Hi, I'm Joe Yang

I'm Joe Yang, PhD, a data scientist and AI engineer with experience at Amazon, Oracle and in healthcare analytics.

I've also spent a lot of time watching documentaries. I love how a film can bring us close to someone we've never met. A voice, an old photograph, a small detail from an ordinary day can help us understand a whole life a little better.

Eventually, watching became a desire to create. I began exploring how to make films myself, learning how images, sound and storytelling come together. As AI opened up new creative possibilities, I started experimenting with different kinds of videos and ways to bring memories back to life. The skills I'd developed in my technical career became part of that creative process.

One of my films tells my own uncle's story. It's a personal example of what draws me to this work: the people in our families have lives worth remembering, including the everyday moments that rarely make it into a history book.

Lives Before Us grew from bringing these interests together. Every week, I tell the stories of the remarkable people behind the news, checked against the original records. I also help people turn their photographs, memories and stories into films and digital albums they can explore together today and share with the next generation.

My hope is that someone watching will recognize a familiar face or place, remember a story, and say, “Let me tell you about them.”