ABOUT ME
I'm Sharon, Nice to meet you
I’m an aspiring User Experience Researcher, driven by curiosity and a genuine desire to understand people. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Media and Communication and a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction, and I’m currently pursuing an MBA to deepen my understanding of business strategy and its intersection with human-centered design.
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My career has taken me from journalism—reporting for a newspaper and producing content for television—to finance, where I now manage a team helping clients make complex decisions. While these fields may seem worlds apart, both have taught me the same fundamental lesson: meaningful work starts with understanding human needs.
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These experiences shape my approach to UX research: combining empathy, analysis, and curiosity to uncover insights that drive impactful, human-centered solutions.
How I got started in user research
As a journalist, my job was to start with little knowledge on a topic and quickly become an expert through research, questions, and curiosity. That same mindset drives my work as a UX researcher. I may have assumptions about what users need, but only real behaviors and adoption can confirm them—so I dig deeper, challenge my own biases, and let insights lead the way.
I’ve always been drawn to innovation and technology, and UX research allows me to combine my storytelling and analytical skills with new methods to create meaningful, human-centered experiences that truly resonate.
What I've been working on
I’ve participated in projects where teams worked on designing and evaluating technologies such as websites, mobile apps, and desktop applications. In these collaborations, I applied user-centered and participatory design methods to ensure solutions were both useful and usable. My contributions often focused on exploratory user research, usability evaluation, information architecture, interaction design, and prototype development—allowing me to practice translating user insights into meaningful design outcomes.
What I'm Curious About
I’m deeply curious about the intersection of human behavior and technology, especially in the field of affective human-computer interaction. I’m fascinated by how people naturally communicate emotions, and how computers can recognize and respond to that information in ways that improve the user experience. Before technology can adapt to truly serve individuals, it must understand them—Did an action delight or frustrate the user? Did the interface help or create barriers? For me, the challenge and excitement lie in finding reliable, comfortable ways to sense and interpret emotional feedback so that technology becomes more human-centered, responsive, and meaningful.
Affiliations & Memberships
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Member of the Association for Computing Machinery ( ACM SIGCHI ) 2019 - Present
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Member of the User Experience Professionals ( UXPA ) 2019 - Present
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Member of Marketing Association ( AMA ) 2017 - Present
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Qcon New York Software Conference
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Volunteer Conference Coordinator , June 2019
