Sarah Gilbert, MSIS

EXPERIENCE

JANUARY 2022 - MARCH 2023

TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) | Lead User Experience Researcher

• Determined and led research initiatives for TPT’s Search & Discovery team and the TPT School Access subscription product

• Led research to evaluate the feasibility of new product offerings using a qualitative and quantitative approach, resulting in a strategic realignment of TPT’s Search & Discovery  product team to better address customer demand 

• Owned a large-scale exploratory research initiative to identify key pain points for K-5 educators in the U.S. post-COVID, providing actionable insights to Product, Product Marketing, and Sales  

• Crafted Win/Loss and Customer Satisfaction surveys tailored to TPT’s subscription product on behalf of Product and Product Marketing

• Collaborated cross-functionally to devise an intuitive navigation structure through behavioral data and card sorting to improve SEO relevance and improve the overall browsing experience

• Led exploratory and usability research to ensure a successful launch of TPT Collections and actionable insights for future iterations 

• Guided the UXR team in information management workshops, developing streamlined processes for data storage and facilitating broader research dissemination 

NOVEMBER 2018 - NOVEMBER 2021

Chegg | Senior User Experience Researcher

• Owned, planned, and conducted research initiatives for Chegg’s Writing Products and the Identity & Access Management platform team

• Proposed and conducted a longitudinal research initiative involving interviews, usability testing, and behavioral data, leading to the creation of a 3-quarter product roadmap for Chegg Writing

• Established an annual usability benchmark protocol to evaluate the impact of incremental feature and advertisement enhancements made across Chegg Writing products each year

• Managed a small team of  junior UX researchers, interns, and contractors  

• Developed new protocols to consolidate insights from no-reply emails, customer service contacts, and social media feedback into a digestible monthly report

• Advocated for and collaborated directly with research operations to establish dedicated research panel for students with disabilities

JANUARY 2018 - AUGUST 2018

WPEngine | User Experience Researcher

• Acted as the first UX Researcher for the organization guiding product leadership in determining research tools, recruitment practices, and protocols  

• Conducted and analyzed large-scale survey to better understand the processes and tools utilized by software engineers to define priorities for WPEngine product teams' strategy

• Led continuous usability initiatives to comprehend how WPEngine's user experience could cater to the requirements of both novice and advanced software engineers 

• Implemented data-driven audience segmentation to a team of cross-functional partners 

• Provided guidance and coaching to peers on research methodologies empowering them to undertake independent small-scale research initiatives

JULY 2015 - DECEMBER 2017

Springbox | User Researcher

• Clients included, but were not limited to, Dell, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, and Qualcomm

• Designed and facilitated research using methods such as field studies, contextual inquiries, remote and in-person usability testing, content testing, concept testing, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, surveys, card sorting both in-person, and qualitative brand research

• Acted as the company's knowledge base for accessibility, conducting accessibility-specific research and audits

• Collaborated closely with quantitative analysts for research design development and validation plans

• Led research recruitment efforts, including sourcing, screening, and scheduling participants with both internal resources and external partners 

DECEMBER 2013 - JULY 2015

Whole Foods Market | User Experience Strategist

• Led research efforts aimed at developing internal tools to streamline the organic certification process across all retail stores, facilitating seamless communication between stores, the corporate office, and organic certification organizations

• Conducted research to design the information architecture and user interface of an internal database for Whole Foods Market’s company-wide buyer department

• Established and spearheaded a collaborative partnership between Whole Foods' product and engineering teams and an accessibility non-profit, Knowbility, leading volunteer initiatives to develop accessible websites for non-profit organizations

• Developed training materials and conducted training sessions for team members learning to use content management systems

• Presented work to internal stakeholders and company executives

JUNE 2013 – JUNE 2014

Perry-Castañeda Library at The University of Texas of Austin | Ask-A-Librarian

• Provided virtual and in-person references services to UT students, faculty, and staff

• Collaborated with subject librarians on projects, including acquisitions of new map artifacts and cataloging map of materials

• Conducted library instruction classes for small groups of new students

SEPTEMBER. 2012 – SEPTEMBER 2013

School of Information at The University of Texas at Austin | Graduate Research Assistant

Indigenous Ways: Assessing the Awareness of and Potential Need for Identifying Content on Indigenous Worldview in Educating Libraries/Archives/Museum (LAM) Entry‐Level Professionals

• Collaborated to compose survey instruments using Qualtrics and conduct semi-structured interviews

• Aided in the creation of participant screener and the recruitment of participants

• Assisted in the analysis of research results for publications and presentations

education

The University of Texas at Austin: School of Information | Austin, TX 

Master of Science in Information Studies

Emmanuel College | Boston, MA

Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Writing

University of Queensland | St. Lucia QLD, Australia

Study Abroad

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Methodologies

Ethnographic Field Studies, Focus Groups, Surveys, Interviews, Contextual Inquiries, In-person & Remote Usability Studies, Card Sorting, Concept Testing, Heuristic Evaluations, Competitive Analysis, Benchmark analysis, A/B testing, Multivariate testing, and Workshops

Technology

Qualtrics, Survey Monkey, Optimal Sort, Google Analytics, Hotjar, Salesforce, Gainsight, Usertesting.com, InVision, Figma, Axure, Sketch, Adobe Suite, OmniGraffle, ArcGIS, MySQL, HTML, CSS, Novice PHP, and Google G Suite, Adobe Analytics, Amplitude, Zendesk, and Optimizely

Deliverables

Research Synthesis Presentations, Research Plans, User Flows, Feature Requirements, User Journeys, EcoSystems, Personas, Archetypes, Content Inventories, Content Audits, Competitor Analysis, Site Goals, Page Goals, Site Structures, and Taxonomies

publications

Roy, Loriene, Ciaran Trace, and Sarah Gilbert "`Indigenous Ways': Assessing the Awareness of and Potential Need for Identifying Content on Indigenous Worldview in Educating Libraries/Archives/Museum (LAM) Entry Level Professionals," 79th World Library and Information Congress, Singapore, August 19, 2013. Available at: http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/108.

Roy, Loriene, Elizabeth Kennedy Hallmark, and Sarah Gilbert. "Wanted: UX Specialist with Reference Preparation or Reference Classes Assist Students in Preparing for UX Careers." The Reference Librarian 59, no. 1 (2017): 35-41. doi:10.1080/02763877.2017.1356654.

presentations