MEET THE TEAM

A natural mentor, Mona has created user experience strategies and in-house usability programs for hundreds of clients through training and consulting. She has innovated new methodologies for evaluating decision making, emotion and persuasion. With over 10 years experience, Mona has developed an unmatched ability to influence organizations to appreciate and use UX as a competitive differentiator. She is a skilled practitioner in user experience research and design, usability testing, expert reviews and interaction design. Her core expertise lies in public-facing websites applications, intranets, enterprise portals, medical devices, voice systems and consumer products. Mona teaches at Parsons The New School for Design, educating tomorrow’s designers about the value of good research in cutting edge design. She is also an active committee leader for various conferences such as World Usability Day and Design for Conversion.

Prior to starting Motivate Design, Mona worked as a Vice President at Human Factors International (HFI). There, she consulted and taught for over 100 clients and collaborated with a talented team of UX professionals. Prior to her work at HFI, she was a Research Scientist at American Institutes for Research. Mona holds an MS in Marketing Communications from Boston University and a BS in Engineering Psychology from Tufts University.

Meghan has strongly influenced the thinking and ideas around how Motivate Design can squeeze the most out of a research dollar. She has the mind of a master analyzer with an incredible ability to ask the right questions and understand why a consumer’s answer matters to a design.

Meghan is a graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York City, where she earned her BBA in Design and Management. Throughout her studies and work experience, she’s learned the fundamentals of both business and design and its importance in thinking both analytically and innovatively. Mona was a former professor of hers and hired her one year after the company was started. Meghan assists with research of many sorts, including interviews, surveys and the rare shop-along. In addition, she oversees the design direction for various projects and finalizes project deliverables. Lastly, Meghan is working on Motivate Design’s latest venture called UX Hires.

And when she’s not working, she’s walking 80 blocks or so around the city… aimlessly… just because it makes her happy.

Julia joined the Motivate team in 2011 after completing her education at Parsons the New School for Design. There she studied Design and Management, an innovative program focusing on the entrepreneurial and strategic aspects of design. Her multidisciplinary education taught her how to incorporate smart design principles in to everyday experiences.

Eager to going the Motivate team, she began contributing meaningful insights right out of the gate on projects for clients such as Carters, The Coca-Cola Company and LexisNexis. Julia has a natural understanding and talent for creating beautiful, usable designs. As a recent graduate, she also is very current on what the new graduating generation wants, expects and needs from interfaces. Her fresh perspective will challenge us to think harder and smarter, about fresh, clean designs that get people into a flow and keep them there.

A lifelong technology enthusiast, Chris has a profound fascination with the sociological and cultural components of cyber-anthropology and interactive media. A new media designer by training, she also has experience with graphic design and 2D animation. Her interests range from gastronomy to American history to mid-century modern chairs.

She holds a BFA in Design & Technology from Parsons The New School for Design. Her senior thesis used both humor theory and cyber-anthropological research to explore the popularity of contemporary web humor and the recent trend towards participatory culture in today’s models of media consumption.

Caroline is originally from warm and sunny Southern California but has spent her adult life appreciating the inclement weather in New York City. After working for the last five years in Finance/Operations for luxury fashion, she decided to pursue her dream jobs as Business Manager for Motivate Design and food writer.

She has attended New York University and the CUNY School of Professional Studies for English and Philosophy.

Katie is a digital marketing and user experience strategist. With over 15 years of experience, Katie helps organizations craft beautiful, compelling, and engaging digital experiences.

With a unique passion for design, technology, and communication, Katie has worked with organizations across the world to deliver high quality digital solutions that drive business results. Her passions include conducting user research, giving seminars on digital strategy, and working with teams to solve complex brand and business challenges. She enjoys working across many industry verticals, including transportation, entertainment, financial, and emerging technologies.

Meena has a true passion for modeling user experiences that make a difference to all stakeholders. In her 20+ years of experience, she has consulted to numerous organizations worldwide, and is well versed with the importance of understanding user motivations and behaviors for products and services. Meena truly strategizes about the benefits of a strong user experience as an organizational-wide approach. Relating good user definition back to specific returns on investment is something she considers key to the experience strategy. She has specific skills in conducting user research, defining accurate personas, and porting the concepts learned through to a unique and enjoyable design. Meena’s experience is varied across websites, mobile and tablet applications, processes and devices (involving high end conversation on color, form and factor). Apart from consulting, Meena teaches in the Bentley University Human Factors and Information Design (HFID) graduate program, and has helped evolved the course offerings in the past 10 years to now stand as one of the top three human factors/user experience programs worldwide. Meena has carried through her ability to look at designs from the user’s lens to her favorite pastimes as well: teaching Indian classical music, running her cooking show, and writing children’s books.

Prior to working independently, Meena managed the Customer Experience Innovation Center for the Scient Corporation in Boston, worked as a Managing Director with Human Factors International, and led the Human Factors Competency in the Midwest region for Cambridge Technology Partners. She holds an MS in Information Resources Management (with a User concentration) from Syracuse University, and a Bachelors of Commerce (with an MIS concentration) from the University of Ottawa, Canada.