UX Research Lead · Developmental Psychologist
For ten years I led research at Google, shaping Gmail, Calendar, and Tasks for more than a billion people. My training is in child development, and that's still the lens I bring to my work. Today I help parents make sense of what's behind their kids' behavior, and I help teams build products that feel obvious to the people using them.
For parents
I take what developmental research actually says and turn it into calm, practical guidance you can use at home. More than 10,000 parents follow along on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, learning to read their kids' behavior instead of just reacting to it.
For teams
Ten years leading UX research at Google, across productivity tools and AI. I'm good at getting stakeholders aligned, running research that mixes methods, and turning what we learn into decisions teams actually act on. I also mentor researchers, and I'm open to consulting, speaking, and advisory work.
About
I'm a research leader with a background in child development and ten years at Google behind me. My job has always come down to the same thing: watch how people really behave, whether they're office workers, executives, or families, and use that to build things that fit their lives. Along the way I helped shape strategy for tools used by more than a billion people.
I've also mentored eight researchers into full-time roles, which I'm quietly proud of. These days I spend my time helping parents make sense of their kids' behavior, bringing the same rigor I used on billion-user products to the questions that matter most at home.
She has a highly-structured, efficient, and reliable approach to her work. These capabilities enabled her to consistently exceed set objectives.
I've never seen anyone in UXR being so effective as she is.
She is not only an amazing & insightful researcher, but also someone who makes sort of behind-the-scenes contributions that make everyone look better.
Selected work
When COVID hit, I ran the research that let Calendar respond fast. It fed straight into the hybrid-work features people rely on today: Working Location, Focus Time, and Time Insights. The work drew on feedback from 26 of our top enterprise customers and more than 400 power users. I also facilitated Calendar's first hybrid design sprint, getting around 25 partners aligned on a three-year plan.
I led the research behind the very first Tasks mobile app, from the early studies through launch, and took the findings and success metrics straight to VPs. Focus groups with top UK enterprise customers helped shape where the product went next.
I built a readiness-to-launch framework that shaped Smart Reply across four languages, one of which Google's CEO called out on an earnings call. My diary studies into how people actually write also informed early Smart Compose and the writing help that came after it.
I led the ergonomics and human-factors research on prototype self-driving cars, which shaped both the in-car experience and the safety decisions behind it. I ran usability studies for the rider app, and led ride-alongs and empathy sessions with participants who were visually or mobility impaired, alongside C-level executives.
Path
Self-directed
Growing a community of more than 10,000 parents across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and turning academic research into guidance that's genuinely usable at home. The aim is calmer, better-informed parenting.
Google · Mountain View, CA & Zürich, Switzerland
I led strategic research for Gmail, Calendar, and Tasks, owning the qualitative roadmap and the insights that reached executives, for teams of 20-plus engineers and designers. I also led a cross-product AI research initiative and put together Calendar and Tasks' first in-person AI and Time Management panel for VPs and directors.
1st place, Accessibility Innovation Sprint · Feats of Engineering award, Calendar Offline
Google X / Waymo (contract via Adecco) · Mountain View, CA
Human-factors and ergonomics research on prototype self-driving vehicles, plus usability research for the rider app.
Stanford University · Palo Alto, CA
Studied instructor presence in online learning via eye-tracking (paper accepted to CHI 2014) and mentored global TAs for Stanford's HCI courses on Coursera.
Stanford University · Palo Alto, CA
Streamlined employment-verification workflows, reducing errors and overhead.
La Jolla, CA
MA in Experimental Psychology, focused on child development (2010–2011), and a BS in Psychology with Honors (2006–2010).
Get in touch
I'm always glad to hear from parents, fellow researchers, and anyone building something people actually have to use. I'm based in Zürich.