1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Work-wise, I have been a graphic designer since the early 2000s, having earned my Bachelor's degree from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA. I have worked as a copy center technician, an in-house designer for a non-profit camp and retreat center, and as a full-time freelancer, working in both paid and volunteer capacities for numerous non-profits.
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Personal-wise, I have been married since 2007 and have 5 kids, one of whom we adopted in 2013. My life experiences have led me to become an advocate for adoption, Down syndrome awareness, and Leukemia survivors. I care about people and their stories and what led them to where they are right now. On the lighter hobby side, I enjoy playing music (guitar and drums), reading, gardening, and building things (Legos, Woodwork, Ikea furniture).
 
2. What attracted you to get involved with UXRS?
As a freelancer, I have to be intentional about finding community to connect with in my field. I've been pivoting more into the world of user experience design and research and seeking out events where I could create genuine connection with people who have been in that world for a while. After attending a UXRS event with Heidi Glynn from User Interviews, I logged off feeling that I had found a place where that connection with others could happen.
 
3. What was your favorite thing about UXRS and why?
I've touched on it a little already, but UXRS struck me as straightforward and genuine in its pursuit to connect people and provide resources around user research. That's what I've been looking for and I look forward to growing within the UXRS community.
 
4. What would you like to see in UXRS's future?
I would love to see more and more events featuring voices from the margins of society—women of color, people working within the disability community, people working in low income communities, people working in elderly communities, people working within the criminal justice system. There are a lot of areas within user research and strategy that I think these voices could and should be amplified, and I think UXRS has a unique platform for such a purpose.

Learn more about Nate on LinkedIn

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi my name is Jigz! I am a Graphic Designer based out of Calgary, AB & Yes, the Rocky Mountains are in my backyard. I have over 10 years of professional experience from India, Dubai, Toronto & Calgary specializing in Print & Digital designs. I am also Certified in Visual Design, UX/UI Design & Digital Marketing. I have solid command over design techniques and visual elements coupled with a fearless creativity to bring designs to life.
 
2. What attracted you to get involved with UXRS?
When I read about this role I was instantly interested as I've been looking for a Volunteer position that enables me to use my technical expertise to make a higher impact on the community. I know in return it will help me with personal growth and career advancement.
 
3. What was your favorite thing about UXRS and why?
I love how this idea evolved & I am very impressed by how dedicated, hardworking and committed the team is along with their full time jobs.
 
4. What would you like to see in UXRS's future?
More members and more community engagement

Learn more about Jigz on LinkedIn

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m an Ecuadorian artist, currently living my best life in Mexico with my husband and our beloved cats. I love anime and my favorite band is Epik Hig
 
2. What attracted you to get involved with UXRS?
I’ve been pursuing the UX world for quite some time and UXRS content on social media definitely piqued my interest. The research and analysis, events, and community have all helped me out to do better practices in my own work.
 
3. What was your favorite thing about UXRS and why?
My fav are definitely the events. The opportunity to discuss further about the UX community and the direction of itself with such great specialists is everything for us, young designers.
 
4. What would you like to see in UXRS's future?
I’d like to see more events and dynamic content, as I’ll be working on animation and motion graphics myself for the organization, I do hope to increase our engagement. Let’s become the top go to reference for the UX community.

Learn more about Domi on LinkedIn.

By Emily Carmody
As a behavior analyst who made a career transition to UX research, I thought I would share the 5 books that helped guide this career change. The below books informed and helped me understand how I can apply my knowledge of behavior analysis to the world of UX, build and maintain workplace relationships, relationships with users and stakeholders, and understand how behavioral and UX research fits into a corporate or enterprise setting. 

How to Win Friends & Influence People in the Digital Age
by Dale Carnegie & Associates
In the fast-paced world we live in today, this updated version of Dale Carnegie’s original publication from 1936 provides readers an understanding of how Carnegie’s principles regarding listening, sincerity, and affinity (to name a few) still apply in a digitized world. With speedy communication at our fingertips and remote work lessening our face-to-face interactions, we must understand how to utilize the technology available to us so we can make meaningful connections with our users, co-workers, and within personal relationships and Carnegie’s principles do just that.

