Connie W. Chau is a PhD Candidate in the Technology & Social Behavior joint-PhD program between Computer Science and Communication Studies at Northwestern University. With expertise in human-computer interaction (HCI), her research explores opportunities for technology to support those who provide health services and ensure the stability, sustainability, and quality of crucial life-changing services to some of society’s most vulnerable populations.
Currently, she leads a community-academic partnership with The Network (a Chicago-based nonprofit) to design, deploy, and evaluate a novel adaptive support system for burnout and secondary traumatic stress with, and for, frontline workers in domestic violence service provision. In addition, she leads Chicago’s efforts to address technology-facilitated abuse, including building providers’ capacity to support survivors and more confidently take part in shaping technologies, including AI, for public health and social good. She is passionate about community-driven impact and strives to build more equitable, safer, and healthier futures for all.