THE AGILE MIND

 Clients don’t just get games — they get a facilitator fluent in Gantt charts and case law, comfortable in cleanrooms and boardrooms alike.

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ENGINEER, LAWYER, IMPROVISOR

Thia’s career traces a meandering and uncommon path — from engineer to lawyer and back again — yet a single through-line underlies her journey: a fascination with how people solve problems together.

FROM LAUNCH PADS TO LAW BRIEFS

Thia spent years bringing aerospace designs from concepts on paper to real-world hardware on orbit, coordinating multidisciplinary teams that had zero margin for error. Drawn to the legal side of innovation, she moved to intellectual property law, helping innovators secure the patents, trademarks, and contractual agreements that move technology forward. Periodic returns to engineering roles kept her fluent in the language of designers and developers and refined her instinct for bridging technical and legal viewpoints.

DISCOVERING THE MISSING PIECE: IMPROVISATION

A casual improv class revealed a structured way to thrive amid uncertainty — while having fun. Thia immersed herself in the art form, studying with master teachers such as Aretha Sills (granddaughter of Viola Spolin, who is considered the mother of improv) and at Chicago’s Bughouse Theater, and clocking many hours with instructors in the US and Europe. She discovered that the core improv principles of attentive listening, rapid adaptation, and shared risk mirror the best practices of both engineering and deal-making.

FOUNDER, FACILITATOR, BRIDGE-BUILDER

Today Thia fuses the logic of an engineer, the precision of an attorney, and the playfulness of an improviser to help teams communicate, adapt, and create at the speed of change, turning uncertainty into opportunity. Through The Agile Mind, she designs experiential workshops that translate “Yes-And” into practical tools for brainstorming, risk-aware decision-making, and resilient teamwork.

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Thia is a member of the Applied Improvisation Network and trained under applied improvisation master William Hall at BATS Improv in San Francisco. She is also a founder of Improv for Good, a charitable troupe bringing the experience of improv to caregivers, seniors, and other underserved communities that benefit from joyful connection.

Why it matters: Thia’s sessions equip professionals to listen deeply, respond nimbly, and innovate boldly — because she’s lived every step of that journey herself.
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