Cella M. Sum is an interdisciplinary researcher and Ph.D. candidate at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute. She is advised by Dr. Sarah Fox and is affiliated with the Tech Solidarity Lab. She also serves as a Research Assistant with Data & Society's Trustworthy Infrastructures team.
Her research focuses on technology, power, and resistance in labor contexts. She has explored how frontline workers at community-based organizations negotiate disempowering data and tech practices, how workers resist surveillance technologies, and how and why tech workers unionize. Using community-based participatory design methods, she works with affected communities to co-create more just alternatives. Her work has been published at CSCW and CHI.
Cella holds a Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction and Design from UC Irvine and a BS in Computer Science from Shippensburg University. She is a member of Collective Action in Tech and a former tech worker organizer with Big Cartel Workers Union. She has over 15 years of industry experience in software engineering, UX research, and design.
Recent News
- Sep 2025: Started an RA-ship with Data & Society's Trustworthy Infrastructures team
- Sep 2025: Presented at two panels at 4S in Seattle, WA
- Aug 2025: Successfully defended my thesis proposal titled "The Future of Labor: Designing for Resistance, Relationality, and Collective Power"
- Aug 2025: Co-organized the "Tech Lash to Tech Fash" workshop at Aarhus 2025
- Jun 2025: Served as student volunteer and co-organized the "AI Workers' Inquiry" CRAFT session at FAccT 2025 in Athens, Greece
See the full list of updates here.