Our July member profile is on our very own staff member, Maddie Burke!

While many Innevation Center members know Maddie Burke as the member engagement lead at the Innevation Center, Burke is also an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno studying psychology with a research emphasis and pursuing a minor in business.

Burke moved to Reno from Las Vegas two years ago to pursue her college studies after doing the Davidson Young Scholars program in Reno and enjoying the area. Burke’s undergraduate studies are just the start. She is pursuing the field of industrial organizational psychology (I/O psychology) which leverages research methods and data to help companies create healthy workplaces that optimize employee productivity and wellbeing. This type of work requires graduate level education and, although Burke is only going into her Junior year, she is preparing to apply for Nevada’s highly competitive PhD program in behavioral analysis – a particular strength of our University.

As member engagement lead at the Innevation Center, Burke focuses on improving communication between the Innevation Center and our members to make sure they are fully using all of the resources available to them. Burke’s work spans survey creation, marketing & communication efforts, social media content, and directly interviewing Innevation Center members. Burke is comfortable in the space of marketing and customer engagement and also holds the position of Web Master and Social Media Coordinator for Psi Chi, a psychology honor society focused on connecting undergraduate psychology students with opportunities around research, volunteer work, and more.

Burke says that her marketing work helps prepare her for a career in I/O psychology because “both are rooted in understanding what your customers want, what they need, and how you can help them.” Burke elaborates that the most effective implementations of I/O psychology in companies is “not just applying generic research data to an individual”, I/O psychology professionals need to have exceptional customer engagement skills and be able to build trust with organizations to create effective custom wellness plans. With all of her studying at the University, work at the Innevation Center, and extracurricular efforts, Burke says her biggest takeaway has been how “important it is to establish good workplace behavior and values early on because it is far harder to break habits later on than it is to maintain good habits”.

Outside of work Burke enjoys playing video games, learning new languages, and is currently learning how to longboard! We want to thank Burke for being such a wonderful part of the Innevation Center team. To connect with Burke, visit her LinkedIn page.