Leah teaches User Experience Design and Innovation at the University of Waterloo’s Stratford Campus. She joined Waterloo from an interdisciplinary background, bridging design and research from computer science, human-computer interaction, and graphic design. She has four years of industry experience working as a designer.
In her teaching and research, Leah truly believes in an interdisciplinary approach, integrating methods and analytical frameworks from multiple disciplines to examine a topic. In particular, she is interested in the forces at play in technology, users, and experiences. As technology changes rapidly, UX design and research will inevitably evolve with it. She is excited to share what she has learned with her students, and as young people are the next generation of users and technologists, she hopes that they will have something to teach her as well.
Education
- Ph.D. (Computer Science), Carleton University, 2017
- MASc. (Human-Computer Interaction), Carleton University, 2013
- BDes. (Design), York University, 2007
Research and Teaching Interests
- UX design and research
- Digital arts and graphic design
- HCI for kids
- Usable privacy and security
Selected Design/Research Projects
- Cyberheroes: An Interactive Ebook to Educate Children about Online Privacy. View at: http://www.versipass.com/edusec/cyberheroes
- Secure Comics: A Comics Approach for Improving Cyber Security and Privacy. View at: http://www.versipass.com/edusec/securecomics
Other Interests
In her spare time, Leah likes to reconnect with her roots in art and design. She is a practicing graphic designer and a book artist that specializes in marbled paper and medieval limp-bindings.