Robb Willer
Professor | Stanford University
Outside Professional Activities
Outside of his academic research, Willer has consulted for a number of groups and organizations seeking to have positive impact or affect social change. Below is a partial list of these professional activities.
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Advised Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 Democratic primary campaign and, as a member of the Consortium of Behavioral Scientists, the Biden-Harris general election campaign on messaging related to economic policy and racial justice.
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Advised the White House COVID-19 Response Team and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on the application of behavioral science to promote COVID-19 vaccination.
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Advised Facebook on protecting employees' mental health, countering threats to democracy, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Spoke at Twitter on effectively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Advised and spoke at a number of political, social justice, and public health organizations, e.g., the Democracy Funders Network, the Pandemic Action Network, the California State Association of Counties, Fair and Just Prosecution, the Raikes Foundation, the National Organization for Women (NYC), Village Square, the San Francisco March for Science, the Alluvial Collective, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
California State Association of Counties’ Annual Meeting, 2018
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Consulted for organized labor organizations and campaigns, including the AFL/CIO and teachers’ unions in Chicago and Oakland.
Willer has conducted original research – typically on persuasive communication across political divides – for a number of organizations, including:
March for Science, San Francisco, 2017
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The U.S. Department of Justice (for a civil lawsuit brought on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency against Ameren Corporation)
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The Last Resort Exoneration Project in support of their successful appeal of the wrongful murder convictions of Kevin Baker and Sean Washington.
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The Analyst Institute (advising on field experiments testing persuasive messaging for progressive campaigns in 2016 and 2020)
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The Office of Evaluation Sciences and ideas42 (building and maintain a registry of COVID vaccination behavioral research)
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The Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress (studying messaging around the Child Tax Credit)
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The Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society (testing antiracist ads in 2016)
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A Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded project to promote philanthropic giving among high net wealth individuals.
If you are seeking support on a project you think could be of interest, Willer can be contacted at RobbWiller at gmail.com.