Alicia Clifton

All hail to the Nerd-in-Chief, Alicia Clifton! Alicia is the quinoa macaroni to Jess’s cheese, she brings sustenance. She makes sure there’s science behind Jess’ harebrained ideas and an implementation plan to boot. Her early years wrought a fascination with conflict resolution that she pursued through her Master’s and field research in countries like Rwanda and Sri Lanka. Her quest to nudge people toward peace led to research in behavioral science. Working with psychologists, doctors, and behavioral economics experts, Alicia led research projects at an Ivy League UPenn innovation center. Along with world-renowned psychologist and former American Psychological Association President Martin Seligman, Alicia co-authored the foundational paper establishing Primal World Beliefs, a major breakthrough in understanding the cognitive psychology of human behavior. She also collaborated with psychologists at UPenn’s Positive Psychology Department to explore the incentives that positively motivate young people to take action. Besides her research, Alicia has held senior managerial positions, running organizational or departmental operations for several nonprofits.