Breadth of Research Projects
I have years of experience conducting research with cutting-edge design firms and high-profile companies across a broad range of industries. My background in design consulting and in-house work result in a valuable balance between methodology rigor and improvisation.
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Consumer Products
Facebook, 2024-2025 | Meta
Part of 8-person team working on mixed methods research for the Facebook app, focused on research for the ‘Creator’ segment of Facebook. Delivered high impact research with varied product teams in tight timeframes, affecting quarterly product launches (GenAI, Monetization, Subscriptions, Storefront, Social Proofing).
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Voice + Touch Assistant, 2021-2024 | Amazon Alexa
As sole researcher for Social, defined the opportunity space for this new 0-to-1 product area and domain. Structured mixed-methods research, developed frameworks, defined unmet needs and high-level customer goals, and conducted and facilitated research to launch Alexa Social.
Search Page 2019-2021 | Amazon Search Design
Ran research and was internal face of the redesign of the highly visible Shopping Pages, completing 7 different evaluative studies over 14 months. Developed and managed the roadmap, structured evaluative research studies, and conducted planning workshops with stakeholders from product, design, engineering, and elsewhere. Conducted a series of Perceived Ad Density Studies to see how people viewed ads in search results and how it impacted searches. Piloted methods to improve machine learning algorithms.
Connected Home, 2011 | Logitech
Designed a full-day insights workshop for the broader client team (40 people) to understand the research, learn about how research gets translated into insights, and brainstorm around core theme areas.
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Device Power, 2010 | Targus
Led contextual and participatory research covering consumer power products and usage. In parallel, conducted crowdsourced design research using the frogMob tool. Developed user scenarios and concepts.
Gaming Machines, 2010 | International Gaming Technology
Led contextual and participatory research around the digital and physical interface of the new generation of server-based slot/poker machines used in casinos. Developed and refined a series of interaction models.
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Wireless Home Gateway, 2009 | TBD
Led contextual and participatory research covering early adopter behaviors within the entertainment, home security, and home health management industries.
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Kitchenware, 2007-2008 | Villaware
Led international concept testing of five kitchenware products (blender, expresso maker, juicer, food processor, and drip-coffee maker). Tested appearance models against local competitors in the UK and Spain, and conducted a quantitative survey.
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Portable Storage, 2005-2006 | Cisco
Led contextual research around consumer hard drives to determine the qualities affecting the customer selection process. Designed the content architecture for the external website, and developed wireframes and documentation.
Medical Products
Wearables, Mobile, Packaging, Messaging, and New Therapeutic Areas 2014-2018 | Proteus Digital Health
Managed 43 different studies with a team of up to 7 distributed researchers, aligned with stakeholders to prioritize research needs, drove and implemented the research strategy. Roles ranged from management to individual contributor lead. Patient/HCP groups included: diabetes, hypertension, HepC, oncology, and organ transplant.
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Wearable Battery Power for Heart Implants, 2014 | Thoratec
Led in-home hybrid generative and evaluative research with semi-functional appearance models. Determined needs and requirements for device evolution.
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Home Healthcare, 2013 | Micheal Graves Design
Led primary research with caregivers and elders to understand needs of people aging in place.
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Nacrolepsy Drug Delivery, 2013 | Jazz Pharmacueticals
Led expert interviews with physicians for drug delivery needs and requirements.
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Orthopedic Surgery, Bone Drill, 2013 | McGinley Orthopedics
Led exploratory research in a surgical environment during live hand surgery. Interviewed physicians and staff.
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Permanent Birth Control, 2012 | Conceptus
Led exploratory research to assess workflow and stakeholder perspectives of gynecologists performing procedures within migrant population.
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Tissue Expander for Reconstructive Surgery, 2012 | AirXpanders
Conducted concept testing of a medical device that assists with reconstruction after a mastectomy.
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Wearable Temperature Device, 2012 | Individual inventor
Conducted concept testing for a new category of product at the intersection of fashion and wellness.
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Dental Practices and Patients, 2009 | Align Technologies
Led contextual and participatory research in the dental field, exploring usage, storage, compliance, and out-of-box experiences with dental products.
