Tolga Aricak
Osman Tolga Aricak is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology. He received his Ph.D. from the Marmara University in Istanbul. Tolga focuses on the prevention and intervention of cyberbullying. Along with his colleagues, he developed quantitative measures for cyberbullying, cybervictimization, and cyberbullying sensibility, and also developed a program to enhance the sensibility towards cyberbullying. He is also interested in multivariate statistics and structural equation modeling. Tolga is collaborating with the Youth and Media team on ongoing work about online privacy, safety, and information quality; he serves as a methodologist and statistician for the project.
Meredith Beaton
Meredith joined the Youth and Media Lab to pursue her research interests in youth and Internet technologies and the role of education in media literacy. Meredith is a graduate of Columbia’s Teachers College, where she focused on gender disparities in computer science and online gaming. She spent the last five years teaching Middle School at the Cambridge Montessori School. Meredith also holds a BA in Computer Science from Wellesley College.
Luisa Beck
Luisa grew up in Germany and California. During and after her undergraduate years at UC Berkeley, she studied and worked in Chennai, Goettingen, Munich, Duesseldorf and New York. She’s most recently made her home in Somerville and is excited to explore questions surrounding youths’ use and interpretation of media, online collaborations, e-learning, civic engagement and the creative and infinite ways of using sound, visuals, words and data to teach and tell stories. She’s most interested in the kinds of stories that often get left by the wayside: the ones that test our experiences and assumptions about technology, cultures and human motivations. When she’s not at the Youth and Media Lab, you can find her making audio documentaries, asking Python questions on Stackoverflow or scoping out community art and civic engagement projects.
Tess Carney
Tess Carney is a sophmore at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. She is interested in the field of behavioral economics, and how people can be consistently irrational in their decision making. In terms of the internet she's highly fascinated by the ways that people form communities and collectives via crowd controlled mediums and conceive amazing things, especially in regards to how young people interact and create online. She also is interested in creative writing, urban planning, history, and has recently discovered a love of chemistry. In her free time she plays video games, spends time with her family, and voraciously reads everything she can get her hands on.
Michelle Ciccone
Michelle is a Research Assistant for the Youth and Media team at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Michelle is an educator and curriculum developer passionate about digital literacy, media literacy, and digital citizenship. She is currently the Technology Integration Specialist at Foxborough High School, where she develops and deploys a vertically aligned strategic vision for technology integration across content areas and grades. Previously, Michelle worked with nonprofit organizations in the blended learning space. She frequently presents at national and international conferences, and was a 2018 EdTalk presenter with The Boston Foundation. Michelle also serves on the Leadership Council of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). She has a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.S. Ed. in Education Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Nathan Cummings
Sam Daitzman
Sam Daitzman is a designer and software engineer currently studying at F.W. Olin College of Engineering. She focuses on issues of context, ethics and design justice in learning and engineering. At Olin, she co-founded PInT, a growing student-led organization that cultivates pathways and opportunities for Olin's students to engage with and grow their skills in Public Interest Technology, social justice, and activism.
Briggs DeLoach
Briggs DeLoach is a research assistant whose scholarly interests revolve around Internet identities and norms, and how these concepts shape the conduct of international politics. During undergrad, he explored a variety of academic areas, ranging from labor history to genocide. Outside of academia, Briggs promoted youth activism by co-directing the 2013 installment of the nation's oldest student-run public affairs conference. He focused the event on youth empowerment around the globe and brought in international experts to brainstorm means of overcoming impediments to empowerment. He brings a variety of prior experience to the Youth and Media team that includes political campaign work, policy analysis and prescription on Capitol Hill, and financial analysis for a commercial real estate firm. Briggs enjoys exploring quaint New England towns, skiing, and political activism. He graduated in May 2015 from Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, with Highest Honors in both Political Science and History.
Melyssa Eigen
Melyssa Eigen is a Research Assistant at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and a J.D. student at Harvard Law School. She worked as a Technology Consultant at Deloitte in the Washington D.C. area before starting law school, and is a 2017 graduate from Carnegie Mellon University, where she received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with an additional major in Engineering and Public Policy. Her Youth and Media research interests include youth interaction with social media and technology and its privacy implications. Melyssa is an avid foodie, Philadelphia sports fan and fitness enthusiast.
