Laura E. Kurtz

About Laura E. Kurtz

Hi, I’m Laura. I am a social psychologist, data enthusiast, and hobby designer. I program manage The Love Consortium and offer leadership and organizational change management services through my company Lark Consulting, LLC. —My research focus while pursuing my doctorate was on relationships—What makes some relationships more successful than others? Which behaviors, emotions, and cognitions drive meaningful and long lasting relationships and which undermine them?I loved the rigor of the research. I loved taking a topic others might shrug off as “fluffy” or “frivolous”—like laughter or gratitude—and translating it into a carefully crafted experiment grounded in rich theory and data. And more than anything, I loved uncovering the tremendous power in the seemingly inconsequential behaviors we exhibit each day.I’ve since stepped away from conducting independent research, but my fascination for human behavior, relationships, and data remains. Now, I apply that fascination toward my work with leaders and teams—helping them to understand and modify their own behavioral tendencies to the betterment of their relationships and work.

Experience

1. Program Manager

   The Love Consortium

   Jan 2020 — Present

Education

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Social Psychology

  2011 — 2016

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  BA, Psychology

  2005 — 2009

Skills

• Research
• Grant Writing
• Editing
• Psychology
• Leadership
• Teaching
• Time Management
• Public Speaking
• Data Analysis
• Social Media
• Microsoft Excel
• Statistics
• Management
• Spss
• Microsoft Office
• Powerpoint