Erik Simmons, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

Denver, Co, Us

Remote

As a Senior Behavioral Designer (aka Behavioral Scientist), I primarily focus on the economic justice portfolio, as well as measurement & evaluation. The bulk of my time is spent working on the Narrative Change project. This work includes working with partner organizations and local communities all over the US to diagnose what psychosocial and systemic factors drive harmful narratives that increase inequity, then designing, implementing, and evaluating interventions that can promote counter-narratives. I also use my expertise in mixed methods and strategic thinking to devise experimental designs, analysis plans, and strategic roadmaps to continue building the scope and scale of our work.

United States

As a Mindset Coach, I work with wrestlers and combat sports athletes of all levels (i.e., from middle school to professionals) to enhance their mental skills and improve their behavioral toolkit in an effort to strengthen their performance in sports, as well as provide them with the fundamental psychosocial skills they need to succeed in life.

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

As a Postdoctoral Fellow, my role focuses on supporting the existing project Sugira Muryango—an evidence-based home-visiting intervention for families where community lay workers visit the most vulnerable families in Rwanda to improve caregiver capabilities and support the development of children 0 - 3 years of age. This program is being delivered to nearly 10,000 households. Activities of my job include tasks such as: co-leading the writing of a grant worth over $30 million to further scale and sustain the intervention in Rwanda; interfacing and engaging with major funding and supporting partners such as USAID, the World Bank, and the LEGO Foundation; generating results using coding programs like STATA and analyzing results from interventions trials using advanced statistics like multi-level modeling; disseminating results via invited talks, presentations, policy briefs, and peer-reviewed manuscripts; and working on project management activities like collaborating to build a digital dashboard for intervention implementation.

Brisbane, Australia

I teach wrestling classes, hold private training sessions, and do seminars for amateur and professional Mixed Martial Arts combat sports athletes, self-defense enthusiasts, and those just interested in fitness. My role included working with individuals and groups of all ages and skill levels—from children up to UFC fighters. Activities of my role included planning and delivering classes to large groups of patrons and professional athletes every week, developing full curriculums and training plans for athletes, and managing the motivation, as well as positive culture, of a team.

Brisbane, Australia

In this role, I sat at the nexus of the private sector and the university. I worked simultaneously between my research role and as a Senior Science Advisor at the company Evidn. The primary objective of my job was to be the bridge from the lab to applied settings, to generate joint opportunities for Evidn and QUT, and to guarantee that the most evidence-based practices were being using in commercial projects. My responsibilities and activities included: collaborating on impactful research projects; contributions to grant applications; developing workshops, seminars, and industry/public events; and providing opportunities to students.

Brisbane, Australia

My primary responsibilities were managing collaborations with universities and developing measurement systems for behaviorally based interventions applied at scale. Other tasks and activities include: contributing scientific expertise and insights to a range of contracted projects across the health industry, environmental and agricultural sector, and the transport sector—developing evidence-based behavior change strategies and conducting behavioral systems analysis; developing ethics protocols, guides, manuals, and framework for behavior change projects; collaborating to develop an evidence engine that could be used as a simple guide to locate and identify psychological and social insights necessary to conduct quality work; and working on communication materials for partners and the general public.

Brisbane, Australia

My primary responsibilities involve teaching university students about how to address complex global issues using theory and statistical methodology from the psychological sciences. This includes delivering lectures, preparing class content, and grading.

Brisbane, Australia

Working with the Triple P Innovation Precinct, a psychological lab, to disseminate and evaluate the Triple P model of behavior interventions. And working with Conservation Biologist to develop Australian Research Council grant applications.

Indonesia And Philippines

I led and coordinated an activity that was a part of a broader research project set by the World Bank known as Capturing Coral Reefs and Related Ecosystem Services. The project research examined the behavior and social functioning of coastal communities in Indonesia and the Philippines. I then designed and tested a holistic, systems integrated behavior change intervention to decrease food insecurity, improve overall wellbeing, and increase sustainable behaviors.

Meeting with students one on one for help with their writing craft. Weekly professional development meetings to discuss extra projects, as well as foster the improvement of the tutoring craft. Engaging in professional development projects that were research based in nature.

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Taking the role of an embedded, specialized tutor in an individual classroom. Attending classes to become familiar with students’ work. Delivering occasional mini- lessons on writing skills. Holding office hours and meeting for personal consultations. Meeting with the professor to specialize mini- lessons and classroom interactions.

Attending class regularly to assist the professor in classroom activities. Attending weekly meetings to amend resources. Helping with the creation and revision of classroom activities. Grading exams. Brainstorming, critically on how to enhance the learning environment in the class. Helping the professor to facilitate conversation in a team- based learning classroom setting.

Assisting in the formulation and execution of 5+ separate research projects. Research assistants are expected to: assist in the creation of all research materials, help drafting forms for project submission, run data analysis on results of experiments and interpret said results using programs such as SPSS, and present findings at academic conferences. Projects have included:Roommate satisfaction analysisAppreciation of college life analysisBiological feedback as an indication of stress levels in the workplaceCritical thinking of college students analysisCorrelational observation of student's resource usage and performance

Harrisonburg High School

Teaching the wrestling team about the sport of wrestling. Creating a safe environment for extracurricular activity. Overseeing study hall and grades of student- athletes to determine eligibility. Correspondence with the school athletic director and the Harrisonburg community. Scheduling of transportation and tournament schedule.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Psychology

I will be pursuing my doctorate in behavior change with a demographic of Indonesian fishermen. My dissertation will entail.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Psychology

Education record