UX is a team sport: I enjoy exploring ways of working, helping teams to use research as a catalyst for change. I show teams how to put "the user" in UX by way of regular practice.I'm a qualitative researcher who specializes in UX and hybrid research methods. I love going into the field and observing how people are using your product, service, app or site. I specialize in strategic ethnographic research, usability studies, Do-It-Yourself Research methods and teaching you how to deploy them for yourself. I've got 20+ years experience and am still learning new things everyday. I've just completed a contract working with a dynamic team of designers within the CXRD group at Viasat, who've fully embraced the 'democratize research' ethos. I worked on product strategy, research methods, tools, process, and most importantly, we had fun while solving customers' problems. Pre-pandemic clients included: 2018/2019 ThorToken, a bitcoin engine for the gig economy, and Leafly.com, an online aggregator of all things cannabis related. 2016/17 include GapLabs, BoomtownROI, (a real estate back-end platform provider) Google's educational app Primer, and Shopkick, the app that rewards you for shopping.

Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything can be connected. Served one year on the Customer Experience Research + Design Team (within the home and small business satellite internet division) coaching, mentoring and guiding the designers as they learned to conduct rigorous and insightful UX Research as a matter of regular practice. Worked hard to get instrumented from a tools and process standpoint, my contributions enabled the success of the whole team! For more than 30 years, Viasat innovations have helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments, and militaries around the world communicate — even in the hardest-to-reach places.

Built, owned and defined the user experience design research discipline, for the entire $2 Billion dollar, direct to consumer firm, partially owned by private equity firm TPG. Spent five years nested within a team of sophisticated human centered designers, where my small but mighty team of UX Design Researchers worked on major initiatives that were first to market for direct-to-consumer sellers, enabled small business successes, and championed social commerce and International expansion. My job as a senior manager was to hold (and fight for) space and time for conducting generative, formative, and evaluative UX design research within an Agile framework, and to partner with established research agencies outside of our walls to benchmark, optimize and digitally innovate across platform, quickly. By way of regular practice, we put processes in place that informed and prepared the business for what's (always) coming next.Founded by two Stanford-trained dermatologists, Rodan + Fields serves customers throughout North America and has additional operations in Japan and Australia. It is a 100 percent ecommerce organization with a distribution model based on direct sales, subscriptions, and a network of 300,000 consultants who act as brand ambassadors for the company and benefit from Rodan + Fields products, learning and development, and marketing support to grow their own business networks.

Seasonal, part-time employment in the fun world of live music events. Started as a "blue coat"​ security-guard back in 1992 when it was still Bill Graham Presents and worked on and off seasonally throughout the 90's, progressing from security to backstage kitchen catering for the crew and the talent, artists'​ green room hospitality and ambiance since the 2009 season. Primarily booked at The Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View but have also worked at Oakland's Historic Paramount Theater and SF's Masonic Lodge as well as The Craneway Pavilion in Richmond. Known for my utmost professionalism, reliability and sense of humor throughout the show and my ability to "GSD" (get stuff done). Have worked as dressing room aide, catering runner, production runner, driver and production assistant.

Worked closely with a broad range of UX UCD Designers, UI Product Designers, and Brand Communication Designers and one fellow UX Researcher. Together we created programs that scaled and provided insight and value across the Product/Tech organization and throughout Marketing, Sales, Finance and Customer Service.

The Innovation Research Advisor moved from conducting the research for the team to teaching the team how to fish, so to speak – in that the research methods introduced to the team and those that are needed to sustain the new growth and rapid innovation are now part of the development process, after an initial period of advisory consulting and support. The team can self-sustain, scale and grow its UX research capabilities. The programs created and led by me in this role are now part of the fabric of the culture and the process at StubHub and StubHub Labs.

Demonstrated the value of UX within the first few months on the job by identifying a 3.5% conversion increase from the event page to checkout completion that resulted after a profoundly simple design change recommended by me and proven with thorough and extensive testing. Gained influence and prominence within the design and product teams by advocating support for and obtaining budget approval to have an in-house usability lab built on-site and involving the widest possible net of stakeholders in conducting the research and sharing the actionable findings. Grew the team to total of 3 UX Researchers and then handed off the ownership of the discipline to capable successors while transitioning into a leadership role for a new business unit acting as a startup within the organization, StubHub Labs.

AnswerLab conducts custom user experience research to improve websites, software, and mobile applications. Our quantitative and qualitative methods help clients throughout the development cycle, from concept to launch to ongoing benchmarking. Our insights result in increased revenues by improving conversion, customer satisfaction and brand impression.

Guided strategy on major accounts by analyzing existing data and recommending design-focused user-experience research. Conducted dynamic usability tests, standard usability tests, focus groups, key stakeholder interviews and other primary research in order to further the objectives of a redesign effort or branding initiative. Generated over $500k in revenue in 2007, with incremental growth year over year. Responsible for P&L on all qualitative projects. Worked collaboratively with cross-functional teams on client side, traditional agencies and in-house. Clients included interactive divisions of The Tribune Company, American Express, MLB.com, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Entertainment Weekly, Mars Candy, and many other luxury, entertainment and consumer house-hold brand names.

Analyzed secondary research and conducted primary research to create strategic road-maps for high-tech B2B clients pursuing industry leadership. Created and presented the compelling business case to sell the vision up as well as lead cross-functional teams to execute on strategy. Clients included Foote Cone & Belding, DDB, Satchi & Satchi, in addition to Roxio, Sony, Nokia.

Exceeded revenue quota consistently by contributing 125% of goal, totaling over $1MM each quarter. Earned attendance at President's Club. Built solid relationships with multi-disciplinary teams at Fortune 1000 and Fortune 500 clients to ensure effective use of Mercury Interactive's software and updates. Led efforts to resolve technical issues in order to guarantee maintenance contract renewals.

Managed a team of inbound call center representatives responsible for annual sales of $150M of Rumba software. Created telephone scripts, product spec sheets, sales force automation processes and training materials. Reported to VP of North American Sales, and VP of Marketing to support outside sales, trade show activity, print and direct marketing campaigns.