I'm Sheldon and I'm
Hello! I'm passionate about harnessing technology to create meaningful social impact. Through my work at Hack4Impact-UMD, I lead an organization dedicated to building software solutions that empower nonprofits to better serve their communities. My unique background combines technical expertise with a deep commitment to ethical innovation. I thrive at the intersection of cutting-edge engineering and purpose-driven technology, bringing together diverse teams to solve complex challenges that make a tangible difference in people's lives.
Experience
Work Experience
Artificial Intelligence Researcher
University of Maryland - Part-time
Apr 2024 - Present
- Built a Multilayer Perceptron model, that when integrated with a SOTA fine-tuned Vision Transformer, improves human vocalization classification accuracy from 70% to 90% compared to baseline methods.
- Developed an algorithm that utilizes the YOLOv8 computer vision model to detect human movement; this algorithm was ultimately deployed on SPOT robots to be used as part of a DARPA competition.
- Scraped audio from 25k+ YouTube videos, applying a variety of feature extraction and data engineering methods to develop and test multiple Multilayer Perceptron models.
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Software Development Engineer Intern
Amazon Web Services (AWS) - Internship
Jun 2024 - Aug 2024
- Singlehandedly built full-stack web application for automated permission management using React, TypeScript, Python, and AWS services (DynamoDB, Lambda, API Gateway), automating and securing the current process.
- Implemented 6 backend REST APIs using Python, Smithy, and FastAPI (1500+ LOC), including advanced error handling, input validation, and comprehensive logging.
- Used AWS CDK to automatically deploy testing/monitoring stacks and AWS services such as DynamoDB Lambda, enabling seamless deployment of the project infrastructure on production.
- Built React/TypeScript components (web form and data display table) to handle user data creation and editing, with features like input sanitization, error handling, and pagination.
- Achieved 90% test code coverage across 70 backend unit tests with Python's unittest library, utilized Jest and testing-library/react for frontend unit tests, and used Cypress for end-to-end integration tests.
- Integrated APIs with another team's AWS AppSync service using Python Requests library, enabling secure retrieval of user data without having to store sensitive info.
- AWS Partner Analytics and Insights Team.
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Software Engineer Intern
Oracle - Internship
May 2023 - Aug 2023
- Wrote thousands of lines of production JavaScript code resulting in performance optimization, improved tool integration, shortened build time, and reduced deployment cycles for multiple web applications.
- Modernized DevOps application crucial to thousands of businesses by writing JavaScript code to update the JavaScript toolkit version of over ~75% of the application's pages.
- Future-proofed customer-facing reporting and analytics application that serves thousands of businesses by rewriting its administration section to update its JavaScript toolkit version.
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Software/IT Intern
Lockheed Martin - Full-time & Part-time
May 2022 - Apr 2023
- Built API endpoints that facilitate the transfer of data between microservices using Java and Spring.
- Deployed microservices application using Docker, and gained exposure to Kubernetes CI/CD pipelines.
- Created front-end microservice template with Angular and led wireframing for part information application.
- Wrote technical whitepaper about database ETL job from current provider to AWS GovCloud.
- Took full courseload while working part-time.
- Developed C# code and accompanying documentation for a timekeeping system's database outage detection.
- Collaborated and met with over 30 different team leaders and subject matter experts to collect information critical to company-wide multi-billion-dollar digital transformation.
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Undergraduate Research Intern
Maryland Robotics Center - Internship
Oct 2021 - May 2022
- Enabled live video streaming from a CrazyFlie drone, taking our drones one step closer to computer vision-based autonomous navigation, using Python, OpenCV, C, an AI-Deck, and a JTAG Debugger.
- Worked under an Amazon Lab126 research grantee in the Collective Dynamics and Control Laboratory as part of work published at the 2023 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).
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Network System Engineer Intern
Icomera US - Internship
Jun 2021 - Aug 2021
- Configured and quality-tested routers and modems before shipment using SQLite and Putty.
- Developed user interface for a tool that cut offline router system logging time by ~50% using Bootstrap.
- Updated wifi stress testing scripts written with PhantomJS to work with new customer captive portal.
- Assisted in the transition of all engineering team projects to Agile using Jira.
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Volunteer Experience
Co-Executive Director
Hack4Impact-UMD - Part-time
Apr 2024 - Present
- Oversaw high-visibility operations, managing an executive board of 15 directors and driving strategy across all roles. Guided the direction of the organization by providing input on all key initiatives.
- Spearheaded a Microsoft mentorship program that put DC-area Microsoft employees on our project teams, by ideating and pitching the collaboration, coordinating mentor placements, meeting with Microsoft leadership, improving program based on feedback, and performing other administrative tasks.
