To celebrate Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Zynga has been spotlighting some of our incredible AAPI-identifying employees throughout May. We recognize the important influence that the AAPI community has had on the history, culture, and achievements of our organization and the world, and are honored to be sharing employees’ stories.

We are celebrating our month of celebrations with a spotlight on Jill Hu, our Technical Director on publishing operations based in San Francisco, USA.

Tell us a little bit about your background, culture, and career.

Growing up in the Taiwan countryside, my parents didn’t really care if I got A+, 100 points, or had a Ph.D. I was allowed to pursue whatever I am passionate about. I remembered the day I told my parents I got accepted by Carnegie Mellon and it is located in a different country…They had their worries but they trusted me to do well. My grandma was a Chinese painter. She taught me how to write beautiful calligraphy. Before I left Taiwan, I took a few of her paintings with me so I could sell them in case I needed money to survive in the US. I still have most of them (thank you, Grandma) . I studied computer sciences and love exploring new technology and games. In order to make my parents feel comfortable chatting about me in front of them, this is what they normally say – Jill is a developer and many users gain their happiness from the products her company (ies) make. Parents are always correct! I have shipped several games as an engineer, PM, and publisher, UA. Working on games makes me happy! 

What is your current role and responsibilities at Zynga?

Support growth marketing and platform/GEO expansion opportunities. If you ever have questions related to the recent platform privacy changes, how attribution flows, specific country regulations, and or ad network news updates… ping me on slack! 

Tell us about joining ZAPI (Zynga Asians & Pacific Islanders) and what the employee resource group means to you?

Like many others, I didn’t join ZAPI right away and I have to say I really missed out a ton! Even though I am not speaking my 1st language during ZAPI chats/events, it is a strong sense of belonging while others truly understand where you are coming from. Throughout several ZAPI events, I gain more and deeper aspects when there is an Asia holiday. Going through the pandemic, while families are overseas, ZAPI comforts so many of us. I would love to give back whatever I can to our beloved ZAPI groups <3  

What does Asian Heritage Month mean to you?

Top honor with respect and gratitude and most importantly – expect myself to learn and lead to the fullest and to pass the torch and support each other in the community.. 

Do you have an inspirational figure in your life? Who are they and how have they helped you along on your journey?

This is a tough one… I have gone through recent news, famous inventors, Nobel prize winners, and top 100 who made a great impact in human history… I found Confucius (please don’t laugh) – a person who made huge impacts of Asian culture and society, still remaining influential to this day. That is more than 2500 years! He taught so many famous lessons and most of them still apply nowadays. Here is one of my favorites, “Hold what you really know and tell what you do not know, this will lead to knowledge.” 

What was the best advice you ever received in life or career?

Never measure anything with someone’s own ruler. it is not the international metric units and it is likely bias. 

Looking back at previous experiences, what makes Zynga stand out the most?

People! People build relationships. The relationship forms strong teams and communities. Many have sympathy but in our community I found empathy.  

What’s a personal favorite of yours that you wish to share with the world? (This could be a game, book, food, quote, or more)

Diablo 3 – because that’s where i met my husband even I don’t play it anymore (LOL) 

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself?

Join ZAPI, craft impact together!