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Medical Device, Auto Injector, 2009 | Amgen
Led contextual and participatory research on patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Highly sensitive patient content included observing injections.
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Dental Equipment, 2007 | Gendex
Led contextual research around dental x-ray machines and image processing software within dental practices.
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Medical Device, Diabetes Lifestyle Management, 2007 | Roche
Led participant evaluation product research in collaboration with the design team and client looking at multiple product categories (blood glucose, weight monitoring, and calorie tracking). Developed concepts and scenarios. Published short CHI paper on results.
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Mobile Services and Devices
Digital Gift Giving, 2012 | PayPal
Conducted exploratory research that examined the use of gift cards at the intersection of mobile devices and social media.
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Financial Services, 2009-2010 | Chase
Led multiple tracks of research spanning several different programs within financial services. Developed concepts. Research included small and medium businesses as well as personal finance, and contextual, participatory and quantitative methods.
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Wireless Personas, 2008 | HP
Developed an extensive set of Personas for a Fortune 100 company that needed to extend their wireless usage into the enterprise space. Conducted research and wrote content for printed leave-behinds.
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Mobile Applications, 2003, 2008-2009 | Handspring, Palm, and HP
Led multiple tracks of research on web browsing, calendaring, and other applications for the Android and Palm device platforms, including quantitative research validating qualitative findings. Built prototypes in Flash for concept testing. This research spans my tenure at frog design, Palm, Handspring, and HP Labs.
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Mobile Devices and UI, 2000-2002 | Handspring
Led research addressing multiple generations of the Treo and Palm devices. Research included international contextual research that compared US, Europe and Japan, as well as usability research that explored physical and UI variations.
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Mobile Accessories, 2001 | Handspring
Conducted focus groups, exploring the different contents of women’s purses and ways in which they carry their mobile devices.
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Enterprise Systems
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Intelligent Network Recorder for Big Data, 2013 | Endace
Conducted exploratory research into multiple stakeholder groups examining network and security operations. Began as a customer research program and turned into a company culture transformation project. Designed and led two full-day research workshops in New Zealand for the broader team (50 people).
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Yearbook Management, 2011 | Jarden
Mentored a team conducting participatory research into yearbook planning software used by school staff nationwide.
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Technical Customer Service Support Site, 2008 | Cisco
Mentored designers conducting usability testing for a chip manufacturer’s technical support website designed for chip engineers.
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Casino Back-End, 2007 | International Gaming Technology
Led contextual research exploring the back-end system management for the casino floor. Designed the interaction for a core set of features, and developed wireframes and documentation. Published a short CHI paper describing the results.
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Enterprise Systems Provide Portal, 2007 | Cisco
Conducted several contextual and evaluative research studies on multiple tracks of work for an enterprise systems provider. Led online expert panels using social media software to facilitate review and discussion of concepts. Designed the interaction employed in a section of the website, and developed wireframes and documentation.
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Technology Futures
Digital Television, 2006, 2010 | Open TV
Led international digital diary research to understand the different behaviors in television viewing globally. Pioneered novel research techniques and published the methodology in a Design Mind article. Crowdsourced international research, using the frogMob tool.
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Social Networking, 2009 | AT&T
Led cutting-edge contextual research on social networking behaviors. Conducted usability testing on social networking prototypes.
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Digital Photography, HP Labs
Conducted longitudinal ethnographic research on photo sharing behaviors within families over a several-month timeframe. Designed a module of the prototype, wireframed it, and built it using Java. Published seminal results in a CHI paper.
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Service Design
Organizational Culture Change, 2013 | Big tech company
Conducted observations and interviews to change the culture within Fortune 500 high-tech company (13K employees). Mapped the organizational obstacles and patterns of influence to communicate to C-Level.
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Champagne Bottle Service, 2013 | Saberage
Led contextual inquires in Las Vegas and SF nightclubs to understand the entertainment elements involved in introducing a new champagne into these high-end markets.
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Amusement Park, 2010 | Disney
Mentored a large team of researchers and designers in researching food service processes and service systems in an amusement park.