- Built and maintained strategic partnerships with companies (including Microsoft, Uber, Bloomberg), on-campus faculty, and other key stakeholders such as UMD's President and UMD's Do Good Institute.
- Developed full-stack development workshop for 120+ highschoolers at Microsoft's BAM Minority Students Day (github.com/DevShel/microsoft-workshop).
- Represented the organization at tabling events/interest meetings and led general body meetings.
- Represented the organization and spoke at Microsoft's 2025 Global Nonprofit Leaders Summit.
- Handled high-stakes operations - drafting contract agreements, performing project audits for the national board, and resolving the variety of complex challenges that come with this work.
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Hack4Good Engineer
Microsoft - Part-time
Feb 2025 - Mar 2025
- Architected and built a multilingual RAG agent with vectorizing and indexing documents via Azure AI Search Service and OpenAI's `text-embedding-3-large` model.
- Developed experiments to refine chatbot translation strategy; created synthetic dataset to improve responses.
- Hack4Good is an invite-only internal multi-month Microsoft hackathon, where Microsoft employees work with nonprofits to build free software solutions, organized by Hugo Marques and the Tech for Social Impact team.
- As part of my team's project (led by Parijat Dalal) with Global FoodBanking Network, I defined our project description, led project meetings, and helped coordinate our team's direction.
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Director of Project Sourcing
Hack4Impact-UMD
May 2022 - Apr 2024
- Led a 5-10 person sourcing team over 4 semesters, leading meetings with over 60 nonprofits and securing 5 high-quality projects each semester for our 100-member organization.
- Built out the Director of Project Sourcing role from scratch - developing onboarding documents, standardized project description templates, and a director's guide for future leaders.
- Defined and formalized key processes (including project voting, evaluation rubrics, nonprofit collaboration agreements, call scripts) to streamline project intake and selection.
- Expanded project scope from basic websites to complex web applications, forging partnerships with larger nonprofits such as Leveling the Playing Field, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and The Children's Cancer Foundation.
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IT Advisory Committee (ITAC) Undergraduate Representative
University of Maryland
Aug 2022 - May 2023
- Represented UMD's undergraduate population in the proposal of enhancements to campus-wide IT services.
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Peer Mentor
Iribe Initiative for Inclusion and Diversity in Computing
Feb 2022 - Feb 2023
- Held position of mentorship in Spring '22 and Winter '23.
- Mentored multiple students, providing help with internship/scholarship applications, academics, and more.
- Delivered talk at the Fall 2022 mentorship kickoff (shel.io/mentor-talk).
- Learned how to become a better communicator, motivator, and leader in a professional environment.
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Awards & Honors
Google CS Research Mentorship Program
Google Research
2023
Selected for Google's competitive mentorship program...
Bitcamp 2023 Most Philanthropic Hack
Bloomberg
2023
Recognized for Occupan-See, a computer vision project...
2nd Place, Amazon-UMD Design Challenge
Amazon
2022
Led team design of UMD-Next...
Technical Projects
Microsoft Hack4Good 3.0
Building an agentic assistant for a nonprofit! Implemented advanced RAG techniques for improved information retrieval.
Microsoft Minority Student Day Workshop
I built a full stack workshop for over 100 kids! Created a complete end-to-end learning experience featuring modern web technologies.
Backpropagation From Scratch
Building 3 different simple perceptron-based machine learning models from scratch. Implemented neural network fundamentals without frameworks.
Occupan-See
Using computer vision to identify potentially dangerous occupancy levels in a room. Real-time detection and alerting system.
Trade Monitor
A food order creation and tracking tool I created. Deployed on AWS with containerization for reliability and scalability.
Food Ordering Tool
A food order creation and tracking tool built with Oracle JavaScript Extension Toolkit and Firebase for real-time updates.
Speaking Engagements
Microsoft Talks and Taps Event
Visited Microsoft's Reston, VA office to recruit Hack4Impact mentors.
Hack4Impact-UMD Events
Regular speaking at Hack4Impact-UMD on social impact technology.
Technica Workshop
Agile software development workshop at Technica 2023 hackathon.
Mentorship Kickoff Talk
Shared strategies for effective mentorship at kickoff event.
Undergraduate Research Talk
Talks at my former high school about undergraduate research.
Military Scholarship Event Speech
Shared how my father's military service impacted my life.
Other Projects & Initiatives
UMD Next
An app reimagined for The Amazon-UMD Design Challenge. Created innovative user experience designs focused on campus connectivity.
Northrop Grumman A.I. Challenge
Presentation about making computer vision more ethical. Addressed bias, privacy concerns, and proposed solutions for responsible AI.
Universitas 21 Challenge
Ideating methods to promote compressed natural gas vehicles in Tanzania. Developed sustainable transportation strategies for emerging markets.