My Journey Into UX Research
I didn't set out to become a UX researcher—I stumbled into it through a circuitous path that started in cognitive psychology and wound through product management before I found my true calling.
During my psychology studies, I became fascinated by how people make decisions and form mental models of the world. But I felt constrained by academic research—I wanted to apply these insights to solve real-world problems. So I pivoted to product management at a startup, thinking that's where I could make impact.
What I quickly discovered was that I was most energized not by roadmap planning or stakeholder management, but by those moments when we talked to users. I'd volunteer to lead customer interviews, jump on support calls, and analyze usage data. It became clear: my superpower wasn't deciding what to build—it was understanding who we were building for.
Making the leap to UX research was the best career decision I ever made. For the past 8 years, I've had the privilege of helping companies—from scrappy startups to established tech giants—build products that truly serve their users.
What Drives My Work
I believe research should be more than reports that gather dust. The research that excites me is the kind that sparks "aha!" moments in product teams, that shifts how we think about users, and that ultimately changes what we build. I'm driven by translating complex human behaviors into clear insights that teams can act on.
I'm also passionate about evolving research practices. I've been exploring how AI tools can augment (not replace) research work—using tools like Claude to accelerate analysis while maintaining methodological rigor. The future of research is about combining human empathy and critical thinking with AI's processing power.