Dr. Michael Ann DeVito, Lab Director
Michael Ann DeVito is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Communication Studies at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences and College of Arts, Media and Design. She is an interdisciplinary social/behavioral scientist who is deeply invested in improving the social technology systems that have become key parts of our day to day lives. Michael Ann most often acts as a member-researcher, embracing her identity as a transgender woman, lesbian, and neurodivergent person in her research. Michael Ann holds a Ph.D. in Media, Technology, and Society from Northwestern University. She is based on Northeastern’s Boston campus.
Erika Melder, PhD Student
Erika Melder is a third-year PhD student at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences, advised by Dr. DeVito. Their interests lie in how information and communication is controlled on the Internet, and how marginalized people are able to form communities via social steganography. They are also interested in how a social platform’s structure and design shapes the emergent communication norms and community models formed on it. Erika is a nonbinary, mixed-race, second-generation immigrant, and their background of existing in the gaps between separate communities informs their perspective. Prior to arriving at Northeastern, Erika earned their M.S. studying computational complexity theory at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Jiaqi (Ella) Li, PhD Student
Jiaqi (Ella) Li is a first-year PhD student at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Science. Her research focuses on the equitable and inclusive (re)design of sociotechnical systems for marginalized populations, esp for Queer people. She previously studied at the University of Michigan School of Information. As a Queer, Asian woman, her lived experiences have profoundly shaped her commitment to addressing systemic inequities and advocating for the well-being of marginalized communities.
Hui Kong, Research Apprentice
Hui Kong is a second-year Master student at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences. She is dedicated to integrating social science with computer science, with a focus on addressing racial and sexual inequality. Hui has previously interned as a software engineer at two open-source platforms, where she gained valuable experience in machine learning and the development process. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where she conducted research on “Why Britain Votes.”
Veronica Rubinsztain, PhD Student
Veronica Rubinsztain is a Northeastern University PhD student in Interdisciplinary Media and Design. Her research focuses on design practices that allow Autistic folks to access digital environments. She incorporates ideas from the fields of Science and Technology Studies, Critical Disability (Autism/Neurodiversity) Studies, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Psychology, and Neuroscience. Her experience as an Autistic, Queer, Jewish Latina has prompted her to think about how normative values are embedded in sociotechnical systems, and how participatory design practices can allow marginalized communities to develop sustainable, equitable, and accessible alternatives.
Dr. Leah Namisa Rosenbloom, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Leah Namisa Rosenbloom is a postdoctoral research associate at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences, working jointly with Dr. Michael Ann DeVito and Dr. Ada Lerner. They use research as a vehicle to better understand and co-create collective privacy and security practices for grassroots organizing. Their research draws on their experience as a community organizer, former public school teacher, cryptography and digital privacy expert, and trans/non-binary neurodivergent Jewish Philadelphia-area human. They have a PhD in Computer Science from Brown University, and were formerly employed at the Workshop School and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Ashutosh Kshirsagar, PhD Student
Ashutosh Kshirsagar is a first-year PhD student at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences, co-advised by Dr. DeVito and Dr. Lerner. His research interest is in building equitable AI. Through his research, he aims to understand how AI systems can affect the lives of marginalized communities and explore ways to incorporate their experiences in creating fair AI that can be used by all. Ashutosh is from India and completed his MS in Artificial Intelligence at Khoury College of Computer Sciences. Ashutosh worked as a software engineer before joining the master’s program.
Emma Vonbuelow, Junior Research Associate
Emma Vonbuelow is a third-year undergraduate student at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Science, devoted to understanding the relationships systems have with their users and the responsibilities of both parties. Emma is a queer, first-generation CODA (child of deaf adults) who has been influenced by online spaces in shaping her identity, sparking her curiosity to hear from others’ experiences. Formerly she worked at Microsoft as a software engineering intern, where she gained valuable insights into the development cycle, project management, and conducted informal user research with empathy mapping.
Lab Affiliates
Alyssa Smith, PhD Student from the Network Science Institute
Alyssa Smith is a fourth-year PhD student in Network Science at Northeastern University. Her current work focuses on the ways that structure and agency interact in social networks to encourage mobilization. She is also interested in making big data and computational tools usable by academics without specialized technical training. She uses mixed methods, ranging from terabyte-scale datasets to autoethnography, to make sense of the world. After earning her B.S. in Humanities and Engineering with Computer Science & Comparative Media Studies from MIT in 2017, she worked in the tech industry for four years. Her experiences as a queer, disabled, mixed-race individual have shaped her understanding of technology’s potential for harm and for progress.
Talia Bhatt, Community HCC Consultant
Talia Bhatt is a desi trans lesbian from the Third World, an author of both fiction and non-fiction, and a radical tranfeminist theorist. She has over six years of experience as a full-stack engineer in industry.
Lab Alumni
Lauryn Fluellen, Master’s Apprentice
Lauryn Fluellen, a graduate student at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences, is dedicated to creating equitable and accessible technology through research and enhanced implementation. Lauryn has held various research positions at the university, delving into ethics in computer science, enhancing speech models for marginalized groups, and currently exploring Folk Models of Mutual Aid for At-Risk Populations. As a black queer individual in tech, their unique background and experiences profoundly influence their work. Before joining Northeastern, Lauryn earned her B.S. in Linguistics and B.A. in Brain and Cognitive Science at the University of Rochester.