Education

I approach this position with varied and broad experience in degrees and work experience. My undergraduate degree in Economics focused on the political economy of immigration, specifically Mexican migration to the United States. My graduate degree in library and information science provides the background for research knowledge and the ability to identify the breadth of information issues. My doctoral degree is founded on user awareness of the digital platforms they interact with and how their content is manipulated and filtered. 

Work experience

While in graduate school, I worked for a STEM publisher as their operations manager. In this role it was my responsibility to design and implement a customer retention management (CRM) software for the Americas sales team. In doing this, I held multiple user experience testing sessions, collating feedback to write up instructions for the technical team. 

Research approach and motivation

I seek to answer difficult questions that impact society in large ways through qualitative research. I approach problems pragmatically and through an experienced lens of understanding theory in ethics, information policy, privacy, and digital platforms. 

Projects

CRM software UX testing and technical writer
Sales teams depend on customer retention software and part of my role was to learn what the sales teams needed and design a system using SAP CRM. Through multiple in person, both group and one-on-one, user testing, I authored technical documents for the developers. The project had to include specific licensing clauses for all 50 states and territories, as well as Canada and Central America.

OCLC Discovery layer UX testing at Beloit College Library
Library online catalogs (OPACs) utilize proprietary interfaces (discovery layers) to create an environment where all acquired materials can be searched by the user. The application of these layers change the appearance and functionality of the catalog for the user, and therefore must be tested to configure the best possible searching interface. The testing at Beloit College consisted of multiple in-person speak aloud testing sessions with undergraduate students as they searched for known and unknown materials. 

Algorithmically targeted advertising on Facebook and the effects on self-image
Surveyed users through a snowball method to learn about their social media use, media literacy, self-image (through PASTAS), and algorithmic awareness. Preliminary findings indicate that users who spend more time on social media are less media literate and that users are less anxious about their bodies after seeing inclusive (size, body hair, and unairbrushed images) advertisements. 

User awareness and knowledge of algorithmically filtered content on search engines and social media
My dissertation is a research project that centers the platform user as the focus of the query to better learn how to inform users about the manipulation of their online content. The results of this study will impact educators, policy makers, and platform organizations. 

The path of my experience, while not linear or expected, provides depth to my understanding of users and platforms. I have worked in a variety of teams with different institutional cultures and have succeeded at meaningful collaboration.