Heather Coldsmith Young

1026 47th Street | Emeryville, California 94608 | 773.793.0811

heathercoldsmith@gmail.com | www.heathercyoung.com

Objective

Education

I am a curious, analytical, and highly organized leader who

thrives in a dynamic and collaborative environment where
I can learn, grow, and put my experience to work
alongside passionate colleagues. I know how best to
connect with users in order to support organizations in
aligning business objectives with customers needs and
desires.

Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois

Master of Arts in Media, Technology, and Society;

School of Communications June, 2011
o Thesis: Watching #Glee!: Twitter and
the Social Uses of Television
Bachelor of Science in Radio, Television, and
Film; Minor in Business Institutions June, 2008

Experience
GfK Custom Research San Francisco, California
Senior Lead User Experience Specialist | June, 2014 Present
Lead User Experience Specialist | June, 2013 June, 2014
User Experience Specialist | October, 2011 June, 2013

Actively oversee and independently engage in all phases of the research process including sales, planning and
preparation, data collection, data analysis, and reporting

Work with clients to define key objectives and develop methodology to efficiently collect relevant data in order to
gain insights and develop actionable recommendations

Manage end-to-end research projects in a number of sectors using a variety of methods, including usability tests,
longitudinal data collection, log analysis, in-depth interviews, task-based interviews, focus groups, and more

Lead teams of user experience researchers and designers on a project-to-project basis

Web Use Project, Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois

Lab Manager | December, 2007 June, 2008; September, 2010 August, 2011

Managed undergraduate research assistants by delegating tasks, tracking progress, supervising work, and setting
deadlines using a high degree of attention to detail in order to facilitate expedient data collection and analysis

Oversaw daily operations and tracked multiple research projects in an academic research lab, made suggestions
for improvement, and generated weekly reports to principal investigator

Organized workshop funded by the MacArthur Foundations Digital Media and Learning Initiative to develop
recommendations for best practices when combining the collection and analysis of log data with observational
data

Publications

Taneja, Harsh, and Young, Heather (2013) Adoption of the Internet in the Television Industry: Explaining
Diffusion of an Inefficient Innovation in Alan Albarran (Ed.) Media Management and Economics Research in a
Transmedia Environment. Taylor & Francis.

Hargittai, Eszter and Young, Heather (2012) Searching for a Plan B: Young Adults' Strategies for Finding
Information about Emergency Contraception Online, Policy & Internet: Vol. 4: Iss. 2, Article 4.