Engaged: Designing for Behavior Change
by Amy Bucher
In this book, Amy Bucher discusses the application of behavior change science and behavior analytic principals to the design and development of digital products. Amy provides a thorough explanation of behavioral terminology (target users, target behaviors, motivation), the importance of motivation, and provides the reader with an outlined behavior change design process that she markets to novice and experienced UX-ers alike. The Behavior Change Design Process includes:

• Diagnosis: research & discovery phase to better understand the problem space, target users, and context in which target behaviors are performed
• Prescription: generative phase where potential solutions are explored, and product requirements are created
• Execution: Building phase which may include visual design, coding, service development, etc.
• Evaluation: Measuring and evaluating the product’s effectiveness- ideally ongoing to maximize product success 

UX Research: Practice Techniques for Designing Better Products 
by Brad Nunnally & David Farkas
This was one of the first books I read when first learning about UX Research and is a text I still reference to this day. This book provides 4 sections to help you understand the importance of UX research and what it is, the planning and preparation of research, facilitation, and analysis and reporting. Within these sections you get insight into various research methods, research coordination, and soft skills that are crucial when working with users and/or stakeholders.  There are information and reminders in this book that can be useful on your 1st or 100th research project.

Verbal Behavior 
by B.F. Skinner
Understanding human behavior is at the center of good UX and in this book, Skinner discusses how some human behavior (what people say, write, gesture, and think) do not operate on the environment directly and require a separate analysis. While this is a complex behavior analytic work, this book can help UX-ers understand how consequences impact human behavior.

Lean UX 
by Jeff Gothelf & Josh Seiden
Coming from an academic, clinical background where research and evidence-based results were given focused timelines; learning how to fit high-quality research in a fast paced corporate or enterprise setting was a wakeup call. Lean UX provides insight into how you can merge high fidelity research within a lean or agile setting by trimming down the fat within your process and ensure business needs are met by making researchers, designers, product managers, and software engineers work together rather than in isolation.

In case you missed it, check out the recordings of our 2022 speakers: 

• Indi Young 
• Matthew Morrison 
• Debbie Levitt 
• Amanda Gelb 
• Amy Santee 
• Jen Blatz 
• Michele Ronson 
• Meena Kothandaraman 
• Lorie Whitaker 
• Gyles Morrison 
• Austin Leslie 
• Melanie Medina 
• Gianca Gay 
• Jean E. Fox 

Board and Committee Growth
To meet the demand of creating social media content, to continue having free events, and to engage in our community, UXRS grew from five board members to 12 fantastic folks who are volunteering their time to help UXRS succeed. I am thrilled to have so much stellar expertise as part of the UXRS crew. Read more about our newest board and committee members below: 

• Jake Rhodes - Community Engagement Director - Engaging and educating the UXRS community on all of our channels
• Kelli Mijares - Content Strategist - Creates social media and website content 
• Emily Dahl - Content Strategist - Also creates social media and website content
• Anthony Zablocki - Treasurer - Helps the team manage finances and bookkeeping 
• Nicole Montemurro - Event Director - Leads the committee to organize the group’s events 
• Emily Carmody - Event Speaker Liaison - Communicates with speakers around the group’s events
• Enna Post-Gutierrez - Events Communication Coordinator - Updates the website about events and send out communications to inform the community about upcoming events
• Trista Lam - Graphic Designer - Designs all graphics for social media and events 
• Rebekah Hickey - Chief Technology officer - Addresses technology and security issues for the group

Social Media
Just like in 2021, all of our social media channels saw a tremendous amount of growth. We continue to engage community members on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Email, Slack, Youtube and LinkedIn. Our largest growth has been on LinkedIn, where we now have over 65,000 followers. On LinkedIn where we share definitions of terms and methods, as well as some pretty fun quotes from UX-industry giants. I would like to think we have such massive growth because of the quality content that we deliver on a daily basis. Huge thanks to all of you who have been engaging with us on social media. If you’d like to follow UXRS on social media, check out our linktree to see how to connect with us on your favorite social media channels. ​

By Kelli Mijares
Admittedly, my list of books may not fit within our formal understanding of “User Experience Research and Strategy.” However, each of these authors documents critical moments of a “human experience”—from identifying tools and methods that  change how we perceive space to examining the social and cultural implications of the materials we use—that are foundational to defining, exploring, and even measuring a  “User Experience.”
So, my list of 5 favorites… 