Elena Goldstein
Elena is a Research Assistant at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society contributing to Youth and Media’s Online Privacy Project and varied Latin American initiatives. Her research interests include privacy and consumer protection, global digital rights advocacy, and the rich law/literature/technology intersection. Prior to joining Berkman Klein, Elena wrote an honors thesis on the new Library of Alexandria’s memory politics and poetics, and carried out university-sponsored independent studies on e-government and digital diplomacy as well as technology and privacy in the dystopian novel. She also worked for the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Alwan for the Arts, and a couple of Manhattan restaurants. Elena graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University where she majored in Comparative Literature & Society and Middle Eastern Studies. She loves to walk, eat, read, travel, and play (diatonic and occasionally chromatic) harmonica.
Melodie Ha
Melodie Ha is a recent graduate of Wellesley College, where she majored in Political Science and Chinese Language and Culture. She has previously studied abroad at Fudan University in China, and King's College London in the UK. Her interests include looking at Chinese social media and web culture, censorship and privacy issues, and cybersecurity. While she was at Wellesley, she competed for the Wellesley Debate Society and served as a tutor for the Chinese department. Melodie enjoys running, kayaking, and is a huge fan of brunch.
Paulina Haduong
Paulina Haduong is a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. She holds an Ed.M. in Technology, Innovation, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Linguistics from Yale University. In her spare time she enjoys experimenting with baking bread.
Alexa Hasse
Alexa Hasse is Youth and Media's Director of Education. Prior to this position at the Berkman Klein Center, she worked in a healthcare startup, and in the Personal Robotics Group at the MIT Media Lab. A Boston native, Alexa received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Boston College in 2012, and went on to receive two Master's degrees. She completed a Master of Education in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard's Graduate School of Education in 2013, and a Master of Arts in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College's Lynch School of Education in 2015. Her research interests include how youth develop a sense of identity on social media, and the intersection of technology use and moral development. In her free time, Alexa loves yoga, traveling, going to concerts, and exploring Boston.
Tanvi Kanchinadam
Originally from New Jersey, Tanvi Kanchinadam is a rising high school senior at Phillips Academy Andover interested in the relationship between Global Health Policy and International Development in the context of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), and the effect these technologies have on disadvantaged communities on a grassroots level. Previous work includes a focus on the correlation between caste and the inequity of healthcare delivery between low and high caste communities in India. Tanvi is also the founder and organizer of TEDxPhillipsAcademyAndover, an annual TEDx conference consisting entirely of student speakers. In the past, the conference has centered around themes such as ‘21st Century Citizenship,’ and ‘Our Generation’s Mission Statement.’ Tanvi is also passionate about government and politics, and she hosts a weekly online radio show ‘Chai Time’ to discuss issues concerning the South Asian diaspora, as well as broader issues at play in the American political thicket. She also engages with the South Asian community as president of the Hindu Student Union at Phillips Academy. Tanvi is a classically trained double-bassist who plays in the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Phillips Academy Chamber and Symphonic Orchestras. Additionally, she occasionally dabbles in Jazz and other forms of contemporary music.
Jackie Eun Jin Kim
Jackie Eun Jin Kim is a Research Assistant for the Youth and Media project at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She is currently a master's candidate in the Technology, Innovation and Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to coming to Harvard, she received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania with a honors degree in Communications. Her research interests include the intersection of technology and education, including computer-mediated communication and virtual collaboration.
Levin Kim
Levin originally hails from Seoul, South Korea, but she has spent the last four years in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A recent graduate of the University of Michigan (Go Blue!), she has a B.A. in Women’s Studies and Drama, with minors in Computer Science and Art. Levin is interested in exploring intersections between gender studies, theater, and technology; in the fall, she will be starting the Masters in Human-Computer Interaction program at Georgia Tech where she hopes to research ways that drama can influence the design of inclusive technology. In her free time, she likes to discover new hobbies, the most recent of which is rock climbing. Find out more at www.levinishere.com!
Sonia Kim
Sonia Kim is a Senior Project Coordinator for the Youth and Media project at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in English and from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with an Ed.M. in Learning and Teaching. Prior to the Berkman Klein Center, Sonia was a teacher, instructional designer, and Fulbright Fellow. She has worked with students aged 5 to 65 in Boston, San Francisco, and Seoul, South Korea.
