Judd Antin graduated from the School of Information with a Master’s in Information Management and Systems in 2006 and a Ph.D. in Information Science in 2010. Prior to the I School, he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Johns Hopkins University. He currently teaches at the School of Information and is a founder of his own consulting firm, Judd Antin Consulting. During his time in the MIMS program, his final project received the James R. Chen Award. After graduating, he spent a decade in industry at Airbnb, Meta, and Yahoo before returning to teach at UC Berkeley.
Why did you choose the I School?
I came to the I School as an anthropologist, but left with a toolkit that included social psychology, data science, software engineering, and more. I’ve always been a person who wants a broad understanding of the world, and the I School was the perfect place to give me that.
What was your focus at the I School?
I came to the I School to work with Dr. Peter Lyman. We worked on a big grant focused on kids and informal learning with digital media. Sadly, about 18 months after I came to Berkeley, Peter passed away. I was so fortunate to find Dr. Coye Cheshire, then a new faculty member, and I went fully and happily into social psychology. My dissertation was focused on understanding social psychological motivations for participating in online collective action (e.g., Wikipedia).
What was your favorite thing about the I School?
100% the people. Amazing faculty, colleagues, collaborators.
What was your favorite class?
Dr. Jean Lave taught a class on ethnography while I was in the MIMS program. I think about and repeat things she taught us in that class so often.
You currently run your own consulting firm in addition to teaching. What compels you to work in the field of consulting entrepreneurship?
One of the best things about working as a consultant is that you get to see all kinds of problems in all kinds of contexts. I’ve worked with tiny startups and giant multi-nationals, software companies and chocolate companies. It turns out that even though the contexts change, the problems really don’t, because at the root, they’re all people problems.
You spent over a decade in Big Tech. What compelled you to leave, and what lessons did you learn?
I had a great run working in big tech, but I’m always motivated by learning. I wanted to take on a new challenge with consulting and executive coaching, and I wanted to be a teacher!
What is it like being on the faculty after being a student? Why did you want to be a part of the I School teaching community?
When I left full-time work in tech, I knew I wanted to teach, specifically about leadership. I’ve learned so much about what it’s like to actually get work done that I wish I knew when I was a student. I hear from my students that it’s still hard to find practical leadership content, so it’s been so rewarding to work with eager, interesting students who want to translate their I School education into real-world impact. I learn so much from them!
What advice would you give your past self as an I School student?
Whatever you want to do, find as many people who are actually doing it as you can. Ask them the #1 thing they wish they knew when they were a student.
