Education

2013 – 2018   NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY                                                 EVANSTON, IL

PhD Student in Technology & Social Behavior Doctoral Program

Department of Computer Science & Communication Studies

Research Adviser: Elizabeth Gerber, Dr. (Committee: Amy Edmondson, Dr; Mesmin Destin, Dr.; and Eleanor O’Rourke, Dr.)

Interests: Self-Efficacy, Social Support, Motivation, Retention, Teams, Learning, Social Computing

 

2007-2011        HARVARD UNIVERSITY                                                   CAMBRIDGE, MA

BA in Social Anthropology, Minor in Psychology

Research Advisers: David Ager, Dr. & Francesca Gino, Dr.

 

Professional Research Experience

6/2014-8/2018   DELTA LAB, Doctoral Student Researcher                         EVANSTON, IL

  • Managed research to develop an online public validation & feedback system for design teams, led 10 undergraduate and graduate student researchers
  • Developed & tested mobile application called CrowdFound, utilizing on-the-go crowds to find lost items
  • Led research project to understand the effects of crowdfunding on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, led 2 interns
  • Developed and tested JumpGym, an online exergame to encourage exercise in waiting areas, led 3 interns

 

9/2016-12/2016                   FACEBOOK, UX Research Intern            MENLO PARK, CA

  • Conducted user experience research on small businesses who Facebook to promote their work
  • Qualitative & quantitative research projects for Ads Growth team

6/2010-2014      DISNEY RESEARCH, Associate Research Manager, Lab Associate                                          GLENDALE, CA

  • Managed research test on buffet dining behavior at Walt Disney World buffets and improving healthy decisions
  • Co-managed research on micro-entrepreneur behavior in Nicaragua & Vietnam, responsible for data collection
  • Conducted research tests on crowd movement, hotel towel reuse behavior, “pay-what-you-want” pricing model
  • Developed mobile game for assessing wisdom of crowds and consumer preference, led 4 UX interns

 

3/2010-7/2010   HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL DECISION MAKING LAB, Research Assistant                  CAMBRIDGE, MA

  • Prepared research design and surveys to study the effects of challenge on user likability of products
  • Conducted research around the effects of product globalization in emerging markets

 

January 2010     PHULKI INTERNATIONAL, Researcher                                                                  DHAKA, BANGLADESH

  • Surveyed 70 workers and managers in 12 garment factories on the effectiveness of factory daycare programs
  • Prepared analysis of research findings, and conducted impact assessment and company recommendations

 

Summer 2009    CITIZEN SCHOOLS, Summer Associate, Citizen Teacher                                                          BOSTON, MA

  • Conducted research on Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) education learning models
  • Organized STEM Summit (07/2009) with 200+ scientists discussing science educational reform

 

Summer 2008    ACCIÓN EMPRENDEDORA, Microfinance Researcher                                                      SANTIAGO, CHILE

  • Surveyed 30+ female micro-entrepreneurs and created weekly seminars to address common challenges
  • Taught business skills and consulted with female micro-entrepreneurs before and after they received microloans
  • Developed leadership and motivation programs for micro-entrepreneurs (McClelland Research)

 

Publications & Works-In-Progress

  • Harburg, E., Rees Lewis, D., Gerber, E., Easterday, M. CheerOn: An Online Public Validation Tool for Project-Based Learning Teams, TOCHI, In progress
  • Harburg, E., Greenberg, M., Hui, J., Gerber, E. Understanding the Effects of Crowdfunding on Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy, CSCW 2015, Vancouver
  • Harburg, E., Kim, Y., Gerber, E., Zhang, H. CrowdFound: A Mobile Crowdsourcing System to Find Lost Items On-the-Go, CHI WIP 2015, Korea.
  • Rees-Lewis, D., Harburg, E., Gerber, E., Easterday, M. Designing Digital Stand Technology for Digital Coaching Cycles: Supporting Professionals Coaching Student Teams, ICLS
  • Obiorah, M., Harburg, E., Bos, M., Horn, M. JumpGym: An Exergame for Waiting Areas, CHIPlay 2017
  • Rees Lewis, D., Harburg, E., Gerber, E., Easterday, M.W. Building help-seeking support tools for novice designers.  In Proceedings of the 2015 ACM Conference on Creativity and Cognition.
  • Kim, Y; Harburg, E; Shaw, A; Gerber, E., Zhang, H.  Enabling Physical Crowdsourcing On-the-Go with Context-sensitive Notifications, HCOMP 2015 (accepted as a poster)
  • Edmondson, Amy C., Ager, David L., Harburg, Emily K., and Bartlett, Natalie. “Teaming at Disney Animation.” Harvard Business School Case 615-023, August 2014.
  • Harburg, E. “Can She Lead?” (5/2010), Harvard Business Review
  • Harburg, E. “Managing the Magic” (1/2009), Harvard Leadership Magazine

 