The Secret Lives of Color
By Kassia St. Clair
I have never read this work cover to cover but let me tell you why. The book is organized into chapters by color, such as "Blue" — "Green" — "Brown" and within each chapter is a series of short essays that examine each color. While I imagine the experience of reading along the rainbow color by color is a lovely one, I often enjoy St. Clair's compilation of colors on the go, rotating it through various touchpoints of my day… my desk, coffee table, car, and nightstand. As I sip a morning coffee or wait for my car's gas tank to fill, I find a new color. In these essays, St. Clair performs a deep dive into the history, science, or art of the specific color within our Western canon. I often pause to reconsider my understanding of the color in my life, and I am struck by the rich survey of social and cultural observations and implications St. Clair captures in her book. 
A few colors I love:

• Sepia — for the ink left behind by cuttlefish and the ink used by Da Vinci in his sketches
• Saffron — for the lavish spice that prompted wars and served as Cleopatra’s bathwaters
• Electric Blue — for the glow observed in Chornobyl and the shade of  electricity in today’s imagination

User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play
By Cliff Kuang, Robert Fabricant
Some might call this a history of UX in product and interface design of the last century. However, the authors have aptly named it “User Friendly” for the empathy that they evoke by underlining the impact of design decisions on our lives. Kuang describes this work, “this book began with the century-long journey to find the “user” in “user friendly” — the history of how people have come to understand who people are, what they need, what they’ll use. In the early decades of user-centered design, this meant finding the principles that underlay how we expected the world to behave.” 
To illustrate two facets of the term “User-Friendly” and how various design decisions led to  incidents of “machine error,” “pilot error,” and “designer error,” the book explores these facets in two sections:

• How “User-Friendly” is Easy to Use 
• How “User-Friendly” is Easy to Want

Measuring the User Experience
By Bill Albert, Tom Tullis
While I had the privilege of working alongside Bill in the User Experience Center as a research assistant, it was not until a few months later, when I started at a digital design agency, that I realized the gravity of this book. As the first "full-time" researcher, I was tasked with standardizing how we gathered usability scores from participants and shared these with our stakeholders in a way that highlighted our research value and compelled them to want us to conduct more research. 
Since then, I have continued to reference this book in my day-to-day work:

• How to share levels of success
• How to identify bias in usability testing
• How to leverage calculations in excel

The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion
By Tobias Armborst, Interboro
I found this book while still in architecture school, but I have employed its thoughtful approach to understanding the user experience in digital spaces. Just inside the cover, Interboro lays out the significance of this work: "This book is part of our ongoing effort to identify, understand, and critically reflect on some of these forces that condition our professional work as planners and designs of the public realm." It is another book you can open to any page for a concise essay on one topic. Each topic surveys a single design element and its implications within our built environment (replace "built" with "digital" for our UX purposes). This book should probably come with a warning—it profoundly changed my perception of the world around me and made it delightfully challenging to ignore the tools and barriers to access public spaces.
​To name a few:

• How curb cuts “make cities more accessible for a variety of publics”
• How lavender-lining  “opens up a space for non-normative sexuality and gender presentation”
• How municipal IDs “improve access to basic needs”

Mismatch
By Kat Holmes
In this work, Holmes brings concepts of exclusion and inclusion to UX and product design. She examines how careless design can prompt exclusion and how, instead, we can employ inclusive design methods to rectify these "mismatches," especially in our digital spaces. 
Some takeaways:

• How inclusive design spurs innovation and can lead to the rapid expansion of a customer base 
• How the bell curve has been conflated with the 80/20 rule and designers may solve for 80% of the users and problems
• How designing for inclusion at the outset of a project may avoid expensive retrofits later 

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Professionally, I'm a Workforce Experience Researcher, focused on improving employee experience. HR Ops professional in another life and currently consult on digital HR transformation and strategy, ensuring employee needs are central to the process. Personally, I'm a mom just entering toddlerdom for the first time. Wish me luck! Outside of being a parent, I love hiking with my husband, a not-too-hoppy craft beer, and a good board game.

2. What attracted you to get involved with UXRS?
UXRS was one of the first resources that really resonated with me when I transitioned to UX research. Being able to contribute and join the UXRS team so that I can help others make the leap into UX research and strategy is what it is all about.

