Founder of Data With Style™ · FUSE Executive Fellow · Shorty Awards Finalist · Civic GEO Pioneer · Systems Thinker · First-Generation Cambodian-American Tech Leader
Jacky So's career is a masterclass in non-linear impact. She started in political science at UC Irvine, interned with a fashion designer, earned a Master's in Biomedical Sciences, and taught herself data engineering through making the most of free SaaS products to build real solutions late at night—because she refused to let the gatekeepers of tech decide who belonged.
As a first-generation Cambodian-American, she spent years checking the "Other" box on forms that didn't see her. That frustration became fuel. Today she builds infrastructure that ensures communities are never invisible in the data—whether that's in public health, AI systems, or civic government.
At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jacky helped build Primary.Health as an inaugural core team member, becoming the bridge between engineers and clients—managing 150+ agile projects, scaling multilingual access for over 10 million appointments, creating all of the original data models and dynamic dashboards, and building time-sensitive tools from scratch that touched more than 1 million digital health records.
Today, through her company Data With Style™ and her FUSE Executive Fellowship with the City of Albuquerque, she is pioneering Civic GEO—an entirely new discipline that ensures historically invisible communities are accurately represented in AI systems and Large Language Models before algorithmic erasure becomes permanent.
Selected for the highly competitive FUSE Executive Fellowship program, placing experienced professionals in local governments to drive strategic innovation. Jacky supports the City's Justice40 goals and established the new Office of APINH Affairs from the ground up.
Project BRIDGE was named a finalist at the 2026 Shorty Awards — the only city entity in the competition — alongside Google, Netflix, Sony, and AMD. Recognized for pioneering equity-focused AI technology and the emerging discipline of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
Built the first Search-to-LLM Digital Infrastructure for a civic government with a $0 budget. A 70-day intensive audit produced a Living Knowledge Graph of 230+ businesses and the first disaggregated data set for 62–74 APINH diaspora regions in New Mexico.
As Sr. Director of Digital Platforms & Innovation at Primary.Health, Jacky led nationwide programs to increase multilingual healthcare access, built tools used in over 1M digital health records, and managed 150+ agile projects.
Before GEO was an industry term, Jacky developed and deployed the concept. She created the Data With Style Equity in Tech Glossary — codifying proprietary frameworks like Semantic Equity Architecture and Algorithmic Erasure mitigation.
Across pandemic startups and city government, Jacky occupies the space between engineers and communities. Her path through medicine, fashion, and data engineering is what makes her solutions work in the real world.
The City of Albuquerque’s Office of APINH Affairs — architected by Jacky So — became the only city government to be named a finalist at the 2026 Shorty Awards, competing in the new category of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) alongside global giants. Mayor Tim Keller called it proof that "cities can move boldly, build trust, and make sure no community is left out of the future".
Operating on a $0 budget inside a legacy municipal CMS, Jacky engineered a Semantic Equity Architecture from scratch — bypassing traditional JSON formats to build the first LLM-optimized civic Knowledge Graph for a community that had been digitally invisible since the 1800s. The APINH community now has a permanent, AI-readable Sovereign Safe Harbor on a high-authority .gov domain.
During the pandemic, Jacky led the product engineering and data transformation effort for Alameda County’s multilingual public health outreach — covering 1.6M+ residents across disparate data sources.
For Alameda County, Jacky created the methodology and workflow to enable new out-of-the-box product features for missing languages (including Farsi and Tagalog), engineered new accessibility accommodation surveys, and built the original Epic/EMR/EHR importer as a bi-directional health system integration bypass that improved case manager and patient experiences across the county.
Her new product enabled responsive healthcare access beyond in-office environments. While it was first created for Alameda County, healthcare workers have since used Jacky's tool to enable over 200,000 HIPAA-compliant appointments across 32+ cities in 4 states. A coalition of fire departments, health centers, and county teams called her work "an exemplification of technology, data, and human-centered design".
Jacky brings rare fluency across technology, community, identity, and career — ideal for shows focused on tech-for-good, equity, startups, and non-traditional paths. Every topic comes with real stories and concrete proof points.
When AI systems are trained on biased or incomplete data, entire communities become invisible. Jacky explains the problem in plain language and introduces Civic GEO as the solution.
From fashion internships to biomedical sciences to data engineering to civic AI — Jacky's story is a masterclass in treating every "detour" as an advantage in tech-for-good work.
Jacky did it on a $0 budget in 70 days. She breaks down the playbook for how under-resourced public institutions can build AI-ready infrastructure and protect community data sovereignty.
