Beth Kelley's Portfolio

Welcome to my portfolio of projects.

  • I am a researcher by trade, an anthropologist by training, and an explorer of the world by nature.

    WHAT I DO:

    I work with clients and teams to solve business problems, whether the goal is to understand foot traffic at a store or a zoo, improve collaboration in the workplace, or help inform the design of a website. I have worked with non-profits, small start-ups, and Fortune 100 restaurant chains, consumer goods manufacturers, healthcare, and technology companies to better understand their different audiences and their needs. My guiding principle is to always advocate for the human.

    HOW I DO IT:

    I use multiple methods to look at the entire user/customer/seller ecosystem to understand the numerous different factors that go into a decision-making process.

    My diverse training and background in both quantitative and qualitative analyses allows me to be comfortable using a variety of different methods, including social media data, analytics, ethnography, interview, surveys, statistics, and meta-studies of secondary research.

    I am tuned in to the intricacies of human behavior, pick up on patterns quickly and love finding connections between seemingly random things, like teddy bears and space travel. I am passionate about exploring creativity and design, usability, environmental enrichment, sustainability, and informal learning. I feel so lucky that my career has focused on technology and social media, and how those influence all of my passions mentioned above.

    One nice perk to being a researcher is the variety of ways it can be shared and applied. I have written my work into proposals, white papers, business intelligence reports, blog posts, science articles, academic articles, technical articles, website pages, newsletters, podcasts, PowerPoints, brochures, and more.

    WHY WORK WITH ME:

    I like to work collaboratively, working across teams and with stakeholders. I help translate user perceptions, experiences, and other insights into actionable to-do’s and strategy for teams.

    During my 15+ years of research experience I have also had the opportunity to manage teams for over 5 of those years, as diverse as global teams spread across three time zones to a group of middle schoolers. I have managed people and teams as part of research projects, residential construction, and fundraising events. I love working with teams that are passionate about the mission behind their work, open to hashing out ideas and problems together, and love talking shop or geeking out about new technologies or discoveries.

    I like to work hard. I even (sometimes) enjoy crunch time. I don’t believe in ongoing 70-hour work weeks, nor do I believe that they produce great results (and there is lots of research that supports this; I even wrote about it). I love to do business travel when the need arises, although I’m always impressed at what can be accomplished via a video call.

    I have WAY too many hobbies: hiking, toy bombing, traveling, kickboxing, slow food, gardening, crafting, and reading anything I can get my hands on.

    Please look around and explore, and reach out with any questions.