Tessa is a cognitive scientist and one of the co-founders of the Next Level Lab. She leads the lab’s research on learning transfer, creative cognition, learning in the flow of work, and AI.
PZ Work
A member of the PZ family since 2019, Tessa is a scholar in The Next Level Lab, collaborating to translate research into usable tools for learning and work. She's known for her projects with the Next Level Lab on how adults work, learn, and create in the flow of their lives and contexts—designing learning that fits around real-world constraints.
Beyond PZ
Outside her academic career, she is a member of the Senior Leadership Team at Silicon Valley design firm People Rocket. Previously, Tessa worked at IDEO CoLab and in Accenture’s Strategy, Insight, and Innovation team. Tessa is a recipient of the Australian American Chamber of Commerce Innovation Award, a Fast Company Design Award for General Excellence, and a Core 77 Design Award for Educational Product Design. She is also the author of Innovation-ish, which has been nominated for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year.
Fun Facts
Tessa earned her B.A. from the Australian National University, M.A. from Stanford University, and her Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Tessa's Projects and Publications
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