I am a cross-cultural user experience researcher. I am a global UX evangelist and teacher. I am a long-time techie and believe all people deserve wonderful technology.
Experience
iHub, Nairobi, Kenya
UX Lab Lead (January 2014–April 2016)
Starting as a visiting research fellow, I transitioned to management of a 10 to 15 person team of staff consultants, visiting researchers, and interns. I was the primary client contact and project manager. I created project strategies and oversaw customized field research, analysis, and final design solutions/reports for each client. I also consulted as a UX trainer for clients and in-house courses.
Moringa School, Nairobi, Kenya
UX Instructor and Board Member (January 2015–April 2016)
As a teacher, I designed and regularly taught a 16-week user experience design curriculum to technical coding students. On the board, I provided strategic direction advice to the management team, arbitrated salary/benefit negotiations, and personnel issues.
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Instructor (August 2013 – December 2013)
Associate Instructor (January 2010–May 2013)
Each semester I taught a class of approximately 30 students. Spring 2013, I headed a team of graduate student teaching assistants and coordinated two sections, each with approximately 150 students. My courses focused on technology design ethics and cultural context.
University of Nottingham, Horizon Digital Economy Research
Pervasive Monuments Project, Nottingham, England
Research Intern (July 2011 – September 2011)
I designed and conducted data analysis with video and audio data collected in Kigali, Rwanda at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre. I worked collaboratively to construct a methodologically-focused case-study publication reporting on our experience and adaptations to a unique analytic method.
Purdue Federal Credit Union, West Lafayette, Indiana
User Experience Engineer/Webmaster (August 2007–February 2010)
I project managed eCommerce projects and worked closely with marketing department on analytics and new web campaigns. I launched and maintained corporate website and integrated/supported various vendor applications with native applications.
Education
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Doctoral Candidate (ABD)
Doctorate of Philosophy: (2010 – 2017*)
Informatics, Human-Computer Interaction
Minor: Anthropology
(*leave of absence 2014-2016)
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Bachelor of Science: Physics (05 – 07)
Bachelor of Arts: Psychology (99 – 03)
Bachelor of Arts: Communication (99 – 03)
Advertising Concentration
Minors: Design and Organizational Supervision
Publications
Merritt, S. and Stolterman E. Cultural Hybridity in Participatory Design. In Proceedings of the 12th Biennial Participatory Design Conference (PDC 2012), Volume II, ACM Press (2012), 73-76.
Merritt, S., Durrant, A., Reeves, S., and Kirk, D. In Dialogue: Methodological Insights on Doing HCI Research in Rwanda. In Proceedings of the 31st International Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA 2012). ACM Press (2012), 661-676. (CHI Honorable Mention – Long Case Study Category)
Merritt, S. Lessons and opportunities in ICT4D: three things I did not know before I started my research. XRDS 19, 2 (December 2012), 46-49.
Merritt, S. and Bardzell, S. Postcolonial Language and Culture Theory for HCI4D. In Proceedings of the 29th International Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA 2010). ACM Press (2010), 1675-1680.