Penn professor Lindsey Cameron, former rideshare driver, reflects on experience in FASPE program

Lindsey Cameron, a Dorinda and Mark Winkelman Distinguished Faculty Scholar at the Wharton School, discussed her experience in the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics this past summer in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.

Cameron, a professor of management at Wharton, has previously published research about her experience as a rideshare driver and told the DP that the experiences inform the content she teaches her students. Cameron also previously served as an expert in a case between the Massachusetts Attorney General and Uber and Lyft.

This summer, Cameron led the design and technology courses for the FASPE program. 

According to a press release, FASPE is a fully funded, two-week program “designed to challenge participants to recognize their responsibilities as future leaders and people of influence by examining the roles and behavior of individual professionals in Germany and elsewhere between 1933 and 1945 as an initial framework for approaching ethical decision-making in the professions today.” 

FASPE awards 80 to 90 fellowships to graduate students and professionals early into their careers. 

Cameron described the experience as “a wonderful opportunity to think about ethics, the professions, and technology.” She also stressed the importance of her identity as a Black woman in her field research. 

“When I think about the gig economy and think broader, it’s not just about race, it’s about gender, it’s about caste, it’s about immigration status,” she said. 

Cameron also expressed how “students are very surprised when [she] tells them [she] was an Uber driver.” 

Cameron is currently a professor of MGMT 6120, "Managing Emerging Enterprise." She told the DP that, in these courses, she talks about “Uber, DoorDash, all the gig companies” and “the hiring of AI,” referencing her ongoing research.