Corina Kesler *

734-***-**** ad08qr@r.postjobfree.com

https://portfolium.com/entry/condensed-portfolio-of-select-project

Senior UX Researcher

o Strategic UX leader with twelve years of experience leveling up research and design in enterprise and client-facing products. Solid experience with B2B CMS and ERP and mixed-methods research. o Proven track record of optimizing communication on cross-functional teams. o Highly adaptable, zero-gravity thinker with experience in the automotive, enterprise, start-up, healthcare, sustainability, and ecommerce segments.

LEO INC, LLC Ann Arbor, Michigan Remote 12/2012-present Founder and Principal Consultant

• Coached educators and investors on scalable professional development programs (Romanian American University, Bucharest, Romania). Key outcome: investments increased by 10%, 2023-2024 student enrollment increased by 5%.

• Using Google and Macat Analysis case studies, created and led generative and evaluative research workshops to help junior UX research excel in both corporate and startup environments. GOOGLE (contract) Hybrid (Ann Arbor, Michigan – Sunnyvale, California) 11/2021- 11/2022 Senior UX Researcher and Principal Consultant

• Led generative, evaluative, and formative research for 3 enterprise data management tools used by 100, 000+ Google employees/vendors.

• Conducted user needs' finding sessions with 50+ participants to evaluate products’ performance within the company and in the competitive international market.

• Q1-Q3 2022 developed, conducted, and analyzed 75+ interviews and 4,000+ Qualtrics surveys resulting in a foundational series of quantitative and qualitative actionable steps.

• Consolidated personas across the product suite and leveled up UX research methodology.

• Developed and implemented onboarding methodologies for all 3 enterprise products.

• Worked with Google Research Director to improve internal communications and resource sharing. MAD*POW (contract) Remote 07/2021-09/2021

UX Research Lead and Consultant

• Rescoped and streamlined an 8-week study for Fortune 500 company Boston Scientific. Key outcome: Doctor/Patient portal updated and redesigned to better fit users’ needs.

• Wrote and secured legal approvals for 2 types of screeners, established participant incentives, and selected 16 study participants. Key outcome: study met client’s budgetary needs and timeline.

• Compiled results from 16 A/B usability tests into a UI product capability matrix with design recommendations. Key outcome: client upgraded website to include scalable wireframe designs.

• Streamlined agency-client communication by establishing meeting cadence and project update interface.

RIGHTPOINT (contract) Remote

UX Research Lead and Consultant

04/2021-06/2021

• Led Discovery with the WIN Waste Innovations client to scope and develop research plan on 10 new business acquisitions.

• Developed and conducted 35 enterprise and consumer interviews to capture stakeholders' needs. Professional Experience

2

• Based on interviews’ data, led 8 analysis sessions on personas development. Key outcome: consolidated personas from 12 to 6 and drafted critical user journey templates.

• Collaborated with the Rightpoint design and marketing directors to deliver a 50-page report including proof of concepts, high fidelity wireframes, and updated timelines.

• Working with client’s sales team, performed comparative analyses on competitors' websites to identify industry wide UI trends. Key outcome: improved client’s website heuristics and user accessibility to complex features.

11/2020- 03/2021

CAREER BREAK TO RECOVER FROM LONG COVID 03-10/2020 FORD MOTOR COMPANY (contract) Remote

Senior UX Researcher and Consultant

• Designed and conducted in-depth research of connected vehicle platforms' performance for AI/ML Mach1 division and the Enterprise Data Hub.

• Solved long-standing participant recruiting issue by working with 15 geographically-distributed teams to pare down outdated user list from 4,000+ to 500+ confirmed product users. Key outcome: streamlined recruiting and increased responders’ rate.

• Designed 10+ semi-structured interviews scripts and 20+ Qualtrics AI/ML survey templates so that current and future teams have instant access to a “one stop shop” for their research needs.

• Developed 8 personas with supporting user journeys to showcase how research helps user-center design and supports company-wide KPIs.

MACAT ANALYSIS, London, UK Hybrid (Ann Arbor, Michigan – London, UK) 09/2012-12/2018 UX Researcher and Consultant

• Conducted research for early stage startup with a £10 million investment in order to create an accessible, user-friendly, multi-media, subscription-based learning platform. Key outcome: established a scalable subscription process resulting in 3 million + institutional and individual subscribers by the end of 2018.

• Collaborated with educators at top European universities to develop templates accommodating a variety of learning styles (audio, visual, mixed) for in-person and remote educational tools.

• Designed and led on site and remote beta testing with 10+ North American universities to identify paint points and recommend design and content changes.

• Led research with 8 US universities to observe user interactions and develop learning analytics. Key outcome: in partnership with the Sales and Customer Success teams, used UX Research findings to improve subscription numbers and users’ satisfaction with the product. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Ann Arbor, Michigan

Faculty Member and Coach

Graduate Student Instructor

09/2004-12/2020

01/2012-12/2020

09/2004-12/2011

• Designed and taught 15 undergraduate and graduate level courses ranging from 20 to 500 students in the Language, Science, Arts and Information Schools.

• Developed and conducted focus groups, diary studies, and active listening sessions to help 200+ graduate students and 50+ faculty members get full value from technological resources for teaching. Key outcome: improved and expanded eLearning course catalog.

• Coached departmental heads on best ways to collect and analyze remote learning data. Education

PhD in Comparative Utopian Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. MSI in Human-Computer Information, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. BA in Comparative Literature/English, California State University, Fullerton. ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor/Babes- Bolyai University, Romania collaboration).

Languages

Romanian (native), French (fluent), Spanish, Italian (reading)

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