Hi, my name is Elena.

I’m a researcher at Harvard, studying how people make decisions about money.

About me

Currently:

Fellow in Sociology at Harvard & finishing up my PhD in Sociology at Penn

Expertise:

Financial behavior & decision-making · Household finance · Young adults · Educational spending · EdTech

Background:

  • 9 years leading qual and quant research projects

  • Specialization in financial decision-making and young adult consumer behavior

  • Studied user engagement with EdTech products

  • Research consulting for education, philanthropy, and religious orgs

  • Managing editor of a magazine

  • Independent writing coach and workshop facilitator

Core research techniques:

Interviews · Focus groups · Photo diaries · Contextual inquiry · Surveys · Interaction logs · Mixed methods synthesis

Education:

  • PhD in Sociology, University of Pennsylvania (in progress)

  • MA in Sociology, University of Pennsylvania (2022)

  • BA in Sociology and Religion, Calvin College (2019)

I make sense of messy human behavior and translate it into actionable insights.

check out my work→