I’ve written before about the importance of language in creating an environment that destigmatizes mental health challenges. Our words have resonance and what we say and how we say it communicates to those around us how we perceive ourselves in relation to others. One phrase that seems to be enjoying renewed overuse recently is the old chestnut, “politically correct.” The implication is that someone is using euphemisms in order to avoid what they perceive to be misplaced social backlash. The mentality that leads one to use this phrase is rooted in selfishness and privilege.
Here’s a handy trick to determine if using the phrase “politically correct” reveals you to be a bully or a jerk. Substitute the words “respecting the dignity of other human beings” in your statement and see how you feel about it. For example, “Following public health guidelines is just caving to political correctness.” Now, let’s try it with the substitution: “Following public health guidelines is just caving to respecting the dignity of other human beings.”
Referring to words and actions as “politically correct” comes up frequently when topics like mental health are discussed. Be an advocate and an ally to those of us for whom mental health struggles are real. Help evangelize the message that our fellow human beings deserve to be treated with dignity.
From history major, with side quests in Medieval Studies and chemical engineering, to nonprofit finance leader, Big 4 tax partner, technologist, researcher, and now co-founder of Divine, nothing about my career has been linear. The throughline has always been systems: financial systems, organizational systems, technological systems, and human systems. I have an MBA in Operations and Supply Chain Management and a PhD in Organizational Leadership Psychology, and I’ve spent my career trying to understand how complex systems shape people’s choices, opportunities, wellbeing, and sense of belonging. Today, my work sits at the intersection of psychology, technology, human-centered design, and digital trust. I am co-founder of Divine, an open-source, decentralized social video app built to put creativity back in human hands and replace doomscrolling with joyscrolling. Divine is part of a bigger question I care deeply about: how do we create online spaces that support safety, creativity, identity, and belonging without defaulting to surveillance, extraction, or control? At Divine, I wear a lot of hats across engineering, finance, operations, and strategy, while helping shape the app’s trust, safety, and values work. I focus especially on teen online safety, human-generated content, participatory design, and healthier relationships with technology. I am a postdoctoral alum of Vanderbilt University’s Department of Computer Science, where I worked with Dr. Pam Wisniewski’s Socio-Technical Interaction Research Lab. I continue to write, speak, and research at the intersection of online safety, digital trust, decentralized technology, and youth wellbeing. I was named a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for Data Integrity in 2023. In 2025, I had the honor of serving as President of Division 13 of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Consulting Psychology. I also live with major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In 2020, I took a leave from PwC to focus on my mental wellness, and I now speak and write openly about mental health, especially in the workplace and in relation to digital wellbeing. This blog, Seriously Jerk Brain, chronicles much of that journey.
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Brava – once again, Liz, you’re so gifted at landing picture observations with exquisite precision. Thank you!
Seriously, Jerk Brain?! 
Brava – once again, Liz, you’re so gifted at landing picture observations with exquisite precision. Thank you!
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