Justine leads research to support Understood's and their partners’ learning agendas. An experienced insights professional, Justine has 20 years experience developing brand strategy, innovation and advertising for brands like Avon, Lysol & Mucinex. Recently she joined the Accessible Insights Consortium where she will work alongside Verizon, Ipsos & other leading thought partners to develop and share best practices for accessibility in research. Justine has her MBA with a Marketing focus from SDSU.

Kisha (she/her) is the Global Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer and Global Head of Culture at Escalent. Known for her dynamic approach, Kisha transforms organizational cultures by embedding DEI into the fabric of business strategy and everyday operations. A proud graduate of Spelman College and Duke University School of Law, she leverages her diverse background in nonprofit, legal, and for-profit sectors to challenge conventional thinking on inclusion. As an advocate for neurodivergent strengths, inspired by her own ADHD and her son Lawson's journey on the autism spectrum, Kisha is passionate about unlocking the unique superpowers within everyone. She resides in Atlanta, GA, where she occasionally dabbles in iPad art, blending creativity with her commitment to innovation.

Jane Ottensmeyer is the Head of Strategy & Innovation at C Space, committed to helping partners unlock transformative ideas for their businesses. With a diverse background in consumer insights, innovation, and social impact strategy, Jane is passionate about intentional design that addresses true human needs. A relentless optimist, she believes there is always a solution that meets the needs of the business, the consumer, and the world. Some career highlights include developing new patient pathways for Mayo Clinic's digital future, scaling a flagship social impact program for YouTube, and reimagining Furby for the kids of 2023. She is passionate about looking for inspiration in unexpected places, designing impactful workshops, and building high-performing, high-empathy teams.

Vince comes to the Insights profession with over five years of experience in non-profit program coordination, case management, and direct service delivery. He first began as an advocate for youth in the foster care system and most recently, supported Oregon families in securing employment & education opportunities. Through these roles, he built strengths-based, trauma-informed relationships with individuals from around the world, helping them navigate public systems & their policies, initiate skill-building plans, and connect with needed mental health, housing, and legal resources. Now with IQS Research, Vince is honing his skills in inclusive social research design & implementation. He values people and the questions that matter to them. He is inspired by data-driven insights serving as a tool to shine a light on a variety of social, political, and economic dynamics.

Mary has over 20 years of experience in consumer and employee research. She spent over a decade designing and leading qualitative and quantitative research at Kantar, GfK, and Ipsos. Mary is bilingual in Spanish and has specialized in US multicultural research for much of her career. She joined a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultancy in 2016 and founded their assessments and analytics practice area. She has partnered with I/O psychologists to design DEI measurement frameworks and inclusive research practices. She founded Data Larks in 2022 to help research teams gain strategic alignment, conduct inclusive research, and tell compelling data stories. Working directly with teams on key projects, she ensures hands-on learning and ties talent development to revenue-driven projects.

Janelle is a Marketing Strategist, Consumer Expert, and DEI Specialist with a BA and MBA from Harvard University. She is currently a Senior Vice President at Ipsos. Her work often involves analyzing data to find new approaches to reach diverse audiences across industries. She is a 2021 Advertising Week New York ‘Future Is Female’ honoree, an Effie award juror, and hosts a monthly podcast for the Advertising Research Foundation called, ‘CultureConnect’ and Co-Chairs The ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council. Janelle has lived in the US, France, Italy, and the UK and is a 1st generation Black American of Guyanese heritage.

She's not a techie but loves the magic of technology and its ability to connect people to ideas across cultures and borders. With over 15 years of traditional Brand Management experience within the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry and entrepreneurial know-how, she offers an unconventional perspective on the relationship between brands, people, and culture.

Victoria holds an MBA from Howard University, and her career in brand management and strategy spans multiple countries, brands, and companies, including Colgate-Palmolive in New York, Wrigley in Chicago, and Unilever in Toronto, Canada. Before joining Meta, she served as the Global Brand Manager at eBay, where she led marketing, communications, and product teams to execute eBay's brand refresh, global campaigns, and brand strategy initiatives.

Currently, she leads Marketing Inclusion efforts within Meta's internal creative agency, Creative X. In this role, she drives strategic planning, collaboration, and inclusive measurement of various marketing campaigns. Passionate about creating a more inclusive and equitable marketing landscape, she strives to amplify diverse perspectives, driving meaningful change in how brands connect with their audiences.

Eugenio is an innovator in user research with over 20 years of experience helping the world's most admired brands optimize their digital and product experiences. 

Eugenio has been both on the front lines of data collection mastering the tasks associated with executing successful user research projects and now leads an industry leading team of talented and skilled researchers proficient in many methodologies including qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches.

Eugenio is credited with creating the methodology that is used to conduct KLI's industry-specific competitive indices which have grown from a single report back in 2012 to a thriving division of KLI's business which releases over 10 reports spanning 5 different industries annually.

Ashley Colquitt-Finley is a dynamic consumer research and brand strategist with over a decade of experience in uncovering deep insights that drive transformative brand strategies across diverse industries. In her current role at Brandtrust, she has pioneered inclusive research methodologies, ensuring that strategies are grounded in a profound understanding of multicultural consumer needs. Ashley has led research-driven campaigns that have significantly enhanced consumer engagement and revenue growth.

A seasoned speaker, Ashley has addressed national audiences of thousands, sharing her expertise in consumer research, brand strategy, and inclusive marketing practices. Her ability to distill complex insights into actionable strategies has made her a sought-after voice in the industry. With a passion for uncovering human truths and crafting compelling narratives, Ashley continues to shape the future of brand strategy, ensuring that brands connect meaningfully with their audiences and achieve sustained growth.

feyla mcnamara, she/they

Co-founder and Co-Executive Director, Tides for Reproductive Freedom

feyla mcnamara (she/they, Mohawk/Mi’kmaw) is a queer parent committed to the core values of reproductive justice: that it is our right to choose if and when we birth children, and our right to nurture children in safe and healthy environments. feyla is fiercely dedicated to approaching abortion funding holistically, and dreams of physical spaces throughout our communities where we can offer abortions and other reproductive health services, childcare, healthy food options, and education. She enjoys reading to her family, binge watching television shows the rest of the world has already seen, and beading. She lives in Holyoke, MA where she can be found outside going “This is nice.”

Patrick Madden currently serves as President of Market Decisions Research (MDR), a public policy research firm located in Portland, Maine. He provides overall leadership to MDR with a focus on high-quality data, innovative research methods, and research projects that help improve the health and equity of our communities. He has over 20 years of experience designing and conducting research projects with organizations across the U.S. and brings expertise in survey design, sample design, and data collection methodologies. In addition to MDR, Patrick is currently the Vice President of the New England Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research and has previously served on the Executive Board of the Insights Association, North Atlantic Chapter and the New England Society for Healthcare Communications.