Experiences

thredUP

Principal User Experience Researcher, February 2022 – June 2022

Refined a User Experience Research practice and helped the Core Experience product organization use customer-centered insights to define theories and tactics to improve the core thredUP customer experience.

  • Defined and partially executed mixed methods strategic research plans for each product pod to inform T2 and T3 strategies

  • Facilitated cross-functional teams to define long-term product vision using customer insights and business objectives

  • Created a standing research sessions in order to continuously deliver insights

CrowdStrike | User Experience

User Experience Research Lead (Senior II), November 2017 – December 2021

Built and promoted a new User Experience Research practice within an engineering-led organization.

  • Providing UX research leadership, standard-bearing, and support for our User Experience and Major Initiative teams to understand the workflows and needs of the individuals charged with keeping their environments safe

  • Advocating for solving user needs through evidence-based and iteration 

  • Facilitating cross-functional collaboration to define research needs; plan and conduct research using remote and in-person research methodologies; synthesizing and presenting findings to key stakeholders; partnering with product and customer support teams to identify and share experience insights

REI | Customer Experience Research & Design

Senior Customer Experience Researcher, August 2015 – November 2017

Provided customer-centered design insights and strategy as part of a nimble team charged with understanding and informing the holistic member and staff journey across REI’s digital and physical retail experiences.

  • Shared and distributed understanding of the end-to-end, omni-channel customer journey of getting outdoors using digital tools as well as the role of the co-op within their flow.

  • Scoped, planned, recruited, executed and visually communicated omni-channel generative research to inform digital and retail strategy.

  • Developed and refined storytelling techniques to communicate end-to-end customer journeys to leadership and delivery teams.

  • Connected insights to action through cross-disciplinary service design coaching and research mentorship

Nordstrom | User Experience

Senior Design Researcher, January – August, 2015

Led and conducted discovery-based, qualitative research in order to inform the design of complex, omni-channel experiences.

Nordstrom | Innovation Lab

Senior Design Researcher, Designer, 2012 – 2014

Worked in a multi-disciplinary team of cross-functional team of designers and technologists tasked with delivering innovative, human-centered solutions through collaboration, research, and prototyping

  • Planned, led and conducted a multi-city, ethnographic research study in order to understand latent needs of cross-generational dyads

  • Led synthesis and ideation sessions designed to develop experimental solutions to surprise and delight customers

  • Collaborated in multi-disciplinary team to discover the desirability, viability, and feasibility of risky potential retail solutions

  • Developed marketing strategies for experimental services

Live Well Collaborative

Design Research Associate, Teaching Assistant, 2009 – 2012

Worked within a multi-disciplinary team of students, professors and corporate stakeholders to research and design product and service solutions for the aging population.

  • Helped to guide 6 multi-disciplinary sponsored teams of design and business through a design led innovation process. Resulted in one patent

  • Facilitated design strategy workshops to empower stakeholders to identify areas of opportunities within large corporations and under-served community organizations

  • Developed and executed visual communication strategy consisting of printed materials, process books, board game design, and website redesign

Mayo Clinic | Center for Innovation

Service Designer, User Experience Contractor, 2011

  • Utilized design research methodologies to develop a catalog of solutions to improve the palliative care experience with the collaboration of physicians and patients

  • Designed user experience and interface for Toolkit 2.0 – an internal knowledge sharing web application

 

Education

University of Cincinnati

Master's of Science in Business Administration (Marketing), 2010 - 2011

  • Second Place: Rotman Design Challenge

 

University of Cincinnati

Bachelor's of Science in Digital Design, 2005 – 2010

  • Darwin Turner Scholarship

  • Richard & Jean Coyne Family Foundation Scholarship

  • Palmer Scholarship

  • College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning Best Soundtrack Award

 

Capabilities

Research 

Planning, conducting and sharing ethnographic research using multiple service design methodologies such as:

  • Surveys

  • Field Research

  • Mobile Ethnography

  • Concept Value Tests

  • Workshop Facilitation

  • Card Sorting

  • Cognitive Walkthroughs

Facilitation

Coaching multidisciplinary teams through the research process through toolkit development

Coaching and teaching teams to develop user centered designs through service design methodologies.

Synthesis

Synthesizing research through diagramming, personae creation and workshop facilitation 

Visual Communication Design

Print + Interaction Design
Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, InDesign

Digital Prototyping

HTML, CSS

Paper Prototyping

Paper, Pencil