Meet Alice

Alice Siu Chao, Ph.D.

Dr. Chao received her Ph.D. from the Department of Communication at Stanford University, with focus in political communication, deliberative democracy and public opinion. She received her B.A. degrees in Economics and Public Policy and M.A. degree in Political Science from Stanford University.  Dr. Chao is currently the Deputy Director at Stanford University's Center for Deliberative Democracy. Outside of the farm, she advises a variety of companies including ResponseLink/Alert1 (a medical alert device company, serves as the Senior Advisor and VP of Deliberative Democracy for ReframeIt, a business technology consulting firm, and previously served as CEO for Elegant Sports, a sporting goods company. She is also an a Honorary Fellow at the University of Hong Kong's Public Opinion Programme. 

Dr. Chao has advised policymakers and political headers around the world, at various levels of government, including leaders in China, United Kingdom, and Brazil. Dr. Chao's research in deliberation and public opinion is widely cited and used by policymakers and governments around the world.

Dr. Chao is a native of San Francisco. She is a product of the San Francisco public school system. As a young child, Dr. Chao studied ballet at Shan Yee Poon Ballet School and continued through college at Stanford. She is married and lives in Mountain View, CA with her husband and three daughters.

Dr. Chao speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese. 

Meet Michelle

Michelle Ma, MAT

Michelle is an educator and a UCLA certified college counselor who has worked with hundreds of college-bound students internationally and in the United States. She received her B.S in Molecular Cell and Development Biology, Biochemistry and her M.A.T in Education. As a proponent of women in STEM, Michelle is also a UC-Berkeley certified Full-Stack, Software Developer. She previously taught cancer cell biology, pharmacology, and pharmacokinetics before eventually becoming a private consultant. She has advised students who have been accepted into Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Cornell, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Duke, the University of California schools, and top liberal arts colleges.

Michelle stands at the forefront of academic consulting and has spent over a decade working in the college admissions industry analyzing trends, reviewing applications, and conducting hundreds of interviews. Recognized for her ability to motivate and work collaboratively with her students, Michelle has had great success in placing her students into top programs such as MIT Launch, COSMOS, Intel Science Talent Search (STS), Stanford SIMR, Siemens Foundation competitions, and Lockheed Martin internship. Through years of experience, Michelle has developed deep insight on how to work with all types of students and position them for success. She believes in a holistic approach with her students to better understand how to enrich their learning and empower them towards self-efficacy. 

Michelle has published works on child development, learning theories, as well as cognitive behavioral treatment for ADHD. She continues to research and collaborate with experts in the field of developmental psychology.

In addition to her work with students, Michelle is a lead software engineer who enjoys mentoring young engineers.  In her spare time, Michelle loves competing in chess tournaments, studying other languages and cultures, and spending time with her family. She is lives in San Francisco with her husband and their two boys.

Michelle speaks fluent English, Taiwanese, and Mandarin Chinese.