Celine Ta Email & Phone Number

Drive evidence-based innovation process to make universal access to right-sized on-demand legal help a reality across the U.S. by 2035, sponsored by the Gates Foundation and Rockefeller PhilanthropyBuild internal capacity and process for inclusive, participatory design research and evidence-based innovation of tech-enabled tools used by community justice workers to scale impactManage the design and development of new tech-enabled products and services, including project management and financial oversightExplore and vet new technologies and products for partnership and ethical use in product platform

Lead 2 startups from opportunity area exploration through pilot, first hires, and finding product-market fit (first paying customers). Stackpoint (formerly Gemini Ventures) is the first venture studio dedicated to building and investing in real estate technology companies. Startups include HomeFounder (https://homefounder.com/) and Wellahead (https://www.wellahead.co/). Responsibilities include: > Design and execute qual/quant market and design research, including surveys, in-market tests, user co-design, in-depth interview, and secondary research> Develop personas and customer experience to align complex stakeholder incentives, ranging from land developers and lenders to older Americans in vulnerable financial situations > Craft product wireframes, prototypes, and landing pages, including design and content, in Figma and Webflow in collaboration with designers and engineers> Set and manage timelines, metrics, and team culture in collaboration with founder CEO and exec team

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Recommend design and strategy changes, culminating in over-enrolled programs (3000+ enrollees) across multiple sectors (education, pharmaceutics, SaaS) Facilitate design research and product-market-fit sprints at startups and large corporations, including Harvard Business Review, Novartis, and moreDesign and conduct user research methodology, including interviews, surveys, and user observationDevelop high-trust relationships with clients and stakeholders, coaching them through change management, enabling a learning culture, and quickly innovating and responding to the market

Greater Boston Area

Design and run experiments to rapidly learn from customers and stakeholders and answer key questions to inform company direction around regarding product, service, and brand. Conduct user research (interviews, survey design, behavioral observation) and craft prototypes to test for product value and develop a fluid user experience.Collaborate with companies to build a lab-like learning culture. Guide project processes and timelines.

Brooklyn, New York, United States

Innovation research and synthesis, developing frameworks to guide major strategic shifts in philanthropy and education technology, 2-10 years out. Includes ecosystem mapping and competitive analysis. UX research for early-stage product direction, including designing and conducting interviews.Project partners include Harvard Business Publishing and Omidyar Network.

Greater New York City Area

Analyze landscape, identify opportunity areas, and generate concepts for projects ranging from an institute for civic experimentation to youth-centered technology for community building.Scope feasibility and viability prototype for research service and co-manage collaborative research process. Map covariates and demographics of loneliness and develop a priori hypotheses for the prototype's data analysis.

Greater New York City Area

Evaluate access to and interventions related to homelessness services, mental health diagnostics, public space, cognitive health, and future of work through literature reviews and landscape analyses. Research policy, funding streams, and programs to inform structural redesign of the homelessness service system in Seattle and King County, WA. (Read more at https://hrs.kc.nis.us/actions/)Create frameworks and data visualizations (Python) of stakeholder incentives, organizational structures, and other systems maps to define problem boundaries, identify leverage points, and understand social barriers to change. Layout research reports and manage publication website.

Research the economic feasibility, positive and negative impacts, and possible storytelling avenues for basic income in the United States. Maintain a human-centered lens, while rigorously reading and bias-checking studies and original model implications. Synthesize research insights across 5-person team of diverse backgrounds (economics, inclusion & diversity, marketing, design) into visually accessible problem and intervention mapsMonitor and manage team progress, creating alignment tools, hiring supplemental talent, and facilitate team health norms and discussions.

Greater Boston Area

Research 5+ options for inexpensive, easy-to-assemble heating element for novel medical warmer for newborns. Collaborate with US heating element manufacturer to spec, design, and deliver a manufactured heating element within 6 weeks. Integrate interface electronics (membrane switch design, wiring) with user interface and highly compact shell, and manage wiring from front interface to back housing. Program interface in Arduino and integrate code with heating control system, working collaboratively on Github.

Discussion and implementation of methods to encourage entrepreneurship and "startup culture" at Olin College by coordinating design workshops, inter-college collaboration, and guest speakers (social entrepreneurship and local/global development).

San Francisco Bay Area

Prototype and deploy 3 iterations of devices at client site over the course of 2 months, working on a small team (2 dedicated team members, 4-5 total). Primarily involved in form factor, electrical/ mechanical components, user play-tests/ feedback, and fit and finish. Design and test user experiences for IoT hardware devices in chemical manufacturing labs, producing a variety of possible user journeys, physical sketch models, and mockups for data visualization and software interfaces. Simulate usage in-house for user experience and long-term performance testing.Experiment with RFID technologies and sending data over Wifi in both hardware (sensor characterization, form factor, packaging) and software (Arduino, Temboo). Manufacture ~10 packaged devices in-house, with emphasis on space constraints and field reliability.

Cambridge, Ma

Co-pilot agile design process through early stage exploration of Internet of Things (IoT) product opportunities in the home, based on previous research and user feedback. Developed 5 prototypes and interviewed ~25 people through a combination of canvassing on-street and scheduled interviews. Prototypes included app mockups (Axure RP, Invision, POP, PhoneGap (HTML/CSS/JS)) and paper "works-like"​ models with NFC tags.Canvas for feedback on app concept being developed in THE MEME Labs, ~25 interviewees over 1-week project. Research IoT competitive landscape and trends in technology, UX, and applications. Draft presentation materials of client's vision, contributing to storyline and accurate representation of current market position.

Newton, Ma

Lead investigation of maneuverability metrics for Shark brand vacuum cleaners, with the goal of applying a more comprehensive understanding of consumers' intuitive cleaning methods to create improved tests and key performance indices (KPIs). Organization and support (moderating, drafting protocols, qualifiers, and surveys) in both internal studies and in-home observational studies (IHOSs) for this investigation and concurrent products in development. Support development of product definitions for next-generation accessories, aiding with quality management documents (product definitions, QFDs, DFMEAs), teardowns (including out-of-box experience, touchpoint reviews, and engineering teardowns), and with testing and protocol (both to ASTM standards and internal tests). Collaboration primarily with Engineering, Consumer Insights, and Marketing departments. Familiar with full agile product development process in a corporate setting.