The B|P Team
Nate Bolt, El Presidente
Nate is fascinated by the personal, social, and cultural role of technology, and how research and design can transform those roles. After pioneering and directing the User Experience department at Clear Ink in 1999, which included the construction of Natural Environment and Remote Observation laboratories, Nate co-founded Bolt | Peters. He now serves as el presidente, where he has overseen hundreds of user research studies for Sony, Oracle, HP, Greenpeace, Electronic Arts, and others. Beginning in 2003, he led the creation of the first moderated remote user research software, Ethnio, which is being used around the world to recruit hundreds of thousands of live participants for research.
Nate regularly gives presentations on native environment research methods in both commercial and academic settings, and is currently co-authoring Remote Research, a book on remote testing. Working with faculty at the University of California, San Diego, he created a degree titled "Digital Technology and Society," which focused on the social impact of technology. He also completed a year of communications studies at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he was jailed briefly for playing drums in public without a license.
Mike Towber, Captain Ethnio
Mike makes the fourth member of the Bolt | Peters team to hail from University of California, San Diego's Cognitive Science Department. He holds a degree in Cognitive Science with a specialization in Human Computer Interaction. In addition to HCI, Mike's varied interests include studies in Japanese, Design and Web Standards, and Computer Science.
When he's not improving Ethnio or creating mockups, Mike enjoys record collecting (and word has it his record shelf is quite scary). He also has a soft-spot for video games - particulary 8-bit ones. He's been overheard saying "I've had Ramen for two days in a row now and I feel kinda gross." He also attempted counting to a million for an elementary school science fair project, with encouragement from his mom, and had counting time for thirty minutes every night where he had to sit and count. He made it to the low ten thousands before realizing it was futile.
Kate Nartker, Office Superstar
Kate calmly balances running the office, accounting, and incentive management at B|P with an astonishing ability to keep the vivid office plant life flourishing. With a degree in Media Studies from Ohio State University, she has researched the relationship between technology and people from several angles and continues to pursue this interest at Bolt | Peters.
While originally from the mid-west, Kate finds San Francisco to be much
more inhabitable and interesting. When not sitting in front of a computer,
she is probably in front of a sewing machine honing her fashion
design skills or riding her bike.
She also holds the distinction of having the best quote
describing life in the Pacific NorthWest - "living with the rain in Seattle is like being in an abusive relationship.
It will be great for a few months but then it's right back to the same old crap."
She also once performed a syncronized swimming dance to Paul Simon's Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes in Napolean, Ohio.
Cyd Harrell, Director of Research
Cyd has had a passion for the way things work since before user experience was a recognized field. She received her formal training from Yale University, where she studied Linguistics with a focus on socio-linguistics. Cyd's career has included roles in Marketing, QA, Product Management, and official User Experience. Her expertise in qualitative analysis and her interpretive skill have enabled her to bring together user needs and business requirements to the benefit of both. Along the way, she made time to help found San Francisco Women on Web, an education and networking organization.
Cyd joined Bolt |Peters in July 2006 after several years at Charles Schwab.
She manages B|P's consulting arm, handles sales, and researches as well. In the rest of her life she writes poetry, practices yoga, studies Thai cooking, and hangs out with her young daughter.
Tony Tulathimutte, UX Writer
From the frost-riven crevasses of Western Massachusetts to the cabalistic machinations of Stanford's Symbolic Systems program (whence he was imbued with his arcane "Human-Computer Interaction" magicks), Tony has roamed the earth in epic investigation of the gloriously fabled race of the "Yew'zuur". The only time he feels anything is when he is asking unbiased, open-ended questions, divining from the "Yew'zuur" their esoteric, oracular Truths.
Tony specializes in user research for video games, having worked for Time Warner's GameTap service and NHN USA's online games portal, ijji.com. His honors thesis was about video game controllers, and his Master's thesis concerned game menu interfaces; in this way, he makes the world a better place.
He recently won a 2008 O. Henry award for one of his short stories, originally published in the Threepenny Review. He is available to DJ your house party. He has twice forgotten how to ride a bike, and he never learned how to swim: he gets by, instead, on his youthful optimism.
