Grace Ko-D’Alessandro is the new UXRS Content Strategist

Welcome Grace Ko-D’Alessandro

UXRS has a new Content Strategist

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. 
Hello! I'm Grace, and I'm a UX Researcher at a UCaaS company called 8x8. I'm currently based in central Massachusetts, but I'm originally from New York.
My educational foundations lie in Psychology, but I knew pretty quickly I didn't want to take the clinical route. For a few years prior to making my pivot to UXR, I was a software engineer. Through engineering, I was exposed to a lot of UX work, where I finally had a lightbulb moment and made the connection that UXR would be a happy marriage of my background in Psychology within a technical capacity. I'd say I'm more of a qualitative Researcher than quantitative, but I'm working on becoming more balanced. I'm a huge foodie and love researching and trying new recipes, 
as well as exploring as many eclectic eateries as possible. I love Traders Joe's, Polar seltzer, my cat who has thumbs, and adventuring with my husband. 

2. What attracted you to get involved with UXRS?
Wordsmithing and the precision of language have long been passions of mine, so when one of my favorite organizations opened a role in Content Strategy, 
I jumped on it without hesitation. I'm super excited to be part of such an incredible group and look forward to creating cool and helpful content  for the global UXRS community!

3. What was your favorite thing about UXRS and why?
One of my favorite things about the UX research industry is the diversity it attracts. People from all backgrounds and fields find their way to UX research, and so much of my professional growth as a UX researcher is a result of networking within this community. I think UXRS does an incredible job of harnessing that community,
while helping bridge connections and provide resources for UXRs of all levels. 

4. What would you like to see in UXRS's future? 
I'd love to see more networking opportunities, particularly for junior UX researchers  and job transitioners. Despite being such an amazing industry, UXR is incredibly
hard to break into. I think networking events would be invaluable to not only green UXRs, but also to more seasoned folks who are looking for fresh, new talent.