I love the internet.
from the first time I used home dial-up in the 3rd grade to write a dinosaur report, I was hooked.🦕
for me, that wired, tenuous connection allowed me to try on a self on fan forums and in games that was more confident. it taught me to cultivate my curiosity and value learning beyond the confines of what was in front of me. I noticed how it brought people together based on commonalities in ways that could never otherwise happen.
and as I've grown alongside the internet, I've seen the ways in which it has enabled toxic relationships with one another and with ourselves. as a tech professional, I've been interested in the ways in which design (or anti-design) shapes the interactions that we're able to have. that has driven me to get curious about the ways we can positively impact those forces.
// work
I am a Staff UX Reseacher at Paylocity, where I am part of a newly formed research practice. I collaborate with product, design, and engineering to make improvmeents to the unified platform, inlcuding incoporating AI in ways that center our customers and their employees.
recently, I've worked as...
- independent research consultant with AEG Presents, where I have supported on-site and remote research and strategy for festivals including Coachella and Camp Flog Gnaw
- lead product researcher at Disney Streaming. There, I lead strategic research projects to find ways to help our subscribers discover new content to watch. there, I completed a major survey of Disney Bundle subscribers that used cluster analysis (UMAP & HDBSCAN) to identify four unique audiences by their respective behaviors, perceptions, and demographics.
- product research lead for Community Products on Stack Overflow, leading long-term strategic projects such as new, inclusive spaces for all technologists to learn known as Collectives
with over 10 years of experience conducting mixed-methods research, I bring formal training in social science research and practical experience conducting primary research in the field. Alongside research experience, I've served a variety of design and strategy roles across B2B and B2C companies. I've supported brands like Comcast, Johnson & Johnson, and La Colombe.
for samples of work, please contact me via email or on linkedin.
// education
I am a chronic over-thinker and unstoppable busybody, which drove me to study anthropology. I fused that with my love of music and performance to study ethnomusicology at Boston University, where I studied ethnograpy and a compliment of qualitative methods.
M.A., Ethnomusicology / Boston University (2014)
B.A.. Anthropology, magna cum laude / James Madison University (2012)
Graduate Questionnaire Design coursework / UMich: Summer Institute in Survey Techniques (2021)
// about
I live with my partner and cats in Philadelphia, PA, USA, a small big city which we have come to love. I spend many nights cooking, pulling ingredients from a pantry I've overstocked with random spices.
I practice traditional kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with lacquer. I share some of my work on instagram.
storytelling has been a constant for me, and what once lived only in daydreams I've learned to channel into tabletop gaming with my friends. I like to call myself a "game weaver" instead of a dungeon master, working to string together many loose threads of magic and mechanics into an enjoyable experience.