Frances James, UX Researcher
Frances originally hails from Cambridge, England, though you'd never know it to listen to her. After moving around the US and Europe during childhood, and studying in Japan, she settled in Atlanta, GA, where she picked up a slight southern drawl and spent her days coordinating a study abroad program. Realizing that it would be much more interesting to study different cultures rather than just coordinate their students, she pursued her degree in Cognitive Psychology, traveling to Indonesia to complete her MA on cross-cultural differences in attention.
Following graduation, Frances was thrilled to discover the world of usability research, where she combines her knowledge of how people organize and use information with her passion for people of all types.
Frances worked for several small Atlanta-based usability consulting firms before deciding the time for A/C-less summers was nigh, and packed her bags for San Francisco. When she's not engaging users in fascinating tasks at B|P, Frances still enjoys frequent globe-trotting to chow down on exotic specialties and immerse herself in diverse cultures. If she happens to be in San Francisco, she can generally be found either on her bike, eating sushi, drinking coffee in excess, dancing to the Smiths, or picking through scarves at a thrift store.
Alana Pechon, UX Researcher
A long-time sufferer of multiple career disorder (educatis addictus), Alana started out in theater, trained as an anthropologist, became a pilot, then went into customer service, which she left to become a spy for the U.S. Navy, before eventually settling down with the UX field. She spent a few years completing a masters with a focus on human-computer interaction at UC Berkeley’s School of Information.
When she’s not digging into the ways that users relate to technology, Alana can be found hitchhiking on sailboats around the San Francisco bay (need a main sheet trimmer, anyone?), driving her Cushman meter maid car around the East Bay (it's got sparkly green seats!), or trying to pick up a new language.
Sela
 Sometimes it feels like somebody's watching me.
Distinguished Alumni
Brian Patrick Enright, Information Architect
Brian was the third member of the B|P crew to study in the Distributed Cognition and HCI laboratory at the University of California, San Diego, graduating with a specialization in Human Computer Interaction. While completing the courses in HCI at UCSD, he engaged in the unique, user-centered approach to design developed at these renowned labs. It is no surprise he brings to Bolt | Peters a strong fanaticism for design.
On a constant quest to observe problems from every possible angle and come up with the most creative design solution, Brian has studied everything from Organic Chemistry to Mandarin in addition to his HCI background. He is indigenous to these parts, and has resided in the Bay Area for most of his life. Brian tries to balance things out with as much live music and snow as he can.
Julia Houck-Whitaker, Director of User Experience
Julia arrived at Bolt | Peters from the University of California, San Diego, where she spent four years immersed in study at one of the best Human Computer Interaction laboratories in the country - The Distributed Cognition and HCI Lab. There she was selected to conduct research for the United States Navy, involving HCI-based environments at the San Diego Supercomputer Center.
After earning her degree in Cognitive Science with an HCI specialization, Julia relocated to San Francisco to pursue a career in User-Centered Design, leaving behind the sand and the sun for some good times with the Bolt | Peters team. She managed the service research team at B|P for three years, conducteding studies for E-LOAN, Hallmark, Dolby, the National Gallery of Art, and others. This Boulder, Colorado native brought her enthusiasm for unique approaches to User Interface research, as well as a fierce loyalty to the Denver Broncos and a penchant for knitting.
Julian Wixson , Lead Software Architect
Julian has been involved with software construction since building and running his own BBS at the age of 15. Originally from Buffalo, NY, he moved west in 1990 to study Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley and he has been a Bay Area resident ever since.
After graduating from Cal, Julian spent six years working for FactSet Research Systems, helping to build online investment tools that are now widely deployed in the investment management industry. More recently, he has worked as an independent software developer while maintaining a healthy love affair with California's Sierra Nevada. When not in front of a computer, Julian is likely to be found skiing, hiking, or climbing in remote parts of the Eastern Sierra.
Benjamin Lerch, Information Architect
Benjamin analyzed user goals to find solutions that “humanize” technology – turning interactive technology into the natural extension of a users’ toolset. His passion for defining the user experience with changing tools has driven over ten years of professional experience. Benjamin's entrepreneurial attitude has propelled him into producing documentary films, designing enterprise web-applications, and conducting usability research for corporate and academic markets.
|
