Institute for Creative Technologies

Project Specialist

Jillian served five years on active duty in the U.S. Army as a linguist in Military Intelligence. She is a graduate of the Korean language program at the Defense Language Institute, CA, and the Crypto-linguistic course at Goodfellow Airforce Base, TX. She worked as a translator on the Guardrail Mission in the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade, Republic of Korea. During this time, she was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. She received an honorable discharge in 2003.

With her passion for language, Jillian studied linguistics at the University of Southern California. She received the Transfer Presidential Scholarship for leadership, academics, and community service, and graduated in 2005. In 2006, Jillian joined Professor David Traum’s Natural Language Dialogue team at the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), and contributes to a variety of language-related projects. Much of her work involves developing the dialogue interactions for virtual trainers and greeters, such as SGT Blackwell, SGT Star, and Boston Museum of Science Museum Guides. Jillian speaks English, Spanish, and Korean.

She lives in Marina del Rey, CA, and enjoys vinyasa flow yoga, salsa dancing, Korean barbeque, volunteering with Niños de la Promesa, and adventurous travel.