Speakers

Emily is a creativity-driven operations and project management professional experienced at making complex projects accessible and successful for diverse audiences. She's passionate about leadership, leveraging the latest tech with intention.

Arundati Dandapani, MLitt, CAIP, CIPP/C, CIPM, is Founder and CEO of Generation1.ca, a North American social enterprise and professional community organization advancing immigrant inclusion with professional supports, career mobility, and workforce innovations.

Jonathan Erickson is a mixed-method researcher with over 10 years of experience on both the supplier and brand side. He's most recently left the supplier side as an Innovation & CX Director at Kantar, now working as a Lead CX Researcher at Centene.

Connie is a systems thinker, drawn to the hard questions that resist easy answers. My work centers on what it means to be human in the age of AI — how technology is reshaping human experience from the inside out.

Stefanie Hutka, PhD, is a UX practitioner, author, and educator. She is currently the Head of Design Research at Sendfull, her boutique consultancy for emerging technology teams. Previously, Stefanie led design research and strategy for 0-to-1 product launches.

Julia has built her career at the smack dab intersection of Anthropology and Marketing, exploring how humans make economic decisions. In 2025, she founded Isaacs Insights LLC., and offers qualitative strategy, moderation, and analysis to brands.

Dr. Melika Kordrostami is a Marketing Professor specializing in Research Methods and Consumer Psychology, with over a decade of experience doing end-to-end market research in academia.

Dr. Mary Carol Mazza is a behavioral scientist, researcher, and strategist who has worked at the intersection of human behavior and technology across tech, healthcare, government and academia. She has held senior research and strategy roles at Apple, Meta, and Google.

Lauren McCluskey is founder and principal of Responsive Research, a strategic qualitative insights consultancy focused on helping brands and agencies navigate complex consumer, cultural, and innovation challenges.

Mpho Mpofu is the Founder and CEO of Masutane, a qualitative research consultancy based in Johannesburg working across African and global markets. Over two decades, she has led work across consumer goods, financial services, retail, and development, on the continent

Nichola Quail is the Founder and CEO of Insights Exchange, a fully managed global market research network connecting mid-tier brands with 35+ independent research specialists. Since 2024, Nichola has been building AI-augmented research delivery into her business.

Marissa Romero-Martin is Founder & Chief Insight Officer of Culturati Research & Consulting, an advanced cultural insights and strategy firm helping Fortune 100 brands navigate today’s evolving polycultural mainstream.

Michele Ronsen started as a designer. A good one. But it wasn't until she discovered the power of research that she understood what she'd been missing — and what better outcomes had always required. She builds things. The Curiosity Tank methodology. The UX Lexicon.

Angie Wheeler is President of Lumanity Insight, USA, where she leads a full-service custom marketing research consultancy for the life sciences industry, and she also heads Lumanity’s Patient Center of Excellence, a cross-functional network.