Mekayla Beaver Mentor 2010

Describe yourself briefly.

Mekayla Beaver is a design researcher and strategist who knows that developing a solution that will truly change lives requires developing a deep empathy for the people involved. She is a specialist in guiding teams towards innovation not just for the sake of innovation, but also for the benefit of people and the world. Her expertise lies in asking the right questions in order to understand and uncover the factors that determine how people adopt and use products, services, and environments. She guides teams from initial user insight discovery through the translation of these insights into design opportunities and requirements. In addition to having worked in markets across the US, Mekayla has led research in countries including China, Russia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, and throughout Europe. She has worked in many industries, with a particular focus into ways to bring about change for positive social and environmental impact. Before starting her own consultancy, Mekayla worked for many years at IDEO, a world-renowned design and innovation company.