PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Meta
Senior User Experience Researcher (Gen A.I.)
December 2021 - Current | New York, NY
2023 - current
Leading end-to-end mixed methods research for Meta A.I. Assistant on the Generative A.I. team
Identifying strategic research initiatives for longitudinal research to understand how to transform A.I. experiences across Meta’s platforms
2021 - 2023
Led research for VP initiative on tool ecosystem consolidation by conducting 1:1 interviews, diary studies, and quantitative A|B testing, resulting in company-wide cost savings of $35M and a 43% increase in productivity
Spearheaded a UX and AI framework to design and develop a human-centric machine learning model for understanding the mental model of meta-employees to boost employee efficiency by 37%
Executed a multi-phased, mixed-methods (Max-diff survey, JTBD, Eyetracking) research study for our Enterprise Search team to improve how Meta employees find content, which resulted in a 7% increase in our top-line metrics
Identified strategic research initiatives for longitudinal research to understand how to transform external developer experiences on Meta’s platforms which led to an 11% decrease in annual cost savings
Collaborated with Designers, Applied Research Scientists, and Product Managers to develop user personas for Meta’s content team to improve how Meta employees discover, organize, and share organizational knowledge, which led to a 58% improvement in how Meta employees work in hybrid environments
Mentored four UX and Research Scientist interns on how to conduct industry research which led to each intern receiving exceeding expectations and return intern/full-time offers
Expert Adjunct Professor in Applied UX Research, UX for AI, and Creative Coding, delivering tailored graduate-level course content and fostering academic growth
Exceptional 4.88/5 course evaluation score, reflecting a commitment to teaching excellence and student satisfaction at the graduate level
Mentored 20+ graduate students per class, promoting creativity, critical thinking, and advanced research skills in inclusive learning environments
Integrated cutting-edge technology and research-driven methodologies into the curriculum, equipping students to excel as UX and AI industry leaders
New York University
Adjunct Professor | Tandon School of Engineering
August 2022 - Current | New York, NY
Virginia Tech
Graduate Researcher
September 2017 - February 2022 | Blacksburg, VA
Developed and evaluated a human-centric, explainable artificial intelligence system for evaluating stroke rehabilitation which resulted in a $5.1M buyout
Pioneered an innovative framework for understanding the mind and mental model of human behavior and decisions that resulted in a $1.5M grant from the NSF
Designed and programmed an assistive cyber-human app for providing therapeutic feedback to stroke survivors from their homes, which was utilized by over 100 stroke survivors and 15 expert clinical therapists
Partnered with patients, therapists, and caregivers to understand and evaluate behavioral data on their experience using interactive apps in hybrid environments
Introduced a novel methodology for capturing and assessing human movement for stroke rehabilitation, which led to implementation at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (the number 1 rehabilitation hospital in the world)
User Experience Researcher (Contractor)
April 2021 - October 2021 | Remote
Managed a large-scale mixed-methods research study to identify and prioritize which features would increase growth and monetization for Google Meet educational users
Directed and planned a competitive benchmarking study with a global vendor to analyze and quantify opportunity areas in which Google Meet could be improved to meet and exceed user expectations
Executed research studies with Product Designers to run usability tests and card-sort studies to validate research and design recommendations
Created and organized focus group research with Executive Assistance to introduce new features to Google Meet that would enhance collaborative experiences
Meta(Facebook)
User Experience Researcher (Intern)
April 2020 - October 2020 | Remote
Conducted research using a wide variety of qualitative methods to increase actionable insights for Enterprise Products
Created end-to-end research initiatives to provide strategic guidance and recommendations on increasing engagement and retention for core Meta products
Worked closely with cross-functional stakeholders to identify research topics and roadmap
Communicated results, insights, and recommendations two weeks ahead of schedule
Adobe
Design Engineer (Intern)
May 2019 - August 2019 | Seattle, WA
Proposed and pioneered an innovative new tool for authoring accessible and adaptive color palettes
Introduced a color-mapping tool in React JavaScript to help designers create palettes for colorblind users
Prototyped designs for user-testing and researching in Adobe XD
Used the Service Design Model and Iterative Design Process to develop a final MVP product
Intel Corporation
Program Manger (Intern)
May 2018 - August 2018 | Folsom, CA
Accelerated and automated a desktop dashboard for revenue reporting forecasting, incorporated user research and usability testing
Implemented and streamlined Intel’s Supply Chain Operations external reporting processes
Improved forecast accuracy by 30% by enhancing a pipeline application to streamline procurement data
Intel Corporation
Software Developer (Intern)
May 2017 - August 2017 | Folsom, CA
Analyzed internal web applications in C# for customers forecasting supply and demand
Integrated supply chain systems on a common framework using Agile and SCRUM methodologies
Intel Corporation
Software Developer (Intern)
May 2016 - August 2016 | Folsom, CA
Executed functional and standard back-end testing for Intel’s Supply Chain Technical solutions team
Prioritized backlog of requirements and transformed web applications features for supply chain partners
SKILLS
Research & Design Programming Design Tools
Healthcare Research
Retail Research & Design JavaScript (Node JS / React) Adobe Creative Suite
Human-Centered Design HTML / CSS Sketch
Consumer & Enterprise Research MongoDB Figma
Service Design Process SQL Balsamiq
Interactive Interfaces Java
Adaptive Interfaces Python
User Feedback C#
Data Analysis C++
Annotation Interfaces C
Heuristic Evaluations
Usability Evaluations
1:1 Interviews
Co-creation activities
Rapid Prototyping
Personas
Wire-framing
User Flow Models
User Testing
Benchmarking
MaxDiff Analysis
Statistical Analysis
PUBLICATIONS
J. Clark, S. Zilevu, T. Ahmed, A. Kelliher, S. Yeshala, S. Garrison, C. Garcia, O. Menezes, M. Seth, T. Rikakis. (2021). Hybrid Workflow Process for Home Based Movement Capture, forthcoming at ACM IMX 2021
A. Kelliher, S. Zilevu, T. Rikakis, T. Ahmed, Y. Troung, S. Wolf. (2020). Towards standardized processes for physical therapists to quantify patient rehabilitation, forthcoming at ACM SIGCHI 2020 (CHI’20), Hawaii, USA, April 25 – 30, 2020.
