Angela D. R. Smith

Dr. Angela D. R. Smith is an Assistant Professor at the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. She has a Ph.D. in Technology & Social Behavior from Northwestern University. She earned her M.S. and B.A. from Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, respectively. Angela’s research contributes to the fields of Human-Computer Interaction, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, and Information Sciences. Currently, she explores how critical and intersectional theoretical lenses can inform an assets-based participatory design of technologies to support historically marginalized groups, such as individuals of color and individuals experiencing homelessness, in pursuing sustainable, emancipatory transformations and socially responsible technology experiences. Such work produces analytic, theoretical, and pragmatic contributions within HCI to deepen the field’s understanding of how information and communication technologies may foster and inhibit social change. Given these interests and commitments, Angela explores themes of power, empowerment, concientization, ethics, values, advocacy, and social justice within the context of the design and use of sociotechnical systems.