Ken Foo
Fraud Fighting and Empowering Kids: A Data Science Journey
Alumni Spotlight: Ken Foo, ESTEEM ’17
Meet Ken Foo, whose career has taken him from the uncertainty of defense consulting to the frontlines of federal fraud investigation. Today, he serves as a fraud investigator for the Office of Homeland Security Inspector General at Steampunk, where he uses advanced analytics to identify white-collar criminals. Beyond his day job, Ken has channeled his problem-solving skills into education, founding TIZA, a gamification platform that's transforming how students engage with learning. He reflects on his winding career path, the lessons learned from teaching Sunday school, and how he's building a startup while working full-time.
-Background and Professional Journey-
ESTEEM: Can you share a bit about your professional journey after graduating from Notre Dame?
Ken: I started at Booz Allen Hamilton right after graduation, which was part of a large Notre Dame recruiting push. Unfortunately, I struggled to find meaningful work there. I spent about half my time on the bench for a year and a half, doing data analytics and environmental work but feeling pretty directionless overall.
That led me to move to a small military tech company where I worked as a project manager on AI projects for drones and communications. That experience was transformative because I got to see the full product lifecycle from ideation to prototype. I gained real experience with proposal writing and client management, which gave me the foundation I needed.
From there, I transitioned into data science, which I've been doing for over five years now across multiple companies. I actually learned programming and Python on my own building systems that were used by hundreds of users.
ESTEEM: What does your current role as a fraud investigator involve, and how did you transition into this work?
Ken: Now I work as an investigator for the Office of Homeland Security Inspector General at Steampunk. My job is finding white-collar criminals and fraud cases. My focus areas include things like unemployment and FEMA disaster relief fraud. I've personally identified about $5-6 million in fraud. The principle is simple: "Follow where the money goes, you'll always find the crime."
ESTEEM: You volunteer a lot at your church. What inspired you to start teaching, and what did you learn from that experience?
Ken: I started volunteering after Notre Dame graduation because I felt guilty doing nothing productive with my free time. I began teaching Sunday school at St. Martin's Catholic Church for 4th & 5th graders. I struggled for the first three years, and many teachers turn over after just two years because it's challenging work.
My spiritual mentor gave me some tough love and urged me to dive deeper into the problem. That's when I started thinking more deeply about pedagogy: How does a student learn? Why do students learn? What makes a good teacher?
I analyzed my top five teachers to identify common traits, and one key insight stuck with me: my chemical engineering professor remembered everyone's names before class even started. It's a very powerful relationship-building gesture. I realized that 90% of students at church don't even know their teacher's name, yet names are "the most important word they want to hear in their life."
ESTEEM: How has volunteering shaped your perspective?
Ken: I follow what I call the "Uncle Iroh philosophy”: if you help others, eventually it will solve your own problems. Volunteering comes back full circle. It's been amazing for my mental health and building selfless habits. I think we should regularly push back against the everpresent individualistic culture focused on validation and personal gain.
ESTEEM: How do you apply your data science skills to both fraud investigation and education?
Ken: In both domains, it's about pattern recognition and understanding human behavior. In fraud investigation, I'm looking for anomalies in data that indicate criminal activity. In education, I'm looking for patterns in student engagement and motivation. The analytical mindset transfers across both fields, it's about asking the right questions and following the data to find answers.
-TIZA Development and Future Plans-
ESTEEM: How did you develop TIZA, and what problem were you trying to solve?
Ken: I discovered gamification through that same chemical engineering professor who applied point systems and competition to technical subjects like thermodynamics. It's similar to Duolingo streaks, psychological principles that work subconsciously on us.
I implemented gamification in my classroom using principles like positive reinforcement and quick, constructive feedback for students. I created games like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune using PowerPoint templates.
The results exceeded my expectations. Kids became extremely engaged, so much so that the director had to ask me to tone it down! At least half of my students now say religious education is their favorite class. Students continue playing and learning after class ends, which was unprecedented.
ESTEEM: How did you build the TIZA platform?
Ken: I developed the TIZA platform in just two weekends using the Gemini API. I had never done front-end programming before August, but I learned React, JavaScript, and package managers with Claude's help. Now I can create games in one minute versus the hours it takes teachers to do manually.
One powerful use case was with a Spanish teenager class. Teenagers are typically silent and disengaged, looking at their phones. I had a 14-15 year old assistant who knew nothing about the topic host the games. The class went from silence to kids volunteering and raising hands. It's a plug-and-play solution requiring no teaching background.
ESTEEM: What's your business strategy for TIZA?
Ken: I'm currently working with seven people (shoutout JP!) on marketing and sales. We've exhausted our local connections, so now we're expanding beyond family, friends, and community. Our current growth tactics include Google search engine optimization and entering business competitions at University of Maryland and Notre Dame to gain spotlight and recognition.
We're also shifting from a B2C to B2B strategy. Individual teachers paying $10/month is too small a scale. Instead, we're targeting partnerships with companies like Khan Academy and Duolingo, exploring licensing deals and revenue splits. We had a potential 20/80 deal that fell through, but we're continuing to pursue these opportunities.
What's remarkable is that we're already profitable in our first year, which is rare for startups. My goal is to build thousands of users within the first year. We're keeping the platform free as long as possible to maximize user adoption, and we don't even require account creation for immediate use.
-Advice for Students & Future Innovators-
ESTEEM: Many current ESTEEM students are exploring diverse career paths. What advice would you offer them?
Ken: Don't be afraid of a winding path. My journey from Booz Allen to military tech to data science to fraud investigation wasn't linear, but each experience built on the last. Learn technical skills on your own if you need to, I taught myself Python and programming, and that opened doors.
Also, find ways to give back. Volunteering at church led directly to building TIZA. When you help others and immerse yourself in real problems, entrepreneurial opportunities often emerge naturally. It's not always about forcing innovation, sometimes it comes from genuinely trying to solve problems you encounter in your community.
About the ESTEEM Graduate Program:
Over the course of this 11-month Master of Science degree (in Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship) program at the University of Notre Dame, students from technical backgrounds are equipped with the skills and experience to launch new businesses, become innovators within large corporations, and be leaders of dynamic, innovative teams. Students are immersed in an entrepreneurial sandbox, where they get their hands dirty with entrepreneurship and innovation through a cutting-edge curriculum, a capstone commercialization project for an emerging technology, and outstanding out-of-the-classroom experiences.
To learn more about the ESTEEM Graduate Program or to apply please go to our website.