RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Senior UX Researcher, College of Arts and Letters and Mesh Research, Michigan State University, January 2022-Present

  • Leads user experience research across multiple projects, including developing team-wide policies and protocols

  • Designs and executes usability studies, interviews, and surveys; ensuring a user-centered approach across a suite of projects 

  • Collaborates closely with cross-functional teams to identify team needs and translate user-insights into actionable recommendations for teams

  • Collaborates on UX design activities include wireframing, persona development

  • Facilitates ideation and design workshops among team members to encourage creative thinking and problem-solving and bolster team values of transparency and innovation.

  • Leads internal quality assurance activities for products including card sorting, dot polling, heat mapping, and surveys

  • Conducts needs analyses through a combination of user interviews and data analysis to determine a comprehensive understanding of user experiences and preferences in order to inform strategic decision-making processes at the College level 

  • Evaluates and informs team of emerging technologies pertinent to user experience research, assessing their applicability and potential impact on team research methodologies, data collection, data analysis, and presentations

  • Designs and deploys projection mapping and augmented reality experiences both independently and collaboratively

  • Researches, communicates with team, and leads external communication about the roles and use of generative AI with our products

Managing Director, Center for Interdisciplinarity, Michigan State University, October 2017-Summer 2022

  • Designed and delivered in-person and virtual workshops using utilizing structured dialogue, co-creation activities, and design thinking techniques for academic and non-academic audiences

  • Generated comprehensive reports for clients, distilling qualitative and quantitative data into succinct summaries and actionable insights/recommendations.

  • Served as co-Principal Investigator for grants focused on enhancing communication and collaboration within teams (one with National Aeronautics and Space Administration, multiple with the National Science Foundation)

Research Associate, The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative, Dept. of Philosophy & AgBioResearch, Michigan State University, August 2015-October 2017 & Affiliated Researcher, The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative, Michigan State University, October 2017-January 2022

  • Designed data collection and data processing web apps using user experience research techniques

  • Designed and implemented dialogue-based workshops for 10+ academic and non-academic clients

  • Wrote reports based on quantitative and qualitative data for stakeholders

  • Led rebranding and name change while retaining the. “Toolbox” identity

Senior Research Assistant, Rock Ethics Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, Oct 2013-Dec 2013, April 2014-July 2015 & Postdoctoral Scholar, Rock Ethics Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, Oct 2012-Oct 2013

  • Developed architecture and led multimedia content development for four open-access online educational modules on topics related to ethics in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at the graduate level

PROFICIENCIES

SKILLS

Technical Skills:  Surveys, user interviews, usability studies, brainstorming/ideation workshops, heuristic evaluation, card sorting, wireframing   

Communication: Workshop design and facilitation, human subjects research applications, grant writing, article/book chapter/report writing, online and in-person presentations

Miro, Qualtrics, Google Forms, Adobe XD, Mural, Zoom, Teams, Python (intermediate), ChatGPT, Microsoft Teams

EDUCATION

PhD, Chemistry & Nanotechnology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2012

MS, Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2009

BA, Chemistry, Carleton College, Northfield, MN, 2007
Magna Cum Laude, Dean's List 2005-2006

TRAININGS

Deque University Web Accessibility, in progress.

-”Fast Track to Accessibility for Non-Technical Roles,” exam passed April 2024
-”Device-Independent Input Methods,” April 2024

Google UX Design by Google on Coursera, completed February 2022

  • View my portfolio for this certificate program here

Extended Reality for Everybody Specialization on Coursera (University of Michigan), completed February 2022.

  • View information about this specialization here

American Association for the Advancement of Science Community Engagement Fellow, 2017

Journey of Facilitation and Collaboration Facilitation Training, 2016

MENTORSHIP

Portfolio Reviewer, XA 466: Experience Architecture Capstone, Fall Semester 2023 & Spring Semester 2024.

Mock Interviewer, XA 466: Experience Architecture Capstone, Fall Semester 2023.

Service

Board of Directors Member, International Network for the Science of Team Science, July 2021-June 2022

Advisory Committee, Digital Humanities @ MSU, 2021- 2024

Dean’s Arts Advisory Council, MSU College of Arts and Letters, 2020- 2022