HOLLI DOWNS, PHD

2021-2024

• Led a comprehensive user research program, developing personas, outcome maps, and standardized research frameworks that enhanced user insights organization-wide.

• Coached and mentored UX Researchers, Designers, and Product Managers, elevating the team's research capabilities and integrating best practices.

• Collaborated with leadership to develop robust research operations, including participant panel management and research tool optimization.

• Customized coaching programs to support the professional development of researchers and product managers, fostering skill growth.

• Defined the research roadmap for innovation projects, aligning with company goals and ensuring timely delivery of insights.

• Managed external research vendors to supplement internal capabilities effectively.

• Spearheaded problem space research to gain deeper insights into user behavior within a B2B2C model, informing product development and strategy.

• Established and scaled the UX research practice at Encore, enhancing the organization's research capabilities.

• Designed and conducted a variety of research projects, including usability testing, field research, contextual inquiries, diary studies, and surveys, to gather comprehensive user insights.

• Mentored UX Designers, Product Managers, and emerging researchers in conducting effective usability tests and interviews, improving the team's research proficiency.

• Developed and implemented KPIs to evaluate early-stage product concepts, providing data-driven insights for decision-making.

• Oversaw all aspects of Research Operations, including logistics, participant recruiting, budgeting, incentive management, and maintaining a centralized research repository.

• Partnered with cross-functional teams, including product managers, marketing, and designers, to define and prioritize research questions and develop strategic research plans.

• Determined optimal research methodologies tailored to project goals, utilizing techniques such as ethnographic field studies, surveys, interviews, diary studies, and usability testing to gather actionable insights.

• Led multidisciplinary design thinking workshops, driving collaboration and innovative problem solving based on research findings, enhancing alignment and strategic direction.

• Designed, wrote, and defended the Communicative Composition philosophy as part of my dissertation.

• Conducted in-depth research in rhetoric, composition, and user experience, contributing to academic and professional knowledge.

• Published dissertation, which is available online.

• Taught courses in creative writing, composition, and multilingual learner composition.

• Presented research findings at academic conferences and university events.

• Product Development and Management

• User Experience Research

• Strategic Planning and Roadmapping

• Curriculum Development

• Educational Program Design

• Technical and Creative Writing

• Community Engagement

Texas Woman's University
Doctorate in Rhetoric
Sep 2013 - Dec 2018
Dissertation: Communicative Composition (Published online)

Emerson College
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Sep 2010 - Dec 2012

• UserTesting, Qualtrics, Dovetail, Reduct

• Google Analytics, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Slides, Docs

• Figma, Sketch, Miro, Notion, Wrike, Jira, Confluence

• Slack, Teams, Zoom