The METRO Podcast

This episode features METRO's current Secretary, Dr. Lily Blocker. Dr. Lily Blocker is a tenured Associate Professor of Management at Stony Brook University and the director of the Leadership and Creativity Research Lab. She also serves as the Co-Director of the MBA Program in the College of Business. Her research in leadership, innovation, and conflict apply science-based approaches to practical organizational problems. Her work focuses on the process by which leaders overcome failures and the dynamics of innovative teams. Her primary research examines the consequences of leader mistakes and mistake recovery on leader-follower relationships. Her innovation research includes constructs such as team member influence, team climate, and malevolence. We discuss her journey into academia, her thoughts on the current and future states of I/O Psychology, her career as a photographer, and her path to joining the METRO board.

This episode features Kirsten Mosier. Kirsten is a New York-based consultant at Hogan Assessments Systems. In her 4th year at Hogan, she works with consulting companies and recruiting firms to help their clients develop more effective leaders and hire better-performing employees. She has a B.S in Human Development from Cornell University and an M.A in I/O Psychology from Hofstra University. Like most people, she has had a non-linear career, having worked as a commercial property underwriter, an entrepreneur, done consulting work for Mercer-Sirota, and taught statistics at SUNY Old Westbury. She’s a member of METRO and SIOP. She has spoken in front of industry groups such as the International Coaching Federation, Association for Talent and Development, Society for Consulting Psychologists, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists Leading Edge Consortium. During the conversation, Kirsten discusses her unique career journey, AI, the future of I/O, and she provides fantastic advice for making the most of networking events.

This episode features Beth Armistead, an I/O practitioner who has worked both inside organizations and with them as a consultant. She currently works at AMCI Global as a Field Operations Specialist, partnering specifically with clients to find the best marketing solution that works for them.

Before working in the marketing space, Beth worked in more traditional i/o roles such as Talent Management, Change Management, and Learning & Development.  She’s worked across multiple industries (retail, non-profit children services, auction, insurance, legal, finance, etc.) where she elevated or established new employee experiences, such as Leadership Development programs, Mentorship programs, New Employee Orientations, Performance & Talent Management strategies, and Inclusion & Diversity awareness and trainings.

During the conversation, Beth discusses how to apply I/O principles in non-I/O-centric roles, the future of the gig economy, her experience finding a new role in the midst of an economic recession, and much more.

This episode features former METRO President, Dr. Tony Boyce. In his current Principal Research Scientist at Amazon, he helps drive global pre-hire talent assessment strategy and innovation to support the continued growth of Amazon’s 1 million+ employee workforce.  Previously, Tony was a partner at Aon, where he directed a team of Ph.D.'s, data scientists, and engineers to develop assessment and leadership strategies, tools, and points-of-view to help organizations identify, develop, and retain top talent. He has been the recipient of several industry awards for his collaborative research in the assessment space including The Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology’s M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research and the Distinguished Early Career Contributions Award. He also regularly publishes book chapters and journal articles and presents his perspectives at national conferences. Dr. Boyce discusses his career as an I/O Psychologist, his involvement in METRO, and shares his views on the future of I/O Psychology. 

This episode features former METRO President, Dr. Katherine Bittner. Dr. Bittner is the Managing Principal of Bittner and Associates, LLC in Cambridge, Vermont which she founded in 2007 after a series of consulting firms including Valtera. As an external consultant with 38 total years of experience, she has assessed over 6,000 leaders for selection, promotion, or development, and coached 3,000 leaders. Our discussion touches on her experience working for corporations such as AT&T, and what it was like to start her own firm. Dr. Bittner also discusses her involvement in METRO and provides sage advice for young professionals getting started in the field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Introducing The METRO Podcast! This first episode - part of our "Legends of METRO" series - features Dr. Allen Kraut. Dr. Kraut is Professor Emeritus of Management at Baruch College, City University of New York, where he joined in 1989 after a distinguished career with IBM Corporation. Dr. Kraut discusses his career journey (which began in the U.S. Military), reminisces about how METRO has changed over the years, and offers sage insights and advice for researchers and practitioners in the field of Applied Psychology.