Amanda Kraley
Amanda is a Research Assistant at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and currently a senior at Wellesley College. Prior to the Berkman Klein Center, she worked at MIT’s Displacement Research and Action Network, a center for policy makers and academics to build new theory on internal displacement. Her project at MIT – creating an interactive mapping tool that looks at eviction rates in Boston’s Chinatown – synthesized interests in public affairs and technology. On campus, she is the editor-in-chief of Wellesley’s international relations magazine, The Wellesley Globalist. Outside of academics, Amanda has spent several years working at a government tech startup and as a Student Activist Coordinator with Amnesty International.
Claire Leibowicz
Claire Leibowicz is a junior at Harvard College concentrating in Mind, Brain, and Behavior-Psychology with a secondary in Economics. She works on both Youth and Media and the Digital Problem-Solving Initiative. Outside of Berkman, Claire has led discussions on cybersecurity and privacy for high school students in Hong Kong, Madrid, San Francisco, and Boston through Harvard Model Congress.
Zach Lerner
Zach Lerner is in his second year at Harvard Law School where he focuses on the intersection of law, technology, and business. After graduating from Duke University he served as a Teach For America corps member in Phoenix, Arizona. This past summer, Zach interned at the Center For Democracy & Technology where he worked on issues of privacy and cybersecurity.
Nathaniel Levy
Nathaniel joined the Berkman Center in 2011, where he focuses on the Youth and Media project, which includes the youth-driven, R&D YaM Lab, and the center’s partnership with the Born This Way Foundation. Nathaniel contributes to research and programmatic efforts that explore how young people use technology and offer insights for educators, policymakers, and youth themselves. Prior to becoming a Project Coordinator, Nathaniel contributed to the report “Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality” as a Research Assistant. Since leaving Brown with a History degree in December 2010, Nathaniel has also run intro computer classes for adult learners, contributed to open education projects based in Cambridge, and climbed Neutaconkanut Hill. He enjoys reading the Financial Times and science fiction.
Eric Liao
Eric is part of the Youth and Media team and is interested in making podcasts to tell stories related to YaM's research in an effort to reach a broader audience. After graduating from Harvard in 2013 with a degree in Government, he did a temporary stint in finance before quitting to explore his interests. Eric hails from San Jose, California and would consider going back to the nice weather and beaches after the drought ends and the highly anticipated earthquake hits since he likes to take long showers in peace.
Pedro Maddens Toscano
Pedro Maddens Toscano is a Research Assistant for the Youth and Media project at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in May 2018 obtaining a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering with a Minor in International Affairs. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Technology and Policy.
Erin Maher
Erin Maher is a recent graduate of Yale University, where she earned a degree in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She is interested in the ways digital platforms build cultural assumptions into their structures, as well as the ways users react to and against these encoded political, moral, and gendered values, particularly through the formation of online communities. Her work in this area culminated in her senior thesis, "Men are from Reddit, Women are from Tumblr: Gender, Community, and the Online Platform." While at Yale, Erin was an active participant in the tech and musical communities, where she served as a developer for the university and the drum major of the Yale Precision Marching Band respectively. Erin holds a deep and abiding love for skiing, cooking, getting distinctive haircuts, and of course, the internet.
Mary McCrossan
Mary McCrossan joined the Youth and Media team in January 2012 as an Digital Media Producer assistant. Mary graduated in the spring of 2011 with a BA in Broadcast Journalism from Suffolk University and is interested in social and digital media. She brings her experience in video editing to help the lab with media content creation.
Momin Malik
Momin Malik previously worked at the Youth and Media Lab from 2009-2011, where he was a co-author of the literature review “Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality.” In 2011-2012, he did a Masters at the Oxford Internet Institute, where he studied quantitative and qualitative research methods, digital social research, networks of collaboration, and online social networks. His thesis, which earned a distinction, examined the emergence of the field of Internet studies through networks of co-authorship. He has returned to the Youth and Media lab for the year, working to further the state of knowledge of young people's online behavior and experiences with information quality. In the fall he will be starting a PhD, working in the areas of computational social science and network analysis.
Chalene Riser
Chalene is a Research Assistant at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society’s Youth and Media team. Among other things, Chalene is interested in advocating for and empowering youth’s lives and learning through the use of technology. Prior to joining Berkman Klein, Chalene earned her B.A. in English and Creative Writing at Brigham Young University. There she wrote her senior capstone paper on the Ontology of Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello, drawing on game theory. Outside of work, Chalene has a passion for creative writing and hopes to become a published author. While attending school she worked for a non-profit as a content creator for language learning curriculums, specifically Korean; a language she learned while volunteering in South Korea for nearly two years. Chalene has been active in her community through tutoring, poetry slams, writing workshops, and summer STEM youth programs. When Chalene has a spare moment, you’ll likely see her with a book in her hands.
