Lead User Researcher · Mixed-Methods · Strategic Thinker · Storyteller · Mentor
Definitely looking for a Lead User Researcher role. Probably still looking for my glasses. 🤷♀️
Meet Karen.
I’m a user researcher who leads with curiosity and empathy. I believe the best work comes from thoughtful collaboration with teams, stakeholders, and the people using the product.
I also own more books than I will ever have time to read, but I've come to terms with it. 🤓
(That's me!)
For the past four years I've been a design researcher at Craft, leading qualitative studies for clients across SaaS, fintech, enterprise tech, and consumer products. My actionable, decision-ready insights have driven product and business strategy.
Before that, I was a co-founder and sole researcher at a fintech startup. Any research had to be creative and scrappy, but I helped redirect an entire product strategy through a $20 user study that the CEO didn't expect to change his mind. (It did.)
I spent almost a decade as an early interventionist, doing in-home developmental assessments and on-going coaching with families of young children — showing up at people's homes, building trust fast, and gathering sensitive information in emotionally charged situations while making it feel like a kitchen table conversation.
My time in early intervention gave me a foundation of empathy, curiosity, connection, and inclusion that continues to inform how I show up as a UX researcher.
Work Experience
June 2022 - March 2026
June 2020 - July 2022
July 2018 - May 2020
2011 - 2018
Craft | Design Researcher
Led qualitative research at a design & research agency across 60+ projects for 10 clients in B2B SaaS, fintech, enterprise tech, and consumer products
Pretzel | UX Researcher & Co-founder
Built research practice from scratch for a consumer fintech startup
Career break | Active research participant
Developed firsthand perspective on participant experience that informs how I design studies, screeners, and interviews today
Early Intervention & EdTech | Early Intervention Specialist + Technology Specialist
Built the foundation of my interviewing approach and human-centered research practice through nearly a decade of in-home developmental assessments, ethnographic observation, and working with families navigating complex, high-stakes situations
Education
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Master of Science in Education
Focus on Special Education including Research, Scientific Approaches to Teaching, Universal Design for Learning
The focus on Universal Design for Learning and human development directly shapes how I think about inclusive research today.
Bachelor of Science in Education
Focus on Early Childhood Unified Education (General and Special Education, ages 0 - 8), including Educational Psychology, Human Development & Behavior, Teaching Methodologies