Honors & Distinctions

  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), 2014-2016: Awarded 3 years of graduate research funding to support dissertation research related to developing online communities to support women in STEM.
  • Grace Hopper Student Research Competition Finalist, 2016: Selected for research on CheerOn tool for novice designers.
  • Games Learning Society, 2016: Selected as Final Runner Up, Top 5 Game at GLS Showcase for JumpGym game
  • EECS Computer Science Poster Competition, 2016: Selected to present JumpGym work in EECS poster fair.
  • Harvard Women’s Leadership Award (Honorable Mention), 2011: Awarded to a Harvard student who has demonstrated exceptional leadership; contributed to the advancement of women; impacted students; and exhibits future leadership potential.
  • Top Citizen Teacher of Massachusetts, 2011: Awarded for work on the “Youth Lead the Change” leadership apprenticeship created to help build the leadership potential of low-income students in Boston and internationally.
  • Harvard University Mather Service Award Winner, 2011: Nominated from Mather House Senior Class for efforts related to serving the community and developing international projects for social impact.
  • US Presidential Service Award, Harvard University, 2011: Awarded grant to conduct research on youth leadership development work with Citizen Schools. A limited number of fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis each year.
  • Harvard South East Asia Initiative Grant Winner, 2010: Awarded grant to travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh to conduct two-month research study on the role of daycare on garment factory worker motivation and retention.
  • Center for Public Interest Careers (CPIC) Grant Fellow, 2008: Awarded funding to support work at Citizen Schools developing leadership development programs for middle school students.
  • David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies Fellow, 2007: Awarded funding to conduct research in Chile on the motivation and success of Chilean female micro-entrepreneurs. Developed business program for women called Femprendedora.

 

Invited Talks & Teaching Experience

4/25/2016         IBM Research, Invited Speaker, “Understanding the Effects of Crowdfunding on Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy”

4/17/2016         Kellogg MBA-EDI “Organizing for Innovation” Class, Guest Lecturer, “Disney Teaming Case Study”

4/28/2016         Northwestern “Human Centered Service Design” Class, Guest Lecturer, “Behavioral Research at Disney”

4/7/2016           Northwestern Positive Entrepreneurship Course, Guest Lecturer: “The Power of Personal Narrative”

2/8/2016           NYU Ideation & Prototyping Class, Guest Speaker: “Building Effective Teams Using Online Tools”

2/9/2016           Psychology 314: Data Presentation Class, Guest Speaker: “Speaking With Power: Public Speaking Workshop”

12/2015            Solstice Women in Tech Series, Invited Speaker: “Increasing Women In Tech at Brave Initiatives”

3/2015             CSCW 2015, Presenter: “Understanding the Effects of Crowdfunding on Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy”

10/2014            NYU Entrepreneurship Class, Guest Speaker, “Using Psychology to Build Technology”

10/2014            CrowdCamp, Selected Participant, “Assessing User Retention on Wikipedia Via Online Appreciation”

2/2014             Global Forum for Youth Leaders Abu Dhabi, Invited Speaker, “Effects of YLC Leadership Program”

10/2014            TEDxBeaconStreet, GoogleSolvefor<X>, Facilitator: “Moonshot Thinking Innovation Brainstorming”

1/2012             Summer Innovation Conference at Harvard, Speaker: “Design Thinking and Project Management at Disney”

1/2011             Bhutan Youth Development Fund, Keynote Speaker, “Impact of Youth Lead the Change Student in Bhutan”

10/2010            Harvard Igniting Innovation Summit, Speaker: “Building Innovative and High-Performing Teams”

 

Leadership Experience

2015-Present     BRAVE INITIATIVES, Co-founder, Director of Research & Program Development

  • Developed and taught program to build computer science self-efficacy in high school girls

2014-Present     TOASTMASTERS of NORTHWESTERN GRADUATES, Co-Founder, Executive Board Member

  • Founded Toastmasters chapter to help graduate students improve public speaking and leadership skills

2012-2014       HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE, Executive Board Member

  • Developed leadership curriculum and helped manage cohort of 30 students across Harvard graduate schools                                    

2007-2011        YOUTH LEAD THE CHANGE, Founder, VP of Curriculum Development and Training

  • Designed and implemented youth leadership curriculum in Boston Public Schools, now implemented globally

2007-2011        LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE AT HARVARD COLLEGE, VP, Director/Founder of Social Outreach, BoA

  • Hosted workshops and organized speaking events on leadership for students at Harvard College
  • Directed LIHC recruitment and mentorship program for Harvard undergraduate and graduate students

2008-2012        Igniting Innovation & entrepreursHIP committee, Co-Founder, Summit Co-director

  • Led campaign for a multi-disciplinary “Innovation for Social Change” Minor at Harvard College
  • Organized Innovation Summits for 90 entrepreneurs at Columbia, and 150 entrepreneurs at Harvard

2007-2012        Harvard Undergraduate wOMEN IN BUSINESS, Associate, Peer Mentor

  • Mentored Harvard peers interested in business, participated in panels and conferences

 

Skills, Interests, & Passions

Skills in Ethnography, UX, Design, Qualitative Research. Spanish-speaker. Proficiency in HTML/CSS, Python, & Javascript.

Enjoys hiking, running, skiing, photography, travel, and playing volleyball (played on Harvard women’s varsity volleyball team).

Passionate about helping increase diversity in tech, and building retention and performance in online/offline teams and communities.