A self-described recovering workaholic, Jacky deliberately stepped back from 12–14 hour days — and that pause led to her most impactful work. A candid conversation about burnout, identity, and career reinvention.
For years Jacky checked the "Other" box on surveys. Now she builds systems that eliminate those boxes. An honest look at what it means to design for communities that have been ignored by default.
150 software projects, 10 million appointments, a brand-new startup — in the middle of a global crisis. Jacky shares what genuine urgency + equity-first design looks like at scale.
Jacky deployed GEO for civic equity nearly a year before Google released AI Overviews. An accessible deep dive into how Search-to-LLM infrastructure works and why it's a tool for justice.
Jacky's defining skill is connecting people, disciplines, and ideas that don't normally talk. She unpacks what it means to be a bridge builder in tech — and how that trait accelerates community impact.
Data With Style™ is a full-service tech consulting agency built for future-oriented changemakers who want human-centered impact at scale. Based in Albuquerque, NM.
Albuquerque’s APINH Affairs project — architected by Jacky So — named the only city entity to be a finalist at the 18th Annual Shorty Awards, competing alongside Google, Netflix, Sony, and AMD in the GEO category.
View Press Release →Official Shorty Awards finalist entry recognizing Jacky So’s pioneering Search-to-LLM civic infrastructure, built from scratch on a $0 budget to reverse "Algorithmic Erasure" of the APINH community in New Mexico.
View Official Entry →Mayor Tim Keller officially welcomed Jacky So as a FUSE Executive Fellow: "Their deep experience and dedication to equity and innovation reflect the best of Albuquerque’s public service."
View Press Release →AnitaB.org profiled Jacky’s journey from burnout to pandemic tech hero — a story about recovery, reinvention, and showing up for community impact at the most critical possible moment.
Read AnitaB Profile →Jacky’s bylined case study on scaling multilingual public health data infrastructure for 1.6 million Alameda County residents — a firsthand account of data equity in action.
Read Article →Select the bio length that fits your format. All bios are approved for use in show notes, social media, and press materials.
Jacky So is a Tech-For-Good Superconnector, civic AI pioneer, and founder of Data With Style™. As a FUSE Executive Fellow with the City of Albuquerque and 18th Annual Shorty Awards Finalist, she builds digital infrastructure that ensures historically invisible communities are never left out of the AI-powered future.
Jacky So is a Tech-For-Good Superconnector and founder of Data With Style™, specializing in Fractional C-Suite advisory and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). As a FUSE Executive Fellow, she architected Project BRIDGE—the first Search-to-LLM civic infrastructure—reversing algorithmic erasure for Albuquerque’s APINH community. This work made Albuquerque the only city finalist at the 18th Annual Shorty Awards, alongside Google and Sony. A first-generation Cambodian-American tech leader, Jacky previously scaled multilingual healthcare access for 10M+ appointments and delivered 150+ agile projects, bridging the gap between complex engineering and human-centered design.
Jacky So is a Tech-For-Good Superconnector, civic AI pioneer, and founder of Data With Style™ — a Albuquerque-based consultancy offering Fractional C-Suite strategy, Search-to-LLM digital infrastructure, AI policy guidance, and startup support to mission-driven organizations. As the FUSE Executive Fellow with the City of Albuquerque, she helped establish the Office of Asian Pacific Islander Native Hawaiian (APINH) Affairs and pioneered Project BRIDGE: Trust-First Civic GEO — recognized as the sole city finalist at the 18th Annual Shorty Awards, competing in the new GEO category alongside Google, Netflix, Sony, and AMD.
Previously Senior Director of Digital Platforms & Innovation at Primary.Health, Jacky led nationwide programs that scaled multilingual healthcare access for over 10 million appointments, built tools used in more than 1 million digital health records, and managed 150+ agile software projects across clinics, counties, cities, and government entities during the COVID-19 pandemic. She holds a Master of Biomedical Sciences from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and a Bachelor's in Political Science from UC Irvine, and is a proud Google Udacity Scholar.
As a first-generation Cambodian-American who spent years as an "Other" in the data, Jacky builds human-centered technology from lived experience. Her non-traditional path — through fashion, marketing, medicine, and data engineering — is exactly what makes her the bridge that changemakers need. She lives in Albuquerque with her husband Ryan and their mascot Pochacco, and hosts the Data With Style™ Podcast every Monday at 10am MT.
Albuquerque, NM — Mountain Time
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