Feature: The Psychology of Becoming
USA News recently published a feature examining my work on identity transformation and what it means to “become” in periods of disruption. The piece explores how personal change is rarely about reinvention or starting over, and more often about allowing identity to evolve through pressure, uncertainty, and lived experience.
This conversation matters now because we’re living through overlapping personal, technological, and societal shifts. As systems change faster than people can orient themselves, the ability to adapt without losing coherence is becoming a critical human skill. The feature looks at this moment through a psychological lens, framing becoming as a process of integration rather than rupture.
Keri Tietjen Smith uses Organizational I/O psychology and years of Talent Acquisition Recruitment and Operations experience from Startups to Fortune 50 companies, to advise clients on AI Policy, Governance and accountability in AI-influenced hiring and workforce decision systems. Her background includes a BS in Psychology, certifications in Human Design and AI Governance from ASU and Oxford University, and currently attending Purdue University to pursue her MS in AI Management and Policy.
She is a Executive Director, Talent Systems Infrastructure at Wildfire Group AI Hiring Risk Advisory & Talent Strategy, where she advises organizations and policymakers on hiring systems risk, compliance, and the downstream labor impacts of automation. Her work examines workers’ rights, litigation as a driver of AI governance, and the policy gaps emerging as employment decisions become increasingly automated.
