The DevelopMENTOR Lab is a group of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers working to understand how to effectively develop others through advice, feedback, coaching, and mentorship. Mentorship and coaching are vital to helping individuals in their career development as it provides critical advice and feedback to help people learn and grow. And yet, individuals often receive little training and guidance on how o engage in these activities. We therefore hope to gain insights as to what makes for effective mentorship and coaching by working on a variety of research projects including: how feedback is given to medical students, an investigation of effective job coaching methods, and how mentorship can develop others.

We host a writing workshop every other week during the academic year where members are encouraged to bring academic writing to have workshopped in a collaborative research setting. Academic writing is challenging and can sometimes be ambiguous. The writing workshop aims to provide a safe space where writing at all stages can be shared with the group to be constructively shaped and critiqued.

If you are interested in participating in research or the writing workshop, please reach out to Kris Peng at [email protected]. 

LAB MEMBERS

Hayley Blunden
Co-Lead, Assistant Professor of Managment

​Hayley Blunden is an Assistant Professor of Management at American University's Kogod School of Business in Washington, D.C. Hayley studies how leaders can make challenging workplace interactions more productive. In her research spanning the domains of advice, feedback, voice, and virtual work, she seeks to improve the outcomes of workplace interactions by examining them as situated, relational processes.
Her research has been published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Prior to pursuing her graduate studies, Hayley worked in organizations ranging from a small startup to a Fortune 100 firm.  Hayley earned her BA in Economics and Media Studies from The University of Virginia and an MBA from Columbia Business School.​

Adonis Brooks
Research Assistant 

Adonis is a graduate of Muhlenberg College with a double major in Psychology and Business Administration, Adonis is thrilled to begin a new role as a Higher Education and Research Services Specialist at Huron Consulting Group in July 2023. Adonis's background includes strong foundations in statistical analysis, microeconomics, organizational behavior, and corporate finance. They have hands-on experience in qualitative and quantitative research from their time as a Research Assistant and PRIMO Fellow at Harvard Business School, and practical business insights from an internship at Boon Holland. 

Camille Chandler
Research Assistant

Camille is a senior at Carnegie Mellon University studying Psychology and Decision Science. She is interested in studying how to leverage social psychology to improve academic outcomes for BIPOC students. Camilleenjoys dancing, watching reality tv, and playing board games.
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Nikkita Collins
​Research Assistant

Nikkita is a recent graduate at Boston University School of Medicine in the Anatomy & Neurobiology department. After graduating with an MS degree, she began her Ph.D. in Neuroscience to study the impact of environmental health on the brain to elucidate sustainable and effective therapeutics. She enjoys ceramics wheel throwing, being in nature, and true crime/historical documentaries. 

Grace Cormier
Doctoral Candidate

Grace Cormier is a doctoral student in Organizational Behavior at Harvard Business School. She is interested in leadership, mentoring relationships, and employee development. Before joining HBS, Grace worked as a Project Manager and Trainer for Resilience Programs at the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Center and as a research coordinator for Wharton People Analytics. Grace received her B.A. in Psychology from Carleton College in 2013, and her Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016.

Bushra Guenoun
Doctoral Candidate

Bushra is a doctoral student in Organizational Behavior at Harvard Business School. Her research interests include trust, morality, social identity and mentorship/advising. She received an A.B. in Psychology from Harvard College in 2017. Previously, she worked as a Manager in Capital One’s Strategy Consulting Group.

Kris Peng
​Research Associate and Lab Manager

Kris Peng is a Research Associate for Ting Zhang and Michael Norton at Harvard Business School. She recently graduated with honors in Psychology from the University of Chicago in 2024. She is interested in understanding consumer behavior and studying how people process the information they receive to form their judgment and decision. She plans to pursue a PhD degree in marketing or organizational behavior in the future. She is also a national second level badminton athlete in China, and in her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, badminton, and basketball.

DJ Lacy
​Research Assistant

​DJ Lacy is a senior at Harvard College studying Government and Economics. He is interested in politics and has served in a number of roles at the Institute of Politics and on the Undergraduate Council. In his free time he enjoys a wide range of outdoor activities including hiking, biking, running, and skiing. After graduation DJ will be moving to DC to work in public sector consulting.

Meeraa Ramakrishnan​
​ Research Assistant

​Meeraa is an undergraduate at Duke University, majoring in Computer Science (AI/ ML concentration) and Psychology. She is interested in exploring how organisational structure impacts software design. Moreover, she is interested in how AI could impact teams and product. At Duke she serves as a Creative Services Associate creating social media, graphics, and campaign design for Duke Athletics. 

Alumni

Nicole Abi-Esber​, PhD in Organizational Behavior, Harvard Business School
John Amhanesi, Research Assistant, PRIMO Fellow 
​Daniel Brunnick​, Research Assistant
Hannah Eckstein​, Research Assistant
Aurelia Han, Research Assistant 
​Kelly Harrington, Doctoral Candidate in Organizational Behavior, Research Associate, Lab Manager
​Brook Jiang, Doctoral Candidate in Management, Research Assistant
David Levari, Postdoctoral Researcher Harvard Business School and  Harvard Psychology Department
Andrea Liu, Research Assistant
Charlene Nsengimana, Research Assistant, PRIMO Fellow 
Roger Saumure, Research Assistant, PRIMO Fellow 
​Krystal Veras, Research Associate and Lab Manager
Laura Weimer, PhD in Management, Harvard Business School