Lydia Cao is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. She earned her PhD from the University of Cambridge in England and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University. Her research is situated at the intersection of design, learning, and emerging technologies. She is currently working on the design of collective AI systems that facilitate sustained knowledge building across communities, with the aim of advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She maintains active collaboration with the Next Level Lab as a Visiting Scholar, focusing on two key projects from her postdoctoral work: firstly, earth-centered design (ECD) that challenges the anthropocentrism in human-centered design (HCD); and secondly, the concept of ‘regenerative hope,’ which she formulated by synthesizing literature from psychology, philosophy, and education as a potential driver for sustained actions and a safeguard for mental health in the face of the climate crisis.