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Seriously, Jerk Brain?!

Seriously, Jerk Brain?!

"Self-preservation is a full-time occupation." – Ani DiFranco

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Author: liz

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.

Pangram

My younger daughter’s latest obsession is a word puzzle. It has me thinking about how I change my perspective on who I am and where I am going.

depression, mental health, perspective, puzzles, reframe, word games

Paying attention to attention

The ability to pay attention is what allows human beings to experience life and the world around us. Depression can take that away.

antidepressants, attention span, career, depression, mental health, work

What’s this about a PhD?

At first, getting a PhD seemed like a way to credential myself and expand my professional practice. Now, it’s a lifeline.

behavioral economics, career, depression, future, leadership, mental health, phd, self image

Relapse was not on my bingo card

Hello, Darkness, my old friend.

antidepressants, depression, mental health, PTSD, recovery

Choose your own adventure

I’m embarrassed and ashamed of the fact that I can’t stop internalizing the words and actions of insecure bullies.

anxiety, behavioral economics, career, change, depression, fear, future, jerk brain, mental health, philosophy, recovery, self image

Call for a substitution

Language matters. Words have resonance. Here’s an easy trick to see if you’re being a jerk with what you’re saying.

advice, anxiety, depression, emotional intelligence, inclusion, leadership, mental health, role model, what to say

It is raining and the sun will come out

The first in a series of posts in acknowledgment of Mental Health Awareness Month.

anxiety, depression, mental health, recovery, what to say

Back to school

My grad school classes are starting up for the Summer Term and I’m thinking about what it means to be studying change management during this time of upheaval.

career, change, covid19, depression, future, mental health

Recovery update: And we are off

Today marks my first day off of psychiatric medications in over four years.

antidepressants, depression, mental health, recovery, therapy

Can everyone please go on mute?

When we eliminate the clutter and the noise, we can create space for the voices that most need to be heard.

anxiety, covid19, inclusion, mental health, what to say

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