Professionally, I am a technologist and CEE observer based in Dublin. I graduated from NYU in 2010 with degrees in Computer Science and Russian. I then went to graduate school at Uniwersytet Jagielloński in Kraków, Poland, where I received an MA in Central and Eastern European Studies in 2012. Should one wish to read it, the tome otherwise known as my dissertation on coalition formation in the Ukrainian parliament from 2006-2012 can be found here. I speak Russian decently and Polish and Irish slightly less decently, and can read in Latin.
Hi,I'm Jillian Kozyra, software developer, entrepreneur, baker, craft maker, and occasional blogger.
About me
I currently work on Google's Search Quality team at Google Dublin. If you have any questions related to that, your best resource is here. I am also the CTO and Co-founder of a company called StableRenters, where we aim to shake up the real estate rental market by holding landlords accountable for their buildings. A new site is under development.
Project Highlights
- Oct '14- Present
- Google, Search Quality Strategist
- Jan '13- July '14
- Symas, Senior Researcher
- Feb '12- Present
- StableRenters, CTO & Co-Founder
- May '08- Sep '11
- NYU/SUNY, Researcher/Software Developer
- May '09- Dec '09
- IBM, Extreme Blue Intern
Schooling
- Sep '10- Sep '12
- Jagiellonian University, CEE Studies
- Sep '05- May '10
- NYU, Computer Science & Russian
- Jun '04- Aug '04
- Stanford University, Mathematics
Further details are in my complete CV.
Crafty Things
I like to make things. Over the years, my craft obsessions have ranged from drawing Celtic artwork to knitting dog jumpers. There was a huge modular origami phase in there, too, for awhile. But ultimately, the craft that I keep coming back to is needlework. I primarily do counted cross stitch (think converting symbols on grid paper into an image), although I've dabbled in needlepoint. At this point, I've amassed quite a collection of completed works. Here they are. (HINT: If you click on them, they get bigger.)
Ramblings
Baking Brainy
Once upon a time (in college, when I had loads of time), I used to bake a lot. I started this blog as a way of keeping my recipes in one place. It's slightly neglected these days but still receives the occasional update and holds a wealth of fairly delicious recipes. I have a slew of updates partially written but completely unpublished, but I swear I'll get to it.
It's My Pierogi-tive
In 2010, I moved to Poland to pursue an MA in Central and Eastern European Studies at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. This blog was originally intended to serve as something of a guide to moving to Poland, but it rapidly deteriorated. You can now find my rants and general thoughts about Russia & Eastern Europe here.
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I recently had an idea for a great new food-related blog inspired by some Indian-esque cooking experiments that a friend and I conducted. It's still in the early planning stages, but I fully intend for it to realise its potential when I've come up with what is sure to be an amazing title (like its siblings), so check back for updates on that!