Time(s)
Location
Room B
Description
A student-hosted community conversation about our hopes, fears, and ideals around diversity, equity, and inclusivity on the teams and in the workplaces where UX design and research get done in our world today.
On Saturday afternoon, please join 5 graduate students from the University of Michigan School of Information in a structured conversation about prospects for career development, personal growth, and social justice in the global community of IA practice as budgets tighten, armed conflicts rage, interest rates rise, and waves of layoffs complicate the futures we-all want to picture together in the middle of the 2nd decade of the 21st century. What’s possible to do together begins with what’s possible to say with and among ourselves, so please come to the session and lend your voice to the discussion.
About the speakers
Phil Mendez is a master’s student at the University of Michigan School of Information studying human-computer interaction and user experience design/research. He is particularly interested in using qualitative methods to create community-based information systems. He has previously worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, The Center for Social Media Responsibility, and the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. He enjoys reading and cycling.
Teena graduated with a Bachelor’s in Speech Science, Anthropology, and Linguistics which has funneled her into a passion for digital education, and accessibility. and community engagement. From her two years of experience as a UX Designer, she has developed an aptitude for client management, user research, and a quick sense of adaptability. She drives the importance of qualitative research and scenario-based design in her work to create an impactfully empathetic application for users. She is now a UX Designer working in the arts and a first-year master’s student at the University of Michigan.
Nick Tata is a current masters student at the University of Michigan School of information studying user experience design and human computer interaction. While working as a B2B software sales rep he collaborated with UX designers for the first time, and was struck by the passion, precision, and skill they poured into their craft. He quickly shifted his focus and has since gained experience performing research and design work in eCommerce, local government, and mobile applications development focusing his practice on accessibility and user centered design.
Dureti Ahmed is an aspiring UX Researcher and graduate student at the University of Michigan. Her passion lies in accessibility, inclusivity and leveraging technology to improve people’s lives in meaningful ways, especially for underserved communities. She’s currently a research assistant working on improving tele-health and transportation services for Detroit residents. She’s pursuing her degree in Human Computer Interaction and enjoys solo-traveling, content creating and drawing in her free time.
Tori Mitchell is a first year master’s student in the University of Michigan School of Information (Go Blue!) specializing in UX research and design. A few years prior to attending the University of Michigan, Tori attended the Georgia Institute of Technology (Go Jackets!), initially as a mechanical engineer, before switching to industrial design after discovering a love for CAD and physical prototyping. With an undergraduate academic background in industrial design, a professional background in graphic design, and through current studies in UX, Tori’s experiences in design have reaffirmed that information architecture is crucial to design and that to design is to generate information.
Hey there, I’m Angel Ranjel, originally from Zeeland, MI. I completed my Bachelor of Science in Information from the University of Michigan School of Information in 2022. I am pursuing a Master’s degree in the same institution, focusing on User Experience Research and Design. My recent interests in the field include Information Architecture and the impact of emerging technologies on society (like ChatGPT).
Aside from being a student, I also work as a student staff assistant at the UMSI DEI office. It’s a great opportunity to put my passion for building diverse communities and creating life-affirming spaces into action.
Fisola is an incoming Experience Researcher at Adobe.
Within her first year of studying at Michigan, she gained first hand experience as a volunteer UX researcher for 1Cademy, a multidisciplinary database; as a product design intern at Nutshell, focusing on improving B2B web applications; as a freelance UX researcher for Allied Media Projects, in preparation for their annual hybrid conference; and as a summer Experience research intern at Adobe, with a focus on AI/ML application.
She is currently working on her Master’s Thesis regarding climate change related – information sharing and seeking behavior amongst GenZ students. And, she is independently studying the positive effects of social media.
Fisola received her B.S. in Neurobiology from University of Maryland, College Park and is pursuing her masters in UX Research and Design from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor – School of Information.
