Annie is an educator, researcher, and human enthusiast and attention activist. She is motivated by questions at the intersections of mental health, technology, addictive design, the attention economy and the new science of post-materialism. Her teaching and research address psychotechnologies and cognitive states that counteract the negative impact of social media on our mental health and wellbeing. She cultivates contemplative practices and classroom experiences to foster skills critical for human thriving in the rapidly changing world – wise compassion, sovereignty, metacognition, embodied wisdom, self-inquiry and interpersonal communication. She received her PhD in cell and molecular biology from Northwestern University in 2014, and balances this rigorous training in the scientific method with the empiricism of participatory knowledge. Her work blends science, intuition, and presence to help people, workplaces, and communities reconnect to what matters most - clarity, purpose, and meaning.