U.S. Data Products Director Alice Wu shares how she describes her job to her family, what football team she fangirls over and how she gives back.

“My personal values align with a lot of causes in the social justice space,” she says. “I enjoy helping foundations fundraise for certain causes that are close to me — communities of color and economic justice.”

Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you find your way to Condé Nast? 

I was in the NGO/activism space when I graduated from university but pivoted to social impact technology during my time at Change.org. I became more and more interested and invested in working with engineering and business teams. Later on, I became a Product Manager at Wunderkind (formerly known as BounceX) where I learned a lot about data science, marketing and ad tech.

I cold applied to Condé Nast by chance. When I met {Vice President, Data Products] Danielle Virgin during the interview process, I just knew I wanted to work with her! I like that my role is at the intersection between business objectives and technological innovation.

How do you describe your job to friends and family? 

Humorously, I’ll say my job is making sure we can read online content for free. But if they’re asking more about the industry, I usually say something around the lines of “getting relevant ads to reach the right audience at the right time.” Or if my dad (a serious man) asks, I’ll say that “I make sure the teams I work with are focused on providing nascent and sustainable business value for the company.”

October is Global Diversity Awareness Month, what’s one way someone can become more aware of other cultures and communities? 

Traveling is a big one! Growing up in Taiwan, I was able to spend a few summers in Yunnan, China with a NGO. I met Bai and Yi minority groups and learned about their landscapes, culture, and struggles. It reminded me of how little I knew about the world. Also eating! I used to live in a historically Greek neighborhood in Queens and the Mediterranean restaurants there were out of this world. It introduced me to Cypriot cuisine and hopefully Cyprus will be my next travel destination.

How might technology affect your job in fifty years? 

Haven’t really thought about this but I definitely should be retired in fifty years.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off? 

I like taking my dog Lily on long walks, reading books (currently reading “Breasts and Eggs” by Mieko Kawakami) and watching K-dramas on my days off.

Outside of work, what are you passionate about? 

Being a fangirl is in my DNA — I’m a big fan of Arsenal and SHINee. I end up spending a lot of my time (and money) watching football matches, going to concerts and catching up on K-pop content on YouTube. Outside of that, my personal values align with a lot of causes in the social justice space. I enjoy helping foundations fundraise for certain causes that are close to me — communities of color and economic justice. I was last involved with a housing justice project where I was fundraising for communities facing housing insecurity across the Pacific Northwest. If you’re in NYC and want to get involved — I recommend looking up the North Star Fund.

If you could instantly become an expert at something, what would it be? 

I would LOVE to be able to become an expert in any and all languages.

Road trip or plane trip? Why? 

Plane trip, I don’t have a driver’s license haha.

What emoji best describes you? 

The eyeroll emoji.

And lastly, could Jack have fit on the door with Rose in Titanic? 

Absolutely but not comfortably!