Breakfast and a home visit in the Green Village, Western Kenya.
In a Nutshell,
Over the past decade, I’ve served as a research lead, product manager, experience designer, facilitator, and strategy consultant in local and global contexts across the United States, East & West Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America. I’ve worked across nonprofit, social enterprise, education, tech, and civic sectors while leading design research & strategy initiatives and launching new products, new markets, and cross-functional teams. I am committed to working toward an equitable and liberatory world.
As an independent research & design lead and documentary storyteller: IO Studio is my home for independent and freelance work. My hope is to continue supporting changemakers with an unyielding commitment to create the worlds we want to see.
For the full hits, check out my resume here. For a selection of portfolio samples from my research, design, strategy, and storytelling work, read on.
— Sara
1
Design research & strategy
As a research & project lead, I’ve led multi-month design research & strategy initiatives in local and global contexts across Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mexico, and the United States.
I’ve led projects end-to-end across research planning, recruitment, mixed methods research, synthesis, deliverable development, and workshop facilitation for 10-100+ attendees. This included managing project outcomes, stakeholders & clients, operating budgets, and research & design teams to deliver foundational insights for product, policy, and program strategy.
Projects have resulted in the development and launch of new fintech products, tech and policy interventions for responsible microfinance, and training and data infrastructure to scale local capacity around upward mobility.
About the sample
I served as the Research Lead & Project Strategy Lead for a 9+ month project around health equity in aging across California, highlighting the diverse lived experiences of 100+ older adults, caregivers, service providers, and local and national experts across five counties.
This involved leading the foundational approach & workstreams as we conducted in-context, community-engaged research with 100+ people across California — culminating in a framework of community-identified priorities & design / policy / funding opportunities, a report, 6 video portraits from the field, and interactive exhibit at an inaugural summit of aging, disability, policy, health equity, and racial and social justice leaders.
→ Watch the video portraits (embedded below)
Interviewing older adults across rural, suburban, and urban counties of California.
Shadowing a community clinic providing health services to older adult farmworkers in Imperial County.
Sharing back the final report with community members.
2
Product strategy
I served as a product lead at Tala, a social enterprise reimagining microfinance and financial technology to expand financial health with underbanked communities globally.
I’ve led product discovery and delivery zero-to-one across financial services, resulting in new product launches in Mexico, the Philippines, and Kenya. Key product areas include savings, debit cards, insurance, financial education, and 0% interest loans for essential community services in COVID-19.
I’ve kicked off cross-functional teams across five regions, owning the roadmap to launch and mentoring research / design / product team members to cultivate market-led product leadership. This included developing product discovery frameworks and facilitating global / new team offsites to strengthen our product vision and culture.
About the sample
In 2019, I was asked to create and lead a new product squad to validate a new, global product in one quarter. Over the course of two months and three countries, we interviewed over 70 customers, tested over 30 concepts, ran demand & pricing tests, and engaged with multiple partners to develop our strategy for a savings product.
Get a walk-through of our research & product discovery process, designing toward financial health.
Note: All documents are for supplemental review, and not for distribution.
3
business & NEW market strategy
I’ve supported startups & nonprofits with early-stage strategy, whether consulting on pitch development and securing seed funding; validating business models; or leading new market portfolios.
At Tala, I relocated from Kenya to the Philippines in 2017 as we launched our first market outside East Africa, owning the product roadmap and growing our user base 10X to over 1 million monthly active users.
In 2019, I went deeper in new markets and led expansion strategy for a priority country in Latin America: understanding the market and opportunity; leading product strategy and research; analyzing regulatory, technical, and business requirements and structuring; managing an in-country team; and developing partnerships required for launch.
About the sample
As a case study for new market expansion, I outlined a proposed approach for a research trip to a prospective expansion market (Vietnam). Read through for a sample research approach with strategic engagements: from high-level research goals, key questions, and methodologies to carry us through the phases of expansion.
Note: All documents are for supplemental review, and not for distribution.
5
Mixed Media Storytelling
Too often, there remains tremendous distance — not only geographic, but cultural, socioeconomic, and behavioral distance — between ourselves and the people we aim to serve. Through storytelling, we honor lived experience and complexity — bridging distance across identities, cultures, and geographies.
About the sample
At Tala, I piloted using micro-documentaries, photo essays, facilitation, and other forms of storytelling to deepen our empathy and knowledge around our customers and markets.
I relocated to the Philippines in 2017 as we launched our first market outside East Africa. My first month in Manila, I interviewed a woman named Ting. I remember being struck by her authenticity. I decided to stitch this video together to celebrate her, and her story.
Watch the micro-documentary to acquaint with Ting, how she uses Tala, and her powerful story. Visit below for additional stories from the Philippines, Brazil, and Kenya.
Photography
6
I find that photography is a practice of falling in love with the details, and the spirit of a place. It’s a kind of meditation, a perfect hand-in-hand with design research or any act of sense-making.
About the sample
Below are a few selects from different seasons living, working, or traveling in different regions. Click through for moments exploring new places, and standing still.
Additional Work
7
My work in research, design, product, and strategy has spanned local and global contexts across a variety of sectors, particularly within social enterprise, nonprofit, and education spaces.
About the sample
If you’d like to go deeper, browse the carousel below for additional key projects and outcomes across research, product management, experience design, and facilitation.
You’ve gone top to bottom! Thanks for reading. If you’d like to explore more:
→ Get to know more about me
→ Browse my personal projects from a life in making
→ Reach out to say hello
Cheers, and thank you!
Designing a savings product, in pursuit of financial health and double bottom line impact