Steve Wendel

Bio

Dr. Wendel is an applied behavioral scientist and senior leader who has helped organizations effectively use behavioral science for good for over a decade. He is the co-founder and Head of Methodology at sistemaFutura, an organization devoted to studying and shaping complex systems for social impact. He served as a Vice President at the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, where he was responsible for technical excellence, growing Busara's presence in Latin America, and overseeing the Inclusive Finance portfolio. He also previously founded and led the behavioral science teams at Morningstar and at HelloWallet, developing and field-testing hundreds of interventions to improve financial behavior.

Stephen has authored dozens of publications, including three books on applied behavioral science: Designing for Behavior Change, Spiritual Design, and Improving Employee Benefits. Designing for Behavior Change, now in its second edition, gives step-by-step instructions on how to develop products that help users take action: from exercising more to learning a new language. Stephen’s research has regularly been covered in the media and through speaking engagements in national and international fora.

Outside of work, Stephen founded BehavioralTeams.com and the non-profit Bescy (previously: Action Design Network), which has educated the public across North America and Europe on how to apply behavioral research in their work. He holds a BA from U.C. Berkeley, a Master's from Johns Hopkins-SAIS, and a PhD from the University of Maryland, where he analyzed the dynamics of behavioral change in political activism.

Steve has two wonderful kids and a wife, who don't care about behavioral science at all.