Our Team

Founder & CEO

A former professor of social work for 14 years at Winona State University (Minnesota), the University of Nebraska, and California Baptist University, where he led empirical research on poverty, mental health, and child development, along with youth leadership development projects. Driven by a new vision of preventive mental health, he founded Candid Space in May 2024. Hyun (co-founder) and he are longtime friends whose deep trust goes back to their days at UCLA.

Co-Founder & CTO

A technology leader who spent 14 years leading cutting-edge AI and large-scale data infrastructure organizations at Google and Waymo. He led work ranging from core safety-evaluation models for autonomous driving to the latest generative AI (GenAI/VLM) and agentic AI systems. Building on this expertise, he oversees the AI architecture that brings together Candid Space's clinical cognitive-behavioral science and large language models (LLMs).

Head Engineer

A full-stack and infrastructure expert who has handled more than 5 million sessions and sensitive data across healthcare, large-scale education platforms, and global services. With experience building HIPAA-grade secure pipelines and deep skills in modern AI agents (LangGraph), he ensures a safe, flawless experience on every device. He joined the team after meeting Evan at the same church in Minnesota.

UX/UI Designer

A UX/UI specialist who creates user-centered, beautifully crafted mobile experiences — from user research to gamified interaction design. Drawing on healthcare brand design experience and refined design thinking, she builds warm, intuitive interfaces that users feel comfortable approaching, helping AI conversations become a natural part of daily life. She met Evan through LinkedIn and joined the team inspired by the company's vision.

Advisor & Business Strategy (CBO)

A mobile ecosystem expert who led global app platform go-to-market (GTM) and commercialization strategy at Google headquarters for over 14 years. With a KAIST engineering background and experience scaling app platforms to hundreds of millions of users at SKT and Google, he advises Candid Space on global expansion, user engagement, and monetization design. He joined through his high school friendship with Hyun.