Quinn Robinson
Quinn Robinson is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying English and Economics. He is particularly interested in the ways language, labor, and the internet intersect. At Penn, he serves as the Deputy Design Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian, Under Secretary-General of ILMUNC, and as volunteer tech support for community nonprofits in the West Philly area.
Mark Saldaña
Mark Saldaña comes to the Youth and Media team with a passion for community technology, cross-cultural research, and social issues that affect youth. He holds a BA in anthropology from Macalester College, where he researched Japanese youth perceptions of mental illness. Mark is also a community-based instructor involved with ESL education and interns at Cambridge Community Television.
Skyler Sallick
Skyler Sallick is a rising sophomore at Claremont McKenna College looking to major in Philosophy and Public Affairs, with an emphasis on tech policy and ethics. During her first undergraduate year, Skyler pioneered a project with Shared_Studio's Portal Project, as a student initiative aiming to bring Portal technology to Claremont in 2019. A recent graduate of Phillips Academy, Andover, Skyler spent much of high school as the Founder and Director of the Andover Satellite Editorial Board for the award-winning, global, online magazine, KidSpirit, that explores the ways in which the internet connects youth voices around the world on meaningful topics. Additionally, she had several articles published through the magazine, including one in the Huffington Post entitled The Basic Intricacies of Kindness and Compassion. Through KidSpirit, Skyler spoke on a panel at the 2015 Parliament of World Religions in Salt Lake City, Utah on the importance of youth involvement in change making. She was featured on the Garrison Institute Podcast for her work surrounding youth involvement in discussions around climate change. Additionally, Skyler was a documentary finalist in the All American High School Film Festival. She also serves as a Volunteer Ambassador for Be the Match: City of Hope. Skyler has a passion for exploring the opportunities and challenges technological innovation such as AI and VR/AR can offer education, specifically exploring the ethics and potential policies around technology that affect youth.
Nat Talbot
Nat is a Research Assistant at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and a rising sophomore at Northeastern University, planning to major in computer science and engineering, and minor in theatrical design. At the Berkman Klein Center, Nat has worked with Leah Plunkett on the Student Privacy, Data and Equity, and Digital Literacy Newsletter, and is also working on upcoming AI initiatives. Nat has interests in fake news and online communities and their contribution to the current political climate. In his free time, Nat likes hiking, biking, and rock climbing (often at MetroRock in Everett). He also designs both sound and lights for theatre.
Melanie Tan
Melanie Tan is an independent animator, and comic artist living and working in Boston, Massachusetts. Growing up as a Cambodian girl in a predominantly white neighborhood, Melanie’s work focuses on safe spaces and making your own home using bright colors, soft shapes, and cozy textures. In 2017 she received the Emerging Student Leadership award for her work with Loop Groop, a student run organization that aims to make animation accessible through short looping sequences. She brings those themes and characteristics to her work within Youth and Media, making the reports, articles, and presentations visually appealing and approachable. Melanie currently studies animation at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Jessi Whitby
Jessi is a Research Assistant for the Youth and Media team at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. A lawyer by training and policy advisor to the Australian Government, Jessi’s research interest is in how the digital world will impact existing societal inequalities, with a particular focus on LGBTQ and Indigenous youth. She graduated with an LLB/BA from the University of Queensland, Australia, an LLM from the Australian National University, and is currently obtaining dual admission as an attorney in the USA (through New York state). Jessi was a legal investigator at Australia’s national Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and at inquiry into adolescent mental health. Jessi loves playing softball, bouldering, and sharing music tips with the interns!
Sarah Wu
Sarah Wu is a rising junior in Social Studies at Harvard University. As an undergraduate fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, she is interested in questions concerning justice in society. Of particular interest to her are the social and cultural issues associated with technology and the changing media landscape. On campus, she writes for The Harvard Crimson and helps lead the Peer Advising Fellows program. In her various capacities, Sarah hopes to enable more youth—especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds—to thrive. Previously, Sarah assisted Kathleen Ossip with SCOUT Poetry, directed a TEDx event, and developed programming for the Igniting Innovation Summit, an undergraduate conference on social change.