I am a mixed-methods user researcher with extensive experience conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups, designing both qualitative and experimental research plans and surveys, supporting design sprints, and crafting compelling product impact narratives that motivate via meaning-making, empathy, and a comprehensive understanding of user needs.
Skills
In-Depth Interviews • Focus Groups • Sensitive Populations • Heuristic Analysis • Survey Design • Empathic Communication • Journey Mapping • Wireframing (Figma) • Visual Design (Adobe CS) • Qualitative Analysis (Dovetail, Grounded Theory) • Quantitative Analysis (SPSS) • Case Studies • Ethnographic Research • Attitudinal Research
Education
Master of Science - MS in Counseling Psychology
Portland State University
Portland, OR
Chi Sigma Iota (Counseling Honor Society), Psi Chi (Psychology Honor Society)
Bachelor of Arts - BA in Psychology
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT
Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Departmental Honors for Clinical Neuroscience Thesis
Selected Experience
2022 - Present
Google, Mountain View, CA (Provided by Magnit)
UX Researcher, Central Accessibility
Represented Google by presenting foundational accessibility research at an international conference, informing product design for a sensitive user group both internally and externally
Informed go/no-go decisions for product features by designing and directing multiple quantitative surveys to better understand specific user accessibility needs
Guided accessible design of tentpole products governed by large cross-functional teams by developing, conducting, analyzing, and presenting multiple qualitative user interview studies with sensitive populations
2021 - Present
Meru Health, San Mateo, CA
Clinical Mental Health Therapist for Digital Platform
Reduced anxiety, depression and burnout symptoms for clients as indicated by quantitative assessments and qualitative client interviews, using a newly developed, empirically-tested, digital platform for mental health treatment
Improved user experience by contributing clinical expertise to cross-functional teams including quality assurance and user experience groups
2014 - 2022
Private Clinical Mental Health Practice, Portland, OR
Licensed Professional Counselor (States of Oregon and Washington)
Reduced mental health symptoms for hundreds of clients by diagnosing and treating mental health symptoms (from mild anxiety to severe suicidality) via clinical therapy sessions
Improved capacity to support varied needs of incoming clients by cultivating a thriving referral community and formal consultation group of practitioners with a range of expertise
2009 - 2015
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR
Research Associate, Department of Neurology
Increased likelihood of early dementia diagnosis and intervention by gathering remote, automated data that can detect subtle behavioral changes prior to noticeable memory loss
Improved cognitive flexibility for seniors via an experimental social engagement intervention as evidenced by randomized, controlled trial results
2008 - 2009
InStyle Magazine (Time Inc.), New York, NY
Assistant Interaction Designer and Digital Photo Editor
Increased avenues for product sponsorship by improving usability of novel make-up try-on app via wireframe design and heuristic analysis
Managed cross-functional relationships with editorial team, print design team, accounts team, engineering team, and contributing photographers
2007
Usable Products Company, New York, NY
Usability Moderator and Analyst
Increased usability and identified user pain points of touch-screen phone technology for major telecommunications clients by administering focus groups, user interviews, and quantitative survey measures
Distilled telecom usability best practices into clear heuristics by collaborating on a white paper meta-study of handheld device usability
Presentations and Publications
Bowman, M., Robinson, J., Buehler, E., and Kane, S.. (2023). “I just thought it was me”: How Smartphones Fail Users with Mild-to-Moderate Dexterity Differences. In Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 4, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1145/3597638.3608396
Kaye, J., Reynolds, C., Bowman, M., Sharma, N., Riley, T., Golonka, O., Lee, J., Quinn, C., Beattie, Z., Austin, J., Seelye, A., Wild, K., Mattek, N. (2018). Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data. J. Vis. Exp., 137, e56942, doi:10.3791/56942.
Dodge, H.H., Mattek, N., Gregor, M., Bowman, M., Seelye, A., Ybarra, O., Asgari, M., Kaye, J.A.. (2015). Social Markers of Mild Cognitive Impairment: Proportion of Word Counts in Free Conversational Speech. Current Alzheimer Research, 12:6.
Dodge, H.H., Zhu, J., Mattek, N.C., Bowman, M., Ybarra, O., Wild, K.V., Loewenstein, D.A., Kaye, J.A. (2015). Web-enabled conversational interactions as a method to improve cognitive functions: Results of a 6-week randomized controlled trial. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 1:1, 1-12.
Dodge, H.H., Katsumata, Y, Bowman, M.R., Gregor, M.A., Kaye, J.A. (2013). Characteristics associated with willingness to participate in technology-based behavioral clinical trials. Alzheimer’s and Dementia, 9:4, 475-476.
Kimble, M.O., Bowman, M.R., Bababekov, Y. & Marks, L. (2008). The novelty P300 as an index of symptom severity in trauma survivors. Poster presented at the 24th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chicago, IL.
Gurland, S.T. & Bowman, M.R. (2005). Patterns of Motivation over Time. Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.