{ "conference": { "slug": "design-research", "name": "Design Research 2026", "url": "https://webdirections.org/design-research/" }, "updated_at": "2026-07-16T20:08:28.423Z", "count": 10, "speakers": [ { "id": "dcb71afb-038a-4ba7-b911-352a72d1cb2a", "slug": "ania-mastalerz", "full_name": "Ania Mastalerz", "pronouns": "She/her", "job_title": "Lead Researcher", "employer": "Atlassian", "bio": "Ania Mastalerz is a Lead Researcher at Atlassian, working at the intersection of technology, design, and human behaviour. She’s spent the past decade partnering with product teams at Atlassian, Xero, and Optimal Workshop to shape experiences used by millions of people around the world. With a background in applied psychology and a passion for qualitative methods, Ania brings a pragmatic approach to uncovering insights that help teams balance rigour with speed. When she’s not diving into complex research questions, you’ll find her tackling DIY renovations, heading to the beach with her dog, or snowboarding down a mountain.", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/dcb71afb-038a-4ba7-b911-352a72d1cb2a?v=1779663569109", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniamastalerz/", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniamastalerz/", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null }, "presentation_ids": [ "db8ea2f7-fa98-4ac3-a749-82869e4a63c8" ] }, { "id": "3d033b00-6d18-4e2a-a97d-5246920334ed", "slug": "anna-lee-anda", "full_name": "Anna Lee Anda", "job_title": "Senior Manager, UX Research", "employer": "Zendesk", "bio": "Anna Lee Anda is a UX research leader with more than 15 years of experience helping organisations understand customers and make better decisions. As Senior Manager of UX Research at Zendesk, she leads international teams focused on product strategy, customer experience, and business impact.\r\n\r\nHer interests include research leadership, organisational influence, and the intersection of AI and human insight. Anna is passionate about helping researchers move beyond delivering insights to driving meaningful change across their organisations.", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/3d033b00-6d18-4e2a-a97d-5246920334ed?v=1782072639529", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": null, "linkedin": "https://linkedin.com/in/annaleea", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": "http://askwhy.substack.com" }, "presentation_ids": [ "798a8980-94aa-4ff1-9753-89260bfa3c5d" ] }, { "id": "a9af6f9d-5492-464c-9185-263c9714f4a5", "slug": "bhaven-chauhan", "full_name": "Bhaven Chauhan", "job_title": "Service Design Lead", "employer": "Transport for NSW", "bio": "Bhaven Chauhan is a Senior Service Designer at Transport for NSW with over 16 years of international experience across the UK, France and Australia. As an industrial designer, he worked across kitchenware, homeware, furniture, consumer electronics, tools for home improvement and supporting start-ups.\r\n \r\nIn recent years he entered the world of service and customer experience design, giving him the opportunity to influence the entire end-to-end customer journey and apply his passion for inclusivity across public transport fleet, infrastructure and services.", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/a9af6f9d-5492-464c-9185-263c9714f4a5?v=1781767182814", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": null, "linkedin": null, "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null }, "presentation_ids": [ "34a182b8-49ab-402a-b126-169703e926f5" ] }, { "id": "3295f96e-9041-4d50-a0c1-1819a193f2f4", "slug": "chanel-lee", "full_name": "Chanel Lee", "bio": "Chanel Lee is a human-centred design practitioner who helps organisations turn complexity into clarity. With a career spanning industrial design, design management, brand strategy and communication, she has worked with some of Australia’s leading brands and more recently at Transport for NSW, where she focused on service design, complex systems and engagement.\r\n \r\nChanel craves simplicity with integrity; creating solutions that are thoughtful, practical and inclusive. She is passionate about improving experiences for organisations, employees and customers alike, with a particular focus on advocating for vulnerable communities.", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/3295f96e-9041-4d50-a0c1-1819a193f2f4?v=1781767619418", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": null, "linkedin": null, "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null }, "presentation_ids": [ "34a182b8-49ab-402a-b126-169703e926f5" ] }, { "id": "3d44332f-8f45-48ce-8ed6-b0bf8d3feafc", "slug": "dr-asma-qureshi", "full_name": "Dr Asma Qureshi", "pronouns": "She/her", "job_title": "Research & Insights Principal", "employer": "A2 Online", "bio": "I am a research strategist who partners with businesses, technology organisations, and SaaS teams to turn research into clear strategic direction and measurable impact. I work hands-on across the full research lifecycle, spanning academic, consulting, industry, and policy research, with a strong focus on evidence-based decision-making.\r\n\r\n\r\nMy expertise brings together data-driven insights, UX and CX (Voice of Customer) research, strategic research planning, stakeholder engagement, and robust survey and measurement design. Using a mix of primary and secondary research methods, I help organisations move beyond surface-level insights to understand what truly drives customer behaviour, product adoption, and long-term value.\r\nAs a customer-centred, insights-led researcher, I focus on uncovering human behaviours, habits, motivations, and attitudes to help teams design products, services, and strategies grounded in real-world needs. I’m particularly drawn to emerging technologies and SaaS environments, where strong research can shape how people learn, work, and interact at scale.\r\n\r\n\r\nBeyond UX and customer research, I bring deep experience in strategic research program design, vendor management, and cross-sector collaboration. I work closely with senior stakeholders and interdisciplinary teams to ensure research findings are translated into actionable strategy, product roadmaps, and policy-ready recommendations.\r\n\r\n\r\nI actively contribute to the research and technology community through thought leadership, including writing on Medium and publishing a LinkedIn newsletter focused on research practice and emerging industry trends. I also partner with SaaS companies to evaluate user research platforms and capabilities, providing practical, real-world feedback that informs product innovation.