Therese Fessenden

Therese Fessenden is a Senior Experience Specialist with Nielsen Norman Group and host of the NN/g UX Podcast. Her research focuses on understanding human behavior, attitudes, and expectations in order to better orchestrate system and service design strategies. 

Therese began her UX career at Microsoft, where she worked under the Microsoft Services division designing custom intranets and employee experiences, custom Windows applications, and internal research repositories. Her experience carried her to an even broader range of design and research contexts: evaluating and improving e-learning platforms at Booz Allen Hamilton, freelance web design for small- to medium-sized clients in art, automotive services, construction, and beverage production, and managing a small graphic design studio at the University of Hawaii.

Aside from the private sector, she is also a veteran with 10 years of military experience as a commissioned officer and military strategist in the US Army Reserve. Some of her past assignments include: Company Commander, Executive Officer, Operations Officer, Platoon Leader, and Assistant Professor of Military Science (Cornell University).

Her varied experience with a range of industries, sectors, and types of clients lends to a unique perspective of how user experience research can better inform design and business decisions in many contexts.

She has a BS from Cornell University in Information Science, specializing in human-centered and social systems, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Hawaii, focusing on marketing and IT management.

She currently resides in the Ithaca, New York area.