Samantha McDonald, PhD.

From the U.S. Congress to Meta

My goal is to design technology for humanity. I love to explore the ethical, political, and cultural implications of designing technical systems. I want the technology of the future to empower individuals and communities to create a more just and accessible world.

I received a PhD and MS in Informatics from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. I worked under the advisement of Dr. Melissa Mazmanian, and supported advisement from Dr. Bill Tomlinson and Dr. Bonnie Nardi.My dissertation explored theories of representative democracy, deliberative democracy, civic technology, and the U.S. Congress. I used techniques from deliberative democracy to test asynchronous forums to improve the value and impact of constituent voices in the U.S. Congress.

My research was funded by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships Program (NSF GRFP) in the Laboratory for Ubiquitous Computing Interaction (LUCI). I was also affiliated with the Jack W. Peltason Center for the Study of Democracy.

I am an undergraduate alumna of The College of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). I worked in the Prototyping and Design Lab (PAD) run by Dr.Amy Hurst to conduct research on accessible human computer interaction.