It’s funny to think how our path crossed with Lauren O’Brien’s. We had placed a job posting for a front-end engineer and Lauren’s application came through. We were all blown away. Who is this person with an MBA, a psychology degree, an investment certification, experience in development and a love for research and data insights?
When Lauren started at Kin, she was primarily in charge of front-end development, though we knew her background would move her around the organization quickly. As we began to realize Kin’s vision, we saw how data from our tool coupled with global workplace trends could transform the way people engaged with work. Lauren’s expertise and passion for all of the above was the perfect torch to light the way.
While she’ll still be helping out with front-end development, Lauren will spend a majority of her time studying our data and workplace behavior as a whole, and implementing her findings into Kin to create healthier, happier workplaces.
But before she gets to all of that, here’s a bit about Lauren in her own words.
What about Kin attracted you to working here?
I found Kin while searching for an opportunity where I could apply my business, research, psychology, and programming background to a product I believe in. After talking with Lisa about Kin’s vision, I was so impressed with the genuine enthusiasm, warmth and purpose with which she and the team pursues the goal of meaningfully improving workforce culture that I knew this was an organization I wanted to be a part of. I’m most satisfied when I’m working to find connections across disciplines that lead to understanding and betterment. Leading the data science effort at Kin epitomizes this.
Tell us a little about your career path and your education – why did you choose the path you did?
I’ve developed a fairly novel and compelling specialization at the intersection of business, psychology, technology and data analysis that has been a result of my willingness to organically follow complementary opportunities and interests wherever they have led. This has included getting my Series 65 license as an investment adviser after majoring in finance and completing my MBA in my early career; working as a process analysts and consultant in Washington DC; and eventually pursuing my doctorate in Psychology doing fMRI, social psychology, and behavior change research among other assorted experiences and roles. The thread that has tied all of these together is that I have always contributed to my teams and organizations in a technical role – automating and streamlining processes, building web-based tools, and visualizing data while applying an analytical lens to the work at hand.
When you think about the future of Kin, what challenges are you ready to accept?
Kin is on a mission to do nothing short of empower organizations to self-actualize. We’re digging into a variety of research questions about those workplace features that can be optimized to support mutual satisfaction; strengthen collegial relationships; manage and provide feedback in a way that engenders trust and appreciation; and encourage a personal balance that facilitates peak performance. If this sounds lofty and ambitious, that’s because it is, and because modern workforce mindsets are too often short-sighted and misguided in ways that squander the good-will and spirit of the workforce. My goal at Kin is to uncover and integrate the drivers of a satisfying workplace into our product — bringing the academic rigor of a proper research program to bear on business questions.
Outside of work, how do you make the most of your free time?
I usually divide my time between local adventures with my family, recreational coursework (currently learning sign language), and slowly wending my way through my reading list (Dune at the moment).
What are some of your favorite foods, restaurants, food trucks?
Nothing really hits the mark for me like homemade Italian food — the recipes my grandmother has passed down to my family were something I grew up with and associate with happy memories. After much persistence I’ve finally mastered Nana’s lasagna, meatballs, and sauce, and it brings me deep satisfaction to share these with my own family.