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Northwestern University

January 16, 2026

Advancing the Science of Engagement in Digital Safety Research

Advancing the Science of Engagement in Digital Safety Research

Friday, Jan. 16
8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Frances Searle Building, Center for Human-Computer Interaction + Design (Room 1-122) 2240 Campus Drive

Digital safety isn’t just a technical challenge; it’s a human one. This symposium brings together bold thinkers from design, public health, tech, and advocacy to tackle the rising risks faced by marginalized users in digital spaces. From algorithmic bias to surveillance tech repurposed in harmful ways, we’ll explore how identity and health-related vulnerabilities are shaped by systems that weren’t built with everyone in mind.

Through interdisciplinary collaboration, we’ll dig into how community engagement can be done ethically and effectively—not just as a checkbox, but as a scientific process. Participants will co-create a research agenda that centers lived experience, challenges outdated frameworks, and identifies funding pathways to support inclusive digital safety work. If you care about building tech that protects rather than exploits, this is where the conversation starts.

Organizers

Guest Speakers

Schedule

Time Activity Description Speakers
8:30 - 9 a.m. Opening / Welcome
  • Andrew Berry
  • Calvin Liang
  • Kathryn Macapagal
  • William Liem
9 - 10:30 a.m. Session 1: Establishing Definitions of Digital Safety
  • What is Digital Safety?
  • What is Engagement, and How Do We Measure It?
  • Ashley Marie Walker
  • Emily Ozer
10:30 - 11 a.m. Coffee Break
11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Session 2: Case Studies in Digital Safety and Engagement
  • The potential for digital mental health interventions to address suicidality and nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescents.
  • Benefits and harms of visibility in electronic health records for queer people and people with disabilities.
  • Jonah Meyerhoff
  • Kaylee Kruzan
  • Carol Haywood
  • Lauren Beach
12:15 - 1 p.m. Lunch + Networking Over lunch, participants will gather in small groups of 3-4 to share their work and begin developing definitions of digital safety and engagement.
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