A recent graduate of Princeton University majoring in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and earning a certificate in Ethnographic Studies, Yun-Yun sees power in uniting quantitative and qualitative knowledge to understand complex social and environmental systems. In her thesis research on rural community resilience and conservation challenges in Southwestern China, Yun-Yun employed methods ranging from participatory observation to interviews to quantitative surveys. To make meaning from these diverse sources, she told stories using long-form written ethnography side by side with statistical analyses and quantitative models.
Influenced by work with Southeast Asian activists, interfaith chaplains, and community-engaged scholars, Yun-Yun also values the power of engaging the heart, particularly in research contexts that preference intellectual ways of knowing over lived experience. In her current position as a High Meadows fellow at The Food Project in Boston, MA, Yun-Yun straddles the worlds of academic investigation and social action, exploring youth development models, organizational evaluation, and community-based food justice. Her focus includes participatory evaluation, developmental evaluation, and participatory research processes such as photovoice and concept mapping.