Resume
Experience
2021 - Present
UX Researcher, Manager
2019 - 2021
Lead UX Researcher
dscout
Chicago, IL
dscout is a research consultancy and SaaS product company that supports in-context, human insights for ethnographers, market researchers, and UX researchers alike.
I am the in-house UX researcher leading efforts in scaling the product to new users; crafting new features to give our current users superpowers, and exploring areas of future growth and support.
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2018 - 2019
Manager, Research & Ideation
2016 - 2018
Sr. UX Research
Uptake
Chicago, IL
Uptake is a tech start-up, turned SaaS company with a focus on advanced analytics for heavy industry machinery.
I was promoted to manager of Research and Ideation Services after creating and leading all research efforts (generative to evaluative) on our wind/energy team for several years. In this capacity, I created a toolkit and consulting arm within Uptake for teams to employ research and ideation services.
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2018- Present
Lead UX Researcher
Welcome Project "Flight Paths"
Valparaiso, IN
Flight Paths: Mapping Our Changing Neighborhoods, is a multi-media initiative to help participants, both regionally in Northwest Indiana and nationally, engage and analyze factors contributing to the fracturing of urban neighborhoods, communities, and regions in post-industrial America.
Throughout the life of several grants from the NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities), I have led our UX research efforts from persona-creation workshops to in-depth evaluative interviews & usability tests.
2014- 2016
Researcher
Digital Youth Network
Chicago, IL
Digital Youth Network (DYN) is a non-profit that supports organizations, educators and researchers in developing young people’s technical, creative, and analytical skills.
I began at DYN as the project coordinator managing two city-wide research projects in digital education. Then I was moved into the Content Manager role as the resident expert on online learning curriculum to enable student adoption of our online learning platform
Education
2009 - 2013
Denison University
Bachelor's Degree
Granville, OH
Denison University is a small, liberal arts school in central Ohio. I hold a dual degree in English Literature and Religious studies after toiling for many years with the notion that religion, like government, shapes our society in a way that should be studied like a science.
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Beyond my studies, I was very involved on campus from holding leadership positions in our Gay Straight Alliance, managing our on-campus coffeeshop, volunteering on academic breaks, as well as leading a summer gardening program for young people involved in the juvenile justice system.
2015-2016
DePaul University
Master's Level Coursework in Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
I have 16 credit hours in an HCI masters degree from DePaul University. After getting hands-on experience as a UX practitioner, I discontinued my coursework and focused on refining my skills through professional experience.
Chicago, IL
Professional skillset
Entrepreneurial Mindset
Teamwork & Cross-Team Collaboration
Design Thinking & Ideation Facilitation
Storytelling & Professional Writing
Agile & Product Development Practices
User-Centered Design Principles
Deep knowledge of ethnographic and evaluative research methods
