April, a graduate of Computer Science and Government with a Concurrent Masters in Computer Science. Originally from SF, her passion is building ethical technology. She founded the ML for Social Good course at Harvard and served as the Executive Director for Harvard Tech for Social Good. April has interned at Facebook, Adobe Research, and Schoolhouse.world. At Harvard, she is a Roberts Family Fellow, a Phi Beta Kappa senior, and served as the Head Teaching Fellow for CS 121. She is an incoming software engineer at Watershed, building software to make companies more environmentally actionable.

HTR:

To start off, what does being an innovator mean to you, and how does it manifest in your daily life?

April Chen:

To me, being an innovator means avoiding conventional paths and trying to solve things in new ways that work best for you. At Harvard, we’re often pushed down conventional paths because they’re the most straightforward. You know, there’s a set trajectory: you compete forn an internship at a prestigious company and then join full-time when you graduate . It’s all very well-defined. But I believe that for many of us, this conventional path is not the best fit. My philosophy in life is carving out my own path. As a result, I seek things that are different and unconventional because I believe it leads to a more interesting journey.

HTR:

During your time at Harvard, has any thought leader or innovator inspired you? If so, who were they and how did they impact your life?

April Chen:

The person that came to mind is one of my professors, Latanya Sweeney. She carved out the intersection of tech and government, illuminating critical intersections that hadn’t existed before. It’s like the work she did in algorithmic justice, privacy, and fairness – these were issues that only arose with modern technology. So, she’s very cool and inspiring, and I would love to do something similar in the future.

HTR:

Could you tell us a little about CS 96, the course you started at Harvard? What inspired you to start the course, and what were some of the challenges and successes that came with it?

April Chen:

When I first came to Harvard, I found that the  computer science curriculum was very theoretical, with virtually no space for social impact. As someone who wanted to build impactful tech, the advice I got was to first go into big tech, since those companies have the structure to teach you, and  to go into government or non-profits only after gaining experience. Some friends and I in Tech for Social GoodI thought there should be more structure to support students who want to go directly into social impact tech. Tech for Social Good was one way, as a club, but I wanted to establish an academic course that’s department-approved, eligible for course credit, and has easy access to professors and lab resources. I did a lot of research, created a syllabus and a course plan, found impactful partner organizations for students to work with, and started asking professors and administration if we could make a new course. I found that getting the course approved was a complicated, months-long process, which involved lots of forms and finding additional sources of funding. Despite the logistical challenges, I found a lot of enthusiasm among the professors for the idea, though it became very clear it was going to be a student-run class. , I recruited a couple of other TFs, and in Spring 2022, we taught the first iteration of CS 96. Honestly, I had been very nervous before it started, but the outcomes were fantastic, with excellent feedback from clients and good Q scores.

HTR:

As tech and social impact continue to evolve, how do you maintain a sense of purpose and direction?

April Chen: 

That’s a great question. For a while, I was really interested in education tech. I worked at a small ed tech startup called Schoolhouse.world, founded by Sal Khan, which offered online tutoring. I also worked with a couple friends on an ed tech startup idea involving AI for assessing students’ reading. Though we ultimately didn’t continue working on that idea, I found it important to explore and work on personal projects, and highly recommend it as a process.   Through friends, I started learning more about climate tech and found that there was a lot of excitement and new ideas around reducing carbon emissions, which led me to Watershed. I care deeply about both education and climate, but I also understand that I’m just one person with limited skills and abilities to change an entire field. As a result, my personal philosophy is not to make some grand plan for revolutionizing the field, but instead to find and work on cool and exciting projects that will further the field by a step.

HTR: 

What hobbies or interests outside of work have benefited your path in surprising ways?

April Chen:

I don’t think my hobbies directly tie into tech, and often I prefer it that way. I enjoy acapella and other musical activities, which are separate from the tech world. I think these hobbies have been important for me, grounding me and reminding me that there are people who don’t necessarily care about the jargon or complexities of tech.

HTR: 

You’re set to work at Watershed postgrad, what are you excited about in this new role? And what do you see for your future?

April Chen: 

I’m super excited about Watershed. They’ve done an amazing job of aligning incentives, providing a service that many companies will need in terms of reporting their carbon footprints. The team there is smart and dedicated, and I can’t wait to contribute. In the future, it would be cool to start my own climate tech startup, although many of the most exciting areas involve hard science topics like carbon sequestration and carbon capture, which I have less background in. But I’d love to learn and support these fields with my tech skills.

HTR:

If you could go back to your freshman year, what advice would you give yourself about navigating Harvard?

April Chen: 

Don’t take things too seriously. It is easy to fool yourself into thinking things like hard classes and selective clubs are more important than college shenanigans. I definitely had that attitude early in college. But over time, I’ve realized that the hours I spent on shenanigans rather than studying led to some of the most important and rewarding experiences.

HTR: 

As an innovator, what concerns you about the future of innovation? And what makes you optimistic?

April Chen:

I’m worried about how innovators often try to skirt or get ahead of regulation, especially in emerging fields like AI and crypto. It’s concerning when innovators dismiss ethical codes in the name of progress. As for optimism, I feel hopeful about climate change. Despite the challenges, I believe there are enough people working on the problem and enough exciting new developments to make a difference.