Education
University of Michigan, School of Information, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Master of Science in Information - December 2006
Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies - December 2006
Concentration: Human Computer Interaction; G.P.A. 8.0/8.0
Recipient of School of Information one-year tuition scholarship
Recipient of Rackham International Students fellowship for 2006
Recipient of Margaret Mann Award for 2006
Executive Board of the Student Organization for Computer-Human Interaction
Selected courses and projects:
- Projects in Social Enterprise – worked with IDRC to develop a set of case-studies that will inform Telecentre.org’s social enterprise venture fund
- Evaluation of Systems and Services - applied various evaluation methods to analyze usability, functionality, and aesthetics of breastcancer.org website
- Use of Information - performed an ethnographic study to help Motorola determine how to conjure "presence" and "connectedness" through technological means
- Information Visualization - employed user-centered design methods to create a prototype for an event planning visualization application
- Visual Persuasion - implemented a study to determine whether color saturation affects people's perception of print advertising
- Museum Studies Proseminar - developed an exhibit proposal for MDOT
- Ethics, Values, and Information Dilemmas - learned to apply various frameworks to analysis of ethical issues in the context of technology
Stetson University, DeLand, Florida
Bachelor of Arts in Digital Arts - December 2001
Major: Digital Arts; minor: Computer Science; G.P.A. 3.6/4.0; graduated Cum Laude
Recipient of Dean's list and Dean's transfer scholarship
Coursework in multimedia production, computer science, art, and design
Russian State University for the Humanities - September 1997 to June 1999
Major: Linguistics; concentration: Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems
Coursework in mathematics, programming, and linguistics
Relevant Professional Experience
Google Inc, Mountain View, California
User Experience Researcher, January 2007 - present
- Responsible for user experience research and usability of Google Geo products within the USA and internationally
- Contribute to planning and running user experience studies for other Google products
District Six Museum, Cape Town, South Africa
Research Intern, May 2006 - August 2006
- Participated in creating "Day in Life of District Six" interactive CD-ROM
- Researched materials for National Heritage Site declaration
- Assisted with youth outreach programs
University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Graduate Student Research Assistant, September 2005 - April 2006
- Designed and performed a usability study of Rackham website
- Maintained and updated Rackham website
- Developed web-based applications for various Rackham departments
International Telecommunication Union (United Nations), Geneva, Switzerland
Information Services Intern, May 2005 - August 2005
- Implemented improvements to the interface of World Summit for Information Society (WSIS) database of stocktaking activities
- Assisted on implementation of ITIL principles of Service Management
- Managed interns on IT-related projects
eFinity Inc, Tavares, Florida
Lead Web Developer, February 2004 - January 2005
- Defined strategies for the company's bilingual e-commerce web-portal
- Determined functional architecture and design specifications
- Evaluated and chose appropriate software and hardware
- Designed, developed and maintained web-based applications
- Managed the development process through entire lifecycle
Visual Flux Inc, Orlando, Florida
Multimedia Developer, January 2002 - January 2004
- Designed and developed various database-driven websites and applications
- Designed, developed and maintained intranet applications
- Created interactive CD-ROMs and took part in various multimedia development projects
Volunteer Experience
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Consultant, February 2006 - May 2006
- Developed and performed observational study to evaluate visitor experience
Community Information Corps, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Web Developer, January 2005 - May 2005
- Provided technical assistance with CIC content management system and website
P.S.1 MoMA Contemporary Arts Center, Long Island City, New York
Assistant to the Registrar, March 2005
- Participated in preparing "Greater New York 2005" exhibition
Technical Skills
Usability evaluation methods:
Contextual inquiry, usability testing, user personas and scenarios, surveys, GTN analysis, task analysis, heuristic evaluation, vocabulary analysis, visual analysis
Programming and development:
PHP, CSS, HTML, XHTML, XML, JavaScript, MySQL, Apache, Linux
Web-design, graphics and multimedia:
Macromedia Director, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Windows Media Encoder (with DRM), QuickTime
Language Proficiency
Russian - native; German - beginner; Italian - beginner