SENSE Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization bringing together researchers, professionals, innovators, educators, and community partners across disciplines and geographies. Our work is guided by four interconnected pillars—Justice, Sustainability, Resilience, and Well-being—to address complex societal and environmental challenges.
Our mission is to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and public needs. We transform research and evidence into accessible knowledge, practical tools, and meaningful action through interdisciplinary research, open-source development, education, and community-based programs—empowering individuals, supporting communities, and creating lasting public impact.
(Names listed in alphabetical order)
Senior Researcher
Public Policy Specialist
Independent Research Consultant
Álvaro Cano is a multidisciplinary researcher and public policy specialist focusing on water resources and environmental governance.
His work spans public, private, and nonprofit sectors, including collaborations with USAID, UNDP, UNITAR, the World Bank, and other international organizations.
Tech Director
Senior Researcher
PassionULab
Guangyin Jin is the Tech Director of PassionULab, where he develops AI agent systems that translate urban research and spatial intelligence into public-facing applications.
His research focuses on urban computing, spatio-temporal data mining, intelligent transportation, and computational social science.
He has published extensively in leading international journals and conferences and serves as a reviewer and editorial board member for multiple international venues.
Assistant Professor
Research Director
Shenzhen University
Jing Guo is an Assistant Professor at Shenzhen University and Director of Research at the Institute for Governance of Mega-Cities.
His research focuses on urban and regional economics, urban competitiveness, and megacity governance.
He has published widely in international and leading Chinese journals, contributed to major urban competitiveness reports, and advised government agencies and Chinese cities on urban development and governance.
Assistant Professor
HKUST (Guangzhou)
Yuxuan Liang is an Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). His research focuses on spatio-temporal data mining and urban computing.
He has published extensively in leading international journals and conferences and currently serves as Associate Editor of Neurocomputing and area chair for several major AI and data mining conferences.
His work contributes to urban computing and spatial intelligence research across AI and data-driven urban systems.
(Names listed in alphabetical order)
Senior Park Experience &
Partnerships Specialist
Presidio Trust
Damien Raffa designs and curates place-connecting park experiences for the Presidio Trust.
Over the past 30 years, he has developed public engagement programs and community-centered experiences that connect people of all ages with urban nature.
He is an active collaborator across San Francisco's cross-sector community and frequently shares his work through national and international presentations.
Lead Toddler Teacher
UC Santa Barbara Children's Center
Erika Bingham is a bilingual (English/Spanish) early childhood educator with more than 25 years of experience supporting young children's learning and development. She has extensive experience collaborating with educators and families to create nurturing, inclusive, and engaging learning environments through observation, assessment, and responsive teaching practices.
Erika is passionate about building strong relationships, mentoring educators, and fostering communities where children and families feel welcomed, supported, and empowered to learn and grow. Her work reflects a strong commitment to equitable, family-centered early childhood education and community well-being.
Elementary Educator
San Leandro Unified School District
With over 20 years of experience, Frances is an elementary educator dedicated to supporting both academic and social-emotional development in diverse youth communities.
Her work focuses on community-centered learning, youth engagement, and environmental education, encouraging students to better understand social and environmental challenges through active participation.
Frances is passionate about fostering resilience, responsibility, and positive community impact through education.
Co-Founder & Principal
Bay Tree Design
Lisa Howard, Principal of BAY TREE DESIGN (BTD), is a licensed landscape architect.
Her design work includes community engagement, design development, and construction of requisite landscapes — schoolgrounds, parks, community centers, residential gardens, and farms.
Drawing on her design experience her planning work focuses on fostering the development of beautiful and climate adaptive places that nurture humans and nature.
Executive Director
Operations Manager
Treasurer
Program Coordinator
Partnership Assistant
Finance Assistant
Lab Director
Houpu Li previously worked as a Research Associate at Harvard University, where he developed open-source tools for zoning and housing analysis. He is currently a Ph.D. student in Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara, specializing in GeoAI and spatial modeling. His work focuses on climate vulnerability, housing, and human mobility.
Lab Co-Director
Wenzheng Li is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia and former lecturer at Cornell University. His research explores urban systems, climate adaptation, and AI-driven approaches in urban research. His recent work uses AI to shape the public engagement in housing approval process in North America. He received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University.
Climate Researcher
Alejandro Niño Chaparro is an incoming Ph.D. student in Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research applies AI, machine learning, and climate modeling to study climate variability and wildfire forecasting. He is broadly interested in interdisciplinary climate and environmental applications.
Climate Researcher
Will Hadley is a graduate student in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Since graduating from the University of Arkansas in 2022, he has contributed to climate research projects at both NOAA and the National Park Service. His interests include climate science, environmental systems, and geospatial research.
Climate Researcher
Yanyao Cui is an urban designer and researcher with professional experience across China and the United States. She received her Master of Landscape Architecture degree from UC Berkeley and was awarded two 2025 scholarships from the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF). Her work focuses on climate resilience and social equity.
Environmental Researcher
Yudong Sun is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University specializing in seismic simulation, glacier dynamics, and energy systems. His research focuses on computational modeling and Earth system science for environmental and energy applications. He received his Ph.D. in Geophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Environmental Researcher
Nusrat Zahan Jarin is a graduate student researcher in Geography at UC Santa Barbara. She earned her MS from Texas Tech University and worked with NASA DEVELOP as a research associate. She previously contributed to NOAA and National Park Service projects. Her research focuses on remote sensing, landscape ecology, climate change, and infectious disease.
Urban Researcher
Kamryn is interested in public transportation and family travel patterns. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, and he is now pursuing his PhD in transportation engineering at the University of Tennessee. His current research focuses on understanding household transportation expenditures.
Urban Researcher
Weibo Mi is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Politecnico di Milano, where his research focuses on infrastructure-led development, logistics territories, and spatial governance. He received his Master's degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Politecnico di Milano. His work explores urbanization and data-driven approaches in urban and regional research.
Urban Researcher
Ivan Shen is a researcher and graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), pursuing a Master of Science in Urbanism. His research examines Chinese transnational infrastructure in East Africa and the relationship between political soundscapes and urban space in China.
Research Assistant
Ricky Ramirez is a Geography student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a GIS emphasis and a minor in Earth Science. He is passionate about applying geospatial technology to climate resilience, environmental planning, and community challenges.
Lab Director
Zefan Wang is a full-stack engineer with expertise in AI systems, intelligent agents, and scalable automation technologies. His work focuses on developing agent-based solutions and AI-driven decision-support systems for complex real-world applications. He has contributed to multiple AI integration projects supporting public-sector and government initiatives in China.
Lab Co-Director
Shiyun Wen previously worked as a software developer at Unity China and several leading game studios. With a background in Computer Science and Data Engineering, she has experience in machine learning, digital twin systems, XR technologies, and data-driven spatial applications, bringing strong engineering expertise to interdisciplinary technology and urban innovation projects.
Full-stack Developer
Yushan Li is a software engineer specializing in full-stack development and LLM systems, with a dual background in Landscape Architecture and Computer Science. Her work spans urban ecology, remote sensing, and system workflow innovation in the AEC industry.