Hi, I’m Zeana!
I studied Computer Science and Business at the University of Pittsburgh and earned a master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University.
I bloom by doing food reviews 🍽️ wherever I go, experimenting with matcha recipes 🍵, baking 🍰, learning geography 🌍, and taking long walks 🚶♀️. I also co‑run 412Sips 🥤, where my friends and I create culturally inspired drinks for the Pittsburgh community. 🌸
Awards & Recognition
- 2026Featured by Influential Women 2026Influential Women · Verified
- 2026Gebhardt Sandbox FundOpens in a new tabCMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
- 2026Microsoft Xbox UX Research ShowcaseXbox
- 2024WorldStrides Career ReadinessOpens in a new tabHigher Education Micro-credential for Interns
- 2024PNC Customer Focus AwardOpens in a new tabSheInnovates Hackathon
- 2024Grace Hopper Conference ScholarshipGHC · AnitaB.org
- 2023Islamic Center of Pittsburgh Volunteer RecognitionICP
My design process
- Frame theProblem
- Learn fromUsers
- Make Sense ofPatterns
- Design &Prototype
AI-Assist!
- Test andRefine
- MeasureImpact
My design roots
I design to create inclusive and accessible experiences, especially for underrepresented communities. Growing up in a Syrian household in the U.S., I witnessed firsthand how technology can become a barrier for my parents. These experiences taught me adaptability, resilience, and empathy, and inspired me to use design to bridge the gap between products and the people who use them.
Volunteering at my local mosque connected me with people from diverse backgrounds and allowed me to apply these skills in practice. Managing the mosque's social media helped engage the community, bring youth closer to the mosque, and showed me how design, whether in technology or communication, can bring people together.
02 / 412Sips
412 is the Pittsburgh area code. My two friends and I run a small Pittsburgh-based business serving culturally inspired sips and sweets, including matcha, espresso, non-alcoholic mojitos, lemonades, and desserts inspired by our Turkish and Syrian cultures.
The logo represents a tarboosh or fez hat, a traditional hat worn in Syrian and Turkish culture, designed to also resemble a cup. It incorporates jasmine and tulip flowers, the national flowers of Syria and Türkiye.
