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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.

What are the odds?

My professional coach gave me a homework assignment.

career, coaching, mental health, perfectionism, self image

The Age of Ignorance

COVID-19 is a dress rehearsal for climate change. What we do with what we learn from this crisis will determine our future on Earth.

4IR, covid19, economy, future, leadership, philosophy

The space between zero and one

False binaries let us convince ourselves that there are only stark choices. It isn’t true.

behavioral economics, economy, future, leadership, philosophy, work

Lockdown

Shelter-in-place is reminding me of my early days as a new parent. Old ways of keeping score and measuring success don’t work anymore. It’s time for a change.

covid19, depression, medication, mental health, shelter in place, social distancing, therapy

How we know what we know

Our perspectives on leadership and leadership development stem from our role models, observations, and ability to look inward.

behavioral economics, phd, philosophy, role model

Leadership in the time of Corona

What the history of leadership theory tells us about where we may be headed in a post-COVID-19 world.

4IR, covid19, future, leadership

Bonus blog: Proof we are living in the End Times

Beware the reunification of the squeaky eggs!

Redistribution is socialist! (But, give me my federal bailout…)

The COVID-19 pandemic is shining a spotlight on the many ironies of human behavior and belief. The economy and redistribution of resources is one.

behavioral economics, covid19, economy, future

Blog update: New resource added

Thanks to a reader for sharing a new resource providing information on depression.

depression, mental health, resources

Recovery update: And then there was one

After four years, I’m finally off Prozac. Now, there’s just one antidepressant left on the menu.

anxiety, depression, medication, mental health, recovery

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