Roberta Katz

Roberta Katz, a senior research scholar at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), coordinates an interdisciplinary set of scholars who are examining the cultural norms and values of those born during and after the mid-1990s, an age group that has been denominated “Generation Z.”  The research will look closely at the traits that define the Generation Z culture, both in and outside the United States, and at the historical trends that have influenced the enculturation of members of this group.

Katz holds a PhD in anthropology as well as a law degree, and was previously the General Counsel of McCaw Cellular Corporation (now AT&T Wireless) and then of Netscape Corporation. During the years 2004 to 2017, she served under Stanford University Presidents John Hennessy and Marc Tessier-Lavigne as the university's associate vice president for strategic planning, helping to facilitate a variety of interdisciplinary research initiatives, and she also served for a year as President Tessier-Lavigne’s chief of staff. Katz serves on various nonprofit and advisory boards and is currently the Chair of the Board of the Exploratorium, a San Francisco-based institution devoted to experiential education about the physical and behavioral sciences.