Behavioral Research Associates

The Behavioral Research Associates Team

Jodi DiCenzo, CFA, CPA

Jodi DiCenzo, CFA, CPA, has over 20 years of experience in consulting financial service firms. She brings a practical approach to applying findings from academic behavioral research to help optimize individuals’ decision making. Prior to founding Behavioral Research Associates, Jodi was in partnership with Shlomo Benartzi, Ph.D., for four years, doing business as Benartzi & DiCenzo, LLC.

Previously, Jodi was employed by Strong Financial Corporation, where she helped develop the Retirement Plan Services division from its inception in 1995. Before joining Strong in 1994, Ms. DiCenzo was a Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC, where she specialized in providing audit and consulting services to financial service firms and publicly traded companies.

Ms. DiCenzo was one of 200 appointed delegates to the 2002 National Summit on Retirement Savings held in Washington, D.C. She chairs the Recruitment Advisory Group of CFA Chicago, is a member of The Illinois CPA Society and The Society for Judgment and Decision Making, and volunteers at TAP (“Tax Assistance Program”), where she provides income tax preparation assistance for lower-income workers in Chicago.

Liat Hadar, Ph.D.

In her capacity as research analyst at Behavioral Research Associates, LLC, Dr. Hadar is responsible for research design and analyses. Dr. Hadar is also a post-doctoral fellow at UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management. Her research interests include judgment and decision making under risk and uncertainty, the effects of emotions on decisions, neuroeconomics, and advice taking and giving.

Prior to joining Behavioral Research Associates, Dr. Hadar was a research analyst with Benartzi & DiCenzo, LLC. Dr. Hadar received her MA and Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Ben-Gurion University, summa cum laude.

Dr. Hadar’s research has been presented at several international conferences on judgment and decision making, and she has been recognized with prestigious awards and fellowships in support of her work, including a Fulbright Fellowship and an Experimental Psychology Society Grant.