporting women and people of color to play bigger in career and life. I’m a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) specialized in Energy Leadership Coaching. Currently, I lead product & brand design at Maven. Previously, I have spent a decade leading design at companies such as Airbnb, Twitter, and Mozilla.
As a design educator, I taught MFA and MDesign graduate programs at California College of the Arts during pandemic and launched my design career course on Maven as an early instructor (later on joined full-time!). This fall, I’m working with RISD to teach product design for their continuing education program for adults.
As a seasoned mentor, I have been actively mentoring women & people of color designers in the past 10 years. While at Airbnb, I created a successful mentorship program to support the growth of women design leaders, and later on, scaled the program to benefit 500+ design teammates. I also mentored at ADPList.org, Twitter Design, Rethink, Hexagon, Women in Innovation and First Round Fast Track.
Why I coach & Teach
When I first started designing I went to many design events and networking opportunities in SF. Despite making some great connections, it was challenging for me to find seasoned design leaders who are women of color.
As a result, I had to learn things the hard way. I did not negotiate my salary early in my career. I did not persist or ask for things I wanted, whether it was a promotion, a green card sponsorship, or an intern. The feedback I received was I was doing good work but it was not visible enough, and that I needed to work on my confidence and communication. When I shared my career struggles, I found other women and people of color resonate with my experience. It ignited the fire within me to make a difference for the community that I care for.
Later on, I created a mentorship program for women designers at Airbnb. I felt empowered to ask difficult questions about diversity and inclusion and to hold our leaders accountable. I curated a design book collection to highlight diverse authors in design.
Most importantly, I discovered the purpose of my work: Unleash the creative and leadership potentials for women and people of color.
Speaking & Interviews
Leading high-stake design presentations: Deep Dive
Leading design at an education startup: UX EdTech
Mindset over Toolset: Design to Be
Demystifying Design Leadership: ECHO Labs
Catching the Next Wave podcast interview: Heart to Hand
Making every Airbnb trip magical: The Grit by Avocode
Rethink: How women in design can uncover their leadership strengths