Education

Master of Information Management & Systems
UC Berkeley School of Information
GPA: 3.94 | Fellowship recipient

2008–2010

Course focus: computer-mediated communication, UI/UX, sociology, digital narratives, law & policy

Bachelor of Commerce, IT Management
Toronto Metropolitan University
GPA: 3.33 | Full tuition scholarship

2001–2006

Course focus: information systems, digital media, project management, marketing, electives in human sexuality

Sexual Health Educator certificate (in progress)
City College of San Francisco

2026–

Research Interests

Stigmatized sexual identities; shame and social marginalization; digital embodiment; impacts of AI-generated sexual content; technology-mediated intimacy; sousveillance and coveillance; sextech; public policy and sexual criminalization; mental health technologies; gamification & prediction markets for behavioral incentives.

Publications & Scholarly Writing

Pakrul, S. (2026). Peer-reviewed scholarly review contribution on recent research concerning minor-attracted persons. B4U-ACT Quarterly Review, 6(1). B4U-ACT.Pakrul, S. (2010). MeLo: The Meaningful Location. Master’s thesis project. School of Information, University of California, Berkeley. (Role: qualitative research, system design, and user experience)Townsend, R. J., & Pakrul, S. (2010). Foundation Drupal 7. Apress.Pakrul, S. (2009). Legal Implications of a Personal Information Store. Information Law and Policy, UC Berkeley.Pakrul, S. (2009). Is Lifelogging a Crime? Surveillance, Sousveillance, Coveillance, and Dataveillance, UC Berkeley.Pakrul, S. (2008). Life Log as Personal Narrative. Digital Narratives, UC Berkeley.Pakrul, S. (2008). The Value of Personal Transparency. Social Issues of Information, UC Berkeley.Pakrul, S. (2005). An Analysis of Proposed Bill C-12: Artistic Merit, Harm, & Overcriminalization in Canadian Child Pornography Law. The Politics of Sexual Diversity, Toronto Metropolitan University.

Selected Essays & Articles

Pakrul, S. (2016). Articles on Building a Personal Chatbot with Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML). Medium.Pakrul, S. (2015). A Psychospiritual Emergency. Medium. (Front-page feature.)

Professional Memberships & Fellowships

AASECT
Member, Sexuality Educator certification in progress

2026–

American Psychological Association, Division 44
Student Affiliate, Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

2026–

Aspen Institute
Tech Policy Primer Fellowship
Focus on emerging technology governance, digital rights, platform regulation, and social impact

2022

Unicode Consortium
Individual Member

2019–21, 2025–

Scholarships & Awards

B4U-ACT Conference Scholarship — B4U-ACT Professional Conference, Southwest USA (2026).Terence Grier Scholarship — Toronto Metropolitan University. Full tuition merit award for exceptional aptitude in chosen field of study (2001).

Community & Professional Service

Volunteer Crisis Counselor, CrisisTextLine.org — Supporting individuals in acute distress using text-based crisis intervention (2025–).Founder & Editor, Not A Victim — Collaborative essays on shame, sexuality, and stigma (Medium, 2015–2020).Co-host & Presenter, Quantified Self Meetups (2009–10).Member, SchoolNet Youth Advisory Board, Government of Canada (2000).

Relevant Experience & Projects

Sexuality, Embodiment & Digital Intimacy

  • Founder of sex-positive digital communities (2000–); highly interactive webcam-based personal website (40k+ monthly visitors c.2005)

  • Explored sexual identity formation under conditions of visibility and surveillance

  • Published Sexy Selfie School, an educational video series

  • Published online magazine featuring first-person narratives on sexuality, shame, and social marginalization

Tangible Computing & SexTech

  • Created a wearable belly-dancer drum machine (gesture-based sensors, embodied musical interface)

  • Early integration of cryptocurrency payments in adult performance contexts

  • Applied research into sexual digital autonomy and payment system censorship constraints on self-expression

  • DIY hardware/software systems bridging maker culture, co-created performance, and teledildonic user interactions

Digital Identity, Transparency & Platforms

  • Early experimentation with lifelogging, blogging, and continuous self-documentation, including the first cell phone based webcam

  • Designed participatory digital identity systems and personal web platforms

  • Early conceptual work on AI-mediated personal agents derived automatically from behavioral data, Quantified Self

  • Explored privacy, anonymity, pseudonymity, and identity persistence in online environments

  • Public interpretation, social reward, and reputational risk of self-disclosure in attention economies

Presentations

Invited speaker, DrupalCon & DrupalCamp events — Talks on Drupal CMS theming, community design, and open source development (2008–2012).NotACon Hacker Conference (2005). “‘Show Me Your Boobs!’ and Other Subtleties of Building a Highly Interactive Personal Community.” Cleveland, OH.

Selected Media Coverage

  • MTV Canada

  • TechTV (recurring)

  • CBC's Street Cents

  • Young Entrepreneur magazine

  • CamGirls documentary (featured)

  • CosmoGirl magazine

Professional Experience

Resident Manager
20mish, San Francisco
– Community leadership for 40-bedroom co-living space, originally founded as the first crypto hacker house
– Operations, conflict mediation, cultural stewardship

2021–present

Founder & Director
Web Solutions / TopNotchThemes
– Designed & built custom web platforms focusing on free open source software
– Managed consulting projects, business development, and a distributed team of six

1997–2016

Selected Supplementary Training

Certified Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist — CCSF (In Progress)
Abnormal Psychology Specialization — Wesleyan University (Coursera)
Foundations of Trauma Informed Pedagogy — University of Illinois (Coursera)
Responsible AI for Mental Health — University of Toronto (Coursera)
Ethics of Psychological Research — University of California, Irvine (Coursera)

Research & Analytical Skills

  • Qualitative and interpretive research (narrative and discourse analysis)

  • Critical analysis of stigma, moral regulation, and social marginalization

  • Policy and legal review related to sexuality, technology, and criminalization

  • Digital ethnography and research in online communities

  • Platform, identity, and attention economy analysis

  • Ethical analysis of privacy, visibility, and digital harm