Meet Board Member: Nicole Montemurro as Events Director

Welcome Nicole Montemurro

​The New UXRS Events Director

Could UX Research and Strategy be more excited to welcome a new board member Nicole Mentomurro to our team? Probably not! As the group's new Events Director, Nicole will be planning our fantastic events to ensure UXRS continues to bring quality content to our events. Let's learn a little bit more about Nicole.

Tell me a little bit about yourself. 
I’m Nicole, an NYC based UX designer who loves finding solutions to complex problems and always asks why. Prior to design I worked in the event industry, planning everything from educational conferences and trade shows to black tie galas and high-profile weddings. In 2020 I decided to transition from event management to UX design and enrolled in UX Academy at Designlab. 
In my free time you can find me reading a good book (currently laughing my way through ‘Wow, No Thank You' by Samantha Irby), training for my next half marathon (running my 7th one in April), doing my daily yoga practice (Yoga with Adriene is my fave!), baking (usually making some type of muffins), or planning my next trip (I’ve visited 28 countries & counting). 

What attracted you to get involved with UXRS?
During bootcamp I discovered I’m most interested in the research phase of the design process. I found UXRS on LinkedIn when I was looking for ways to get more involved & continue learning about UX research. I was excited about the community they’ve created and the relatable topics & actionable advice that was being presented at their events.  
When I saw they were looking for event volunteers I thought it would be a great opportunity to give back and bring together my event management experience & my interest in UX research.

What was your favorite UXRS event and why? 
I'd have to say the “Getting UX Research and Service Design Research Right at Scale with Erika Hall" has been my favorite UXRS event, so far. At the time of the event I had just read excerpts from Erika Hall’s book “Just Enough Research” for one of my bootcamp lessons, so it was a super relatable topic, and I really liked that the event format was more of casual conversation Q&A.  
I’m also looking forward to the upcoming “First Year Reflections of UX Researchers”. I think there will be a lot of tangible advice for someone like me who is just getting started in UXR. 

What do you see in UXRS's future? 
Building on the momentum of UXRS’s events and continuing to grow the community. Exploring different options for event formats and brainstorming new ways participants can engage & connect with each other during networking sessions. Understanding what other topics the UXR community wants to learn about and what speakers they want to hear from when we are thinking about new event ideas. Most importantly, ensuring that the events continue to remain aligned with the UXRS mission by working to host events that foster relationships & provide actionable advice that participants can implement immediately.