Xiaoxiao (she/her/hers) arrived in Columbus in 2019 after a seven-day road trip from California, and has since earned both an M.A. in Art Education and a Ph.D. in Arts Administration, Education and Policy from The Ohio State University. Her dissertation explored how socially engaged artist residencies surface everyday local stories, foster sustained engagement in the arts, and support community building in under-resourced neighborhoods. Her work has been recognized with the Art Education Research Institute (AERI) Graduate Research Award in 2023 and the Manuel Barkan Dissertation Fellowship Award in 2025.

With professional experiences in galleries, museums, nonprofits, and college classrooms, Xiaoxiao has built her career at the intersection of research, arts administration, and education. As the Community Learning and Experience Specialist at the Urban Arts Space, she is interested in bridging gaps between curation and education to develop community-centered programs where everyone feels welcomed and reflected.

Outside of work, Xiaoxiao lives for art as much as she studies it. Drawing on her fine arts and design training, she picks up a new hands-on hobby every year and has explored food plating, floral arrangements, needle felting, sewing, and growing houseplants. Her proudest long-term companion is a fiddle leaf fig tree she has kept alive and thriving for five years.