A. Kelliher, S. Zilevu, T. Rikakis, S. Wolf. (2019). Towards the development of semi-supervised rehabilitation systems for the home, in Proceedings of the Technology, Mind and Society Conference, Washington DC, Oct 1 - 3, 2019.
S. Zilevu, T. Rikakis, A. Kelliher, J. Choi, A. Gibson, E. Bottlesen, JB. Huang, S. Garrison, S. Wolf, A.Reiss, L. Wolf, K. Sahu. (2018). A Machine Learning Approach for the Quantitative Assessment of the Upper Extremity Movement in Stroke Survivors, in Proceedings of the Conference on Progress in Clinical Motor Control: Neurorehabilitation, State College, PA, July 23 – 25, 2018.
T. Rikakis, A. Kelliher, J. Choi, JB. Huang, K. Kitani, S. Zilevu, and S. Wolf. (2018). Semiautomated home-based therapy for the upper extremity of stoke survivors, in Proceedings of the 11th PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments Conference (PETRA '18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 249-256
S. Zilevu. (2019). Interactive Interfaces for Capturing and Annotating Videos. Virginia Tech. (William Preston Outstanding Thesis of the Year Award)
HONORS AND AWARDS
2023 Speaker - Munich Business and Research Innovation Conference- Munich, Germany
2022 Speaker - Innovation Week - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
2022 Speaker - Black is Tech: When User Experience meets Machine Learning
2022 MIT Technology Review 35 innovators under 35
2022 Ph.D. Computer Science Research Award
2022 Youngest Ghanaian User Experience Ph.D. Holder in the World
2022 Speaker - Northeastern University: Human-Computer Interaction for Complex Machine Learning
2022 Guest Lecturer - Digital Culture Speaking Series: Human-Computer Interaction for Complex Machine Learning
2021 Guest Lecturer - Virginia Tech Seminar Series
2021 Richard E. Nance Graduate Fellowship Recipient
2021 Walts Fellowship Scholarship Recipient
2021 Dissertation Institute Recipient
2021 Guest Speaker – UT Dallas (User Experience Research)
2021 Presenter – GEM Conference (A Cyber-Human Approach for Capturing & Assessing Human-Movement Performance)
2021 Panelist – GEM Fellowship GRAD Lab
2020 National Institute of Health (NIH) Fellow
2020 Walts Fellowship Scholarship Recipient
2020 Co-creator | Panelist – Tapia Conference: Secure Your Bag(s) & Degree(s): Graduate School Edition
2020 Presenter – GEM Conference (Evaluating the User Experience of Interactive Systems for Stroke Rehabilitation)
2020 Tapia Scholarship Recipient
2020 William Preston Outstanding Thesis Award in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
2019 GEM Full Fellowship – Ph.D.
2019 Panelist – Commonwealth Graduate Education Day
2019 Presenter – Virginia Occupation Therapist Association Conference
2019 Panelist – Institute of Creativity, Arts, and Technology
2019 Presenter – GEM Conference (A Machine Learning Approach for the Quantitative Assessment of Stroke Survivors)
2019 Adobe Scholar
2019 VT@CS Scholarship Recipient
2019 Tapia Scholarship Recipient
2019 Black User Experience Summit Scholarship Recipient
2019 New Horizon Graduate Scholar
2018 Intel Artificial Intelligence Student Ambassador
2018 Panelist – Intel Corporation
2018 Speaker – Intel High School Workshop
2017 GEM Full Fellowship – M.S.
2017 Intel Scholar
2017 New Horizon Graduate Scholar
2017 Mentor – K2C Mentorship Program