OVERVIEW
Tara is a Design Researcher and systems thinker, who applies perceptive problem solving and people-centered design thinking to product development. She is adept at developing insights, synthesizing information, conducting interviews, and creating appropriate solutions. Tara facilitates experiences and excels at being put in a room with users and uncovering their unmet needs. She is adaptable to different environments and cultures and possesses high-level communication and problem-solving skills.
EXPERIENCE
After earning her master’s degree in Industrial and Product Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Tara started off as a UX Researcher with a focus in the art world. Prior to that, she worked as a Designer and even further back, as a Research Aide in the United Nations. During her time at the UN, Tara followed the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, provided targeted research, collaborated with colleagues to cover negotiations, prepared statements for UN commissions on the status of women and social development, facilitated workshops, and contributed insights for multilateral work on the UN agenda. She also lived and worked in Haifa, Israel for more than 3 years as an Assistant to the Secretary-General of the Bahá’í International Community during her time at the UN, supporting diplomatic work, drafting correspondence to government offices, preparing presentations, locating archival materials, and much more. Her role at THRIVE is the culmination of 4 years spent as a Design Researcher. At THRIVE, Tara keeps the users at the center of her research.
EXTRAS
Tara’s experience at the UN working on issues such as gender equality, youth in sustainable development, migration, and climate change helped her grasp how to advance causes from grassroots to an international level. She seeks to understand problems on the ground and has witnessed how policies impact people. Tara ultimately pivoted to design because she wanted to be nimbler and more experimental; however, she has maintained her passion for using her talents to do good in the world. She is currently working with designers to understand how racial bias affects design and to counter that problem with anti-racist design as a part of The Race After Technology Book Club. Tara enjoys arts and culture, loves dancing (especially ballet, bachata, and salsa) and music, and is fascinated by art history and using it as a lens to explore the history of the world.