Jon Strohl is a user experience researcher at Fors Marsh Group, where he focuses on measuring people’s experience with technology and optimizing interfaces and designs. He is interested in the application of cognitive psychology research to improve user experience. He is an advocate for multimodal data collection in user experience testing – including implicit, explicit, and task-based measures. At Fors Marsh Group, he does a mix of research on government websites, password modeling, government surveys, and private-sector websites and apps. Jon holds a MA in Psychology with a concentration in Human Factors & Applied Cognition from George Mason University.

Heather Gay leads research initiatives for the Media Barn UX Lab.  She possesses an in-depth knowledge of user experience and industry research initiatives and has over 15 years of extensive knowledge managing a variety of user research projects.  By performing a range of qualitative and quantitative methods, she has informed the creative process for new product development, website, and package design; uncovered trends; and tracked advertising effectiveness.  She has traveled nationally and internationally to moderate over 3,500 research interviews, focus groups, and ideation sessions.  Over the course of her career, she has conducted usability test initiatives for companies such as Gap Inc., Johnson & Johnson, PBS KIDS, Wells Fargo Bank, AARP, United States Patent & Trademark Office, Council of Better Business Bureaus, Discovery Communications, and UPS.  Heather holds an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of San Francisco; a BA in International Affairs with a minor in Psychology from The George Washington University.

Cory Lebson has functioned as a UX consultant and researcher since 1994 and is the principal of Lebsontech.  He also enjoys teaching topics related to UX and conducts monthly seminars. He has been featured on the radio, has published several recent UX articles and is a frequent speaker.  He has an MBA focusing in marketing and technology management, as well as an MA in sociology and a BS in psychology. He is a current board member and former president of the DC chapter of UXPA and is the Director for Strategic Partnerships for UXPA International.

John Whalen leads Brilliant Experience – a consultancy using LeanUX, Agile and Design Thinking methodologies to provide UX insights, strategy and ideation to create brilliant experiences for startups and Fortune 500 clients.  He specializes in understanding the audience perspective and finding the ideal balance between user experience, business needs and technological possibility. He has experience (and great stories to tell from) working with clients in the financial, healthcare, ecommerce and government verticals. He is studying how mobile devices are changing our everyday behaviors.  He holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Johns Hopkins University and is the VP of UXPA-DC.

Jennifer Romano Bergstrom leads the user experience research efforts at Fors Marsh Group and designs protocols for qualitative and quantitative research efforts. She frequently collects physiological data, such as eye tracking, pupil dilation, and electrodermal activity, when conducting UX studies and is co-editor of Eye Tracking in User Experience Design (forthcoming, fall 2013). Many of her studies aim to improve user experience testing methods. She designs and tests surveys, teaches usability courses, presents at conferences, and publishes in peer-reviewed journals. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied/Experimental Psychology from The Catholic University of America and is the Vice President of UXPA-DC.

David Hawkins is a user experience researcher at Fors Marsh Group. He is interested in the design of user friendly interfaces and the use of physiological measures of user experience. Before joining the user experience research team at Fors Marsh Group, he was pursuing an interest in aviation psychology and lowering pilot workload during flight. In addition to improving the design of websites and consumer products, he is interested in aviation and the design user-friendly instrumentation for pilots.  He holds an MA in Psychology with a concentration in Human Factors and Applied Cognition from George Mason University.

Holly Lopez Long currently works at Fors Marsh Group as a research analyst on the user experience team. Her primary areas of experience are discourse analysis, ethnographic field methods, and computer-mediated-communication. Her work focuses on identity construction in social media environments. She has presented on religious identity on Twitter at the International Linguistics Association’s annual conference. She received her Master’s degree in linguistics from Georgetown University and her Bachelor’s degree in communication from Vanguard University. 

Bryan Wiggins has over ten years of experience managing, designing, and implementing research and training programs in academic, government, and private sectors. He has worked at Fors Marsh Group since 2004, serving as project lead on survey research efforts regarding employee attraction, recruiting, and satisfaction with populations in various stages of the recruiting process. In addition to survey research, he has been heavily involved in the creation of several career planning websites. He has also led multiple website evaluation efforts including focus group research, usability testing, and experimental testing. He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from George Mason University