Shelby El Otmani (she/her) is a Program Coordinator for Berkman Klein Center’s Institute for Rebooting Social Media. After completing a BA at Sarah Lawrence College, Shelby began a career in podcast production and radio journalism. She has been a producer at GBH News, New Hampshire Public Radio, and EF Education First, and her work has also been aired on WCAI, KCRW’s The Organist, and Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything. She is also the author of The Book of Superstitions: Black Cats, Yellow Flowers, Broken Mirrors, Cracked Sidewalks, and More Cultural Behaviors and Myths Explained, published by Cider Mill Press.
Shelby’s interest in the Berkman Klein Center’s work flourished after completing the center’s CopyrightX course in 2019. She has since been fascinated with learning more about how the Internet influences our beliefs and mental wellbeing, and how we can develop healthier social media habits on a global scale.
Outside of work, Shelby enjoys practicing martial arts (including Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Sanda, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), surfing, and listening to electronic music—especially techno.