Principal Consultant Is Always Evolving

Name: Valerie Silfee (she/her)

PhD: Kinesiology, Ohio State University, 2015

What was your main area of research?

I studied how we can better develop and implement behavior change interventions for people who are trying to lose weight, be more active, and/or manage chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

Some of my research studies evaluated key factors related to behavior change and what gets in the way of changing behavior and others were developing intervention content to be delivered via social media and then coaching people through the different programs and evaluating whether or not they helped people with things like losing weight, eating better, getting more activity, etc.

What is your current job?

I am a Principal Consultant for Evolve Consulting, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I am a partner of a consulting business. We service health tech companies to help them bridge the gap between research and execution — ensuring digital health solutions are not only grounded in behavioral science but also designed for real-world adoption and success.

We also coach people who are on academic career paths or currently in academic and want to transition to industry.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love being able to work with different types of people and companies and do lots of different work for them. I feel like it's always changing and evolving.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

Being flexible and adaptable

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

Through a former colleague. She had started her own consulting business and asked me to join her.

PhD Graduate ➡️ Postdoctoral fellow ➡️ Director of Lifestyle Interventions ➡️ Senior Manager of Behavior Change Experiences ➡️ Principal Consultant

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

Network!! Just have informal conversations with people. Learn who they are, ask what they do.

Also try to figure out how you can translate your skills so that they resonate in industry

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

I wanted to make a bigger, more immediate impact on people. I also wanted to have more flexibility in where I could live and wanted to make more money. It was not as hard as I thought it would be because I was also not finding certain aspects of academia as enjoyable as I thought they would be.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

Follow your gut and what it's telling you, be open to exploring options that you would never expect, and talk to lots and lots of people in industry. Don't look for anything from them but just a conversation and ask them 1000 questions.