\r\nForward-thinking and outcomes-focused, I bridge academic rigour, industry innovation, and strategic insight to help organisations build better products, make confident decisions, and deliver meaningful customer experiences.", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/3d44332f-8f45-48ce-8ed6-b0bf8d3feafc?v=1779605226177", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/draaq/", "linkedin": null, "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": "https://researchworld.com/people/dr-asma-qureshi" }, "presentation_ids": [ "a9949e89-dfc9-430d-9d46-62e5ea731828" ] }, { "id": "bda98553-6543-4fb8-b801-49c09f944a10", "slug": "chandra-harrison", "full_name": "Dr Chandra Harrison", "pronouns": "She/Her", "job_title": "Managing Director / Researcher", "employer": "Access Advisors", "bio": "Chandra Harrison, PhD, is a design researcher and accessibility specialist based in Aotearoa New Zealand. As Managing Director of Access Advisors, she leads disability-focused research that uses lived experience and participatory methods. Her work combines academic and applied research to improve understanding and inclusion. She has published research in books and journals and has presenter work at conferences around the world in many different areas from appliance design to human computer interaction.", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/bda98553-6543-4fb8-b801-49c09f944a10?v=1781504679637", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandraharrison/", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandraharrison", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": "https://accessadvisors.nz/" }, "presentation_ids": [ "6fef7a2c-aaeb-4598-add4-57b54575e082" ] }, { "id": "fc2e2799-3f81-4f95-8817-245e2f25fdb1", "slug": "melissa-voderberg", "full_name": "Melissa Voderberg", "pronouns": "she/her", "job_title": "Director of Customer Experience & Innovation", "employer": "Publicis Sapient", "bio": "Melissa Voderberg is a senior design executive with over 20 years leading customer experience and service design transformation programs across education, retail, utilities, health, transportation, hospitality, and government sectors.", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/fc2e2799-3f81-4f95-8817-245e2f25fdb1?v=1774136165370", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissavoderberg/", "linkedin": null, "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null }, "presentation_ids": [ "65a86d70-26bd-4624-aa6a-750f2dda99f7" ] }, { "id": "4f6434e7-992f-489c-bb94-4a0163f1835c", "slug": "rebecca-klee", "full_name": "Rebecca Klee", "pronouns": "She/Her", "job_title": "CX Researcher & Designer", "employer": "Meridian Energy / Independent Consultant", "bio": "Rebecca Klee is a design researcher with over 15 years’ experience helping organisations understand customer behaviour and make better decisions. She currently works as a CX Designer across Meridian Energy and Powershop, and also leads research programs through independent consulting engagements.\r\n\r\nOver her career, Rebecca has worked across energy, fintech, SaaS, e-commerce, tourism, and public sector organisations, helping teams navigate complex customer, commercial, and delivery challenges. Her work sits at the intersection of research, experience design, and strategy, with a particular interest in translating customer insight into practical decisions and meaningful change.\r\n\r\nRebecca has spoken at UX and research conferences across New Zealand, Europe, and North America, and is known for sharing honest, practical perspectives on what works in research - and what doesn't. Based in Wellington, she spends her time balancing customer conversations, design thinking, and life with her young daughter.", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/4f6434e7-992f-489c-bb94-4a0163f1835c?v=1780109288553", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaeklee/", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaeklee/", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null }, "presentation_ids": [ "65d4a49c-82f2-4ec9-b649-d75353fa94df" ] }, { "id": "7e017781-c0b8-4fc6-bc7d-f2b35d19d3c5", "slug": "weiyan-chee", "full_name": "Weiyan Chee", "pronouns": "she/her", "job_title": "ResearchOps Lead", "employer": "Bupa", "bio": "Weiyan Chee is a research operations leader with a background in cognitive neuroscience and UX research. She has spent over 16 years executing and scaling research across academia, tech, and global organisations. Her work focuses on making research rigorous, ethical, and actually usable at scale", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/7e017781-c0b8-4fc6-bc7d-f2b35d19d3c5?v=1780355141393", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/weiyanchee/", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/weiyanchee/", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null }, "presentation_ids": [ "602622d2-abcf-4e57-ad85-9edb25b94016" ] }, { "id": "e6092128-a107-4c73-b596-047cd3a67962", "slug": "william-yanko", "full_name": "William Anthony Yanko, PhD", "pronouns": "He/Him", "job_title": "CX/UX Research Leader", "employer": "Flight Centre Travel Group", "bio": "William Yanko is a CX/UX Research leader and PhD-qualified Anthropologist who has spent over a decade figuring out why people do what they do, and making sure that actually matters to the organisations he works with. His path hasn't been a straight line. Along the way, he's embedded himself in contexts most researchers don't get near, from wearable technology and city-scale tracking systems to emergency safety tools in mining and early-stage fintech at a Southeast Asian super-app. He currently heads the Centre of Excellence for Research at Flight Centre Travel Group - Leisure, working closely with senior leadership to ensure major business, product and technology decisions are grounded in real human behaviour. His PhD from RMIT University, where he researched the sociopolitics of Indonesian hip hop, is what shaped his conviction that good research is ultimately about listening carefully to people who are rarely asked.", "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/e6092128-a107-4c73-b596-047cd3a67962?v=1781490509645", "speaker_type": "Speaker", "social": { "social_media": "@drwillyanko", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-yanko-phd-886b108a/", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": "https://www.williamyanko.com" }, "presentation_ids": [ "feeae31a-6bc4-4485-8162-6cdaa086d815" ] } ] }