The Instructor
Xuan Zhao received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University and B.Sc. in Psychology from Chu Kochen Honors College, Zhejiang University. She was an Exchange Scholar at Stanford Department of Psychology and Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2015. In 2017, she started as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
As a scientist, Xuan employs various methodologies from social, developmental, and cognitive psychology to study fundamental processes underlying social perception and interaction, such as perspective taking, empathy, prosocial behaviors, and human-robot interaction.
As a teacher, Xuan has designed and taught "Leading with Empathy", an innovative and multidisciplinary pre-college course at Brown Leadership Institute. She has also served as a Teaching Assistant for psychology courses at Brown and an MBA course at Stanford Graduate School of Business. In her teaching of psychological and behavioral science, Xuan emphasizes academic rigor, creativity, and real-world relevance. Her training in acting, persuasion, and conflict resolution has also inspired her interactive and inclusive teaching techniques.
Xuan believes that the value to one's life is measured by what they give rather than what they receive. She is passionate about social innovation, youth empowerment, and empathic technology. She has collaborated with a handful of non-profit organizations in China and the U.S. Xuan also believes that being a social psychologist is her way of more deeply understanding the world and trying to make it a better place. To learn more about Xuan, please visit her website or read her recent interview with the Society of Personality and Social Psychology.
As a scientist, Xuan employs various methodologies from social, developmental, and cognitive psychology to study fundamental processes underlying social perception and interaction, such as perspective taking, empathy, prosocial behaviors, and human-robot interaction.
As a teacher, Xuan has designed and taught "Leading with Empathy", an innovative and multidisciplinary pre-college course at Brown Leadership Institute. She has also served as a Teaching Assistant for psychology courses at Brown and an MBA course at Stanford Graduate School of Business. In her teaching of psychological and behavioral science, Xuan emphasizes academic rigor, creativity, and real-world relevance. Her training in acting, persuasion, and conflict resolution has also inspired her interactive and inclusive teaching techniques.
Xuan believes that the value to one's life is measured by what they give rather than what they receive. She is passionate about social innovation, youth empowerment, and empathic technology. She has collaborated with a handful of non-profit organizations in China and the U.S. Xuan also believes that being a social psychologist is her way of more deeply understanding the world and trying to make it a better place. To learn more about Xuan, please visit her website or read her recent interview with the Society of Personality and Social Psychology.
Where Are Students From?
Previous Leader Fellows (Teaching Assistants)
Avery Hymel
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Sydney Pedigo
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Imani Blake
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Guest Speakers 2017
Aaron Horowitz |
Aaron Horowitz is a maker; from sculptures to business, he is fascinated with the process of taking an idea from concept to reality. He is passionate about creating interfaces that drive a shift towards ubiquitous computing. He is currently Co-founder and CEO of Sproutel, the creator of Jerry the Bear – a platform for pediatric health and wellness education. Aaron has shared his expertise in robotics and social entrepreneurship through speaking at numerous conferences including TED@IBM, Hardware Innovation Workshop, Big Ideas Fest, MakerCon, TEDxUnisinos, CUSP, and Stanford MedX. Aaron has also been recognized as one of 50 honored makers by the White House in 2014. He holds a degree in Mechatronics and User Interaction Design from Northwestern University. When unplugged Aaron is likely either carving stone or surfing.
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Sarah Stuart |
Sarah Stuart is pursuing her passion as a full-time mindfulness trainer and entrepreneur after more than twenty years as a lawyer in the US and Europe. Her company, the Really Mindful Group LLC, brings leadership, stress reduction and mindfulness meditation workshops to top law firms, companies, high school students and athletes with the goal of offering hands-on techniques that are easily integrated into real-life situations. Prior to teaching mindfulness, Sarah had a diverse and international career as Assistant General Counsel at Reebok (Boston & Rotterdam); European counsel for the National Basketball Association (Paris & New York); in-house lawyer at Simon & Schuster (New York); associate at New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell; and law clerk for New York Federal District Court Judge Kimba Wood.
Sarah received her law degree from Harvard Law School (Cum Laude), where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and her undergraduate degree in Law and Public Policy from Brown University (Magna Cum Laude with Honors, Phi Beta Kappa). Sarah completed a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course at the Center for Mindfulness, founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, at the UMass Medical School, and the Co-Active Coaching Fundamentals Course with the Coaches Training Institute. Sarah received an Executive MBA, Duke Leadership Program from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. |
Abel Cano |
Abel Cano is a Leadership Trainer and Coach with a background in community organizing. He works to develop the next generation of social movement leaders through teaching core practices and principles of Community Organizing. Abel is a Boston native, and also grew up in Hawaii and Indiana. Abel served as the Boston Field Organizer and Statewide Constituency Lead for Massachusetts in President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Abel led the grassroots campaign to elect Boston’s first Asian-American woman to City Council At-Large as Field Director in 2013. Abel is Co-Founder of the thriving non-profit arts and technology organization, EMW: Art | Technology | Community in Cambridge. Abel taught leadership courses with Professor Marshall Ganz at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government focused on Community Organizing and Public Narrative.
Abel is Founder and CEO of ARC Leadership, an organization dedicated to developing progressive leadership capacity through training and coaching for social change agents at non-profits and universities. Abel Cano has trained leaders at the Harvard Kennedy School, Open Society Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health, National Health Service UK, Oxfam International, United Teen Empowerment Center, Brown University and 350.org among others. |
Robin Rose |
Robin Rose is a Senior Advisor in the School Professional Studies. She conducts workshops on Effective Listening and Feedback Skills for Leadership Institute students. She has served Brown University for over 30 years, as a therapist, as the chief student affairs officer and as the founder and director of the Leadership Institute and the Brown Environmental Leadership Labs. She also founded and directed the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program, a nationally recognized outdoor leadership program. Dean Rose has a national reputation as expert on leadership development programs for youth and experiential education. She is passionate about environmental issues, gardening, snorkeling and learning from and with young people.
Ms. Rose lead the workshop on Active Listening in all Leadership Institute classes. |
Jennifer Madden |
Jennifer Madden received her Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance Studies from Brown University, where she serves as public speaking mentor for the university’s Summer Leadership Institute. Additionally Jennifer teaches theater courses at Providence College and at Wheaton College, where she is also the college’s public speaking liaison. She is a public speaking consultant for the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston and for the McCormick seminar in Leadership and Life Skills for Women at MIT. Jennifer has presented her work on the intersection of gender, alternative religious practice, and theatricality at conferences throughout the United States and in Europe, Australia, and India and is currently Scholar-in-Residence at the Gamm Theatre in Rhode Island.
Ms. Madden lead the workshop on Public Speaking in all Leadership Institute classes. |
