Xiang Li works at the intersection of learning science, technology, and social impact. She is a firm believer that meaningful educational change does not come from technology alone, but from systems designed around how people learn. She holds a dual-degree MBA from Tsinghua University and Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business, as well as a BA in English and an MA in Journalism. Her early career in journalism and strategic communications shaped her ability to translate complex ideas across disciplines, cultures, and audiences.

Xiang’s commitment to education equity was shaped by a formative volunteer teaching experience in a rural school, where she witnessed both children’s passion for digital learning and the structural gaps that limit learning outcomes. Since then, she has focused on building educational technologies that move beyond access toward cognitively grounded learning design. She currently serves as a Digital Education Consultant at UNICEF China, working on national and cross-regional education initiatives that align technology deployment with real learning, cultural, and institutional contexts.

Previously, Xiang served as Chief Marketing Officer and core learning system lead at Monki.ai, an education technology company serving over 10 million users globally. Her work includes AI-powered reading tools for children and a large-scale museum learning agent developed in collaboration with Hunan Museum, one of China’s leading national museums. Across her projects, Xiang focuses on integrating AI into learning as infrastructure—supporting reasoning, metacognition, and developmentally appropriate learning at scale—rather than as a superficial technological layer. Beyond her professional work, she actively mentors first-generation college students and volunteers as an online teacher for schools in remote areas.