3. What was your favorite thing about UXRS and why?
The practicality and approachable nature of UXRS resources is HUGE in my book. Research is a skill to develop and UXRS gives people resources to explore, ideas to run with and a community to lean on. I am particularly fond of Method Mondays because who doesn't love a little nudge on a Monday to get out there and do something different?

4. What would you like to see in UXRS's future?
I would love for us to really build a strong connection with our community and reach out beyond us - how can we as a community give back? Is there a hackathon team we could put together? What about pro bono small projects? Scholarships for those interested in UX Research? 

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Before I transitioned to UX research, I worked as an architectural and urban designer and focused on neighborhoods and master planning. The challenging, and at times, frustrating, part of our work was ensuring that our projects weaved into the existing place—its people and its history. Anyone can create something beautiful and drop it on a map but the most rewarding part was integrating the voices of the community and the existing urban fabric. For me, my role as a UX researcher offers the same opportunity—I strive to understand how our designs and products can support our customers and best be integrated into their lives in a way that is conducive to their existing lifestyles.

2. What attracted you to get involved with UXRS?
I find the goal of UXRS to “make topics both approachable and actionable” incredibly compelling. There are not enough UXR resources that show researchers how to make our work digestible for the people we impact. For me, this is an opportunity to support a community of enthusiastic and like-minded individuals, interested in applying research to our daily work and, ultimately, democratizing the study of research. 

3. What was your favorite thing about UXRS and why?
The UXRS events! Recently, I attended “Challenging UX Research Norms” with Meena Kothandaraman and later referenced her work to better integrate research at my organization. And I could download the presentation and transcripts and watch the re-watch presentation videos to learn and absorb at my own pace, without worrying about a paywall. It’s also a nice coincidence that UXRS was started in Texas—my home state! :)
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4. What would you like to see in UXRS's future?
As a researcher who started as the sole researcher of my organization, I hope to support a community of research teams of one/first-researchers! I have been lucky enough to learn from others in this position and would love to see a group that supports the development of research within a larger organization.

Jake Rhodes has worked in technology all of his adult life but his experience working with software developers as a Technical PM at Microsoft opened the door for him to explore UX design and UX research full-time. Since moving into UX Research, Jake has worked on projects targeting a wide range of audiences including researchers themselves, consumers using Windows, to parents using family safety products. He is most energized by the process of understanding the motivations of customers and helping his team understand customer needs as clearly as possible. Today, Jake is a user researcher in Microsoft’s developer division, focused primarily on development frameworks and tools. He’s also an avid cook, woodworker, and carpenter at home - in many ways, It’s all the same work.

Side projects: Recently, he has become obsessed with understanding purpose motives in work, and the effects of technology saturation with learning and judgment. He is currently working on generative work in these areas separately from everything else going on.

Now let’s take a deeper dive with Jake and have him answer a few questions.

What attracted me to get involved with UXRS?
I was inspired by the spirit of openness, sharing, and support on the UXRS Slack channel. I have a deep, personal view that we as a discipline should be doing more to help new practitioners establish themselves and we should be doing more to share our collective body of knowledge with each other.

What’s your favorite UXR Event and why? 
For a variety of reasons, I was getting a little frustrated with how much I was having to rely on remote moderated studies and I was looking for ideas on how to run remote contextual inquiry for an upcoming project. As luck would have it, UXRS offered an event on this exact subject:  Deb Gelman’s talk on Remote Contextual Inquiry. It served as both an introduction to the faces behind the group of UXRS and it also served to broaden my thinking about how to adapt contextual inquiry methods to a remote context. I was inspired by some of her ideas and have used some of these approaches with recent developer projects.  


What do you see in UXRSs future?
Digital technology is expanding into every part of our lives and the need for ethical, human centered UX research practitioners is going to continue to grow. We also have growing interest in our discipline with new colleagues joining the UX research ranks from many backgrounds:  undergraduates, established academics, bootcamp graduates - you name it. I hope to be part of a UXRS future that is successful connecting researchers with each other and maximizing the impact of that economy.  
You can find Jake on social media: 
LinkedIN:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-rhodes-seattle/ 
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/UxRhodes
Facebook: gorhodes