Dr. Maya Shankar

What do I do at this point?

And I said, I think maybe I should become a general management consultant.

And I said, I think maybe I should become a general management consultant.

I had no idea what to do.

I had no idea what to do.

And she said, Maya, I recently heard about this incredible work that's happening in the Obama White House.

And she said, Maya, I recently heard about this incredible work that's happening in the Obama White House.

where they are using insights from our field to really change people's lives.

where they are using insights from our field to really change people's lives.

In this particular case, they were using the power of defaults.

In this particular case, they were using the power of defaults.

The default setting in a program can wildly affect participation rates, and they changed the default setting in the National School Lunch Program to help enroll millions of kids into free or reduced-price lunches.

The default setting in a program can wildly affect participation rates, and they changed the default setting in the National School Lunch Program to help enroll millions of kids into free or reduced-price lunches.

So prior to this change, people had to proactively enroll their kids into the program.

So prior to this change, people had to proactively enroll their kids into the program.

And that was associated with a stigma.

And that was associated with a stigma.

It was also accompanied by a very burdensome application process that was required referencing multiple tax forms.

It was also accompanied by a very burdensome application process that was required referencing multiple tax forms.

And think about like a single mom who's working three shifts to make ends meet.