Linh Dao Smooke
Linh Dao Smooke
Linh Dao Smooke (neé Linh Ngoc Dao) is the COO of Hacker Noon.
Early Life & Education
Smooke was born Dao Ngoc Linh and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam to a family of musicians. In 2007, she was selected as one of five scholars from Vietnam to study at the United World Colleges. She graduated from UWC Mahindra College in Pune, India in 2009. Linh went on to attend Brown University on a full scholarship, majoring in international development. She graduated cum laude from Brown in 2013 with a thesis based on her work in education in Vietnam titled "Focus on Creativity - A Remedy for the Paradox of Education". [📁]
Career
Linh's career has centered around education & community development.
Before Hacker Noon
Linh Dao gives a talk about the Future of Higher Education at TedxTrangTienstreet 2015.
In the summer of 2012, Linh went back to Vietnam on a grant from Brown to launch CKP (Creative Kid Project), the first ever creativity camp for kids in Hanoi.
CKP is now fully functioning as its own non profit organization, 8 years after launch, graduating about 40 kids every year.
In 2014, she became Southeast Asia's Regional Director for Minerva Schools at KGI, a reimagined university for 21st century based in San Francisco. [1]
Hacker Noon
Linh Dao Smooke makes Hacker Noon profitable.
Since she joined the company full-time in August 2017, Hacker Noon has grown 2.5x in traffic & 2.7x in revenue.
Her experience in education has been instrumental in how Hacker Noon on boards, nurtures, and serves its community of writers and sponsors.
Personal Life
Linh is now residing in Edwards, Colorado with her husband David Smooke and their daughter Norah Smooke.