Advisory Board & Event Leadership

Ali is a marketing research leader with 18 years of experience across Retail, CPG, and Food & Beverage industries – Her focus supports insights through the consumer lens of guest experience, product innovation, processes and go-to market strategy and implementation. She is passionate about insights and loves to lead with action, ensuring research is folded into cross-functional decisions.

In 2021, Ali made the move to Seattle from her hometown of Atlanta, eager to explore the city, wander through the National Parks, and discover new bike routes as an avid cyclist. She currently leads a Team of researchers in Product Innovation at Starbucks and has made many new coffee rituals for pre- and post-adventures in her new city.

Alisa Hamilton is the President of Harvest Insights, a boutique market research firm based in Atlanta.  She specializes in focus group and online community moderating as well as in-depth interviewing, quantitative analysis and executive reporting.  She is the host of the Atlanta chapter of Women in Research (WIRE), and in her free time is a foster mom to rescue puppies for Angels Among Us Pet Rescue.

Amelia is a Research Executive at Mustard, a full-service market research agency, where she works across a variety of sectors using a range of methodologies. Amelia first developed an interest in research during her BSocSc Politics and International Relations degree at the University of Manchester, and completed a two-month quantitative research based Q-Step Internship with The Together Trust before her final year of study. After graduating in 2017 Amelia joined Mustard, where she has been able to marry her love of data and research with her interest in branding and consumerism. Out of hours, Amelia loves to eat and travel, preferably at the same time.

As Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Zappi, Ariel leads the creative and strategic processes behind event programming (live and virtual) and stewards the Zappi Insiders community. She also plays a key role in other projects which bring valuable content to the insights world, such as the Inside Insights podcast.

Ariel built her career in event and community management working at non-profits and social networking organizations. She joined the Zappi marketing team in April of 2019 with a passion for bringing people together to build meaningful relationships through unique, memorable experiences.

After a decade living in Boston, Ariel recently relocated back to her hometown of Rochester, NY where, when not working, she can usually be found tasting Finger Lakes wines, working out, or exploring new places (which for now mostly means hiking Western New York, but hopefully will include travelling the world again soon!)

Ashley Spring is the marketing research director at Ally focused on brand, media, messaging, and audience insights. She brings her experience as a research leader to integrate consumer trends and expectations across marketing. Prior to joining Ally she was a senior manager for panel research and television ratings at NASCAR. She has also held positions on the research vendor side supporting CPG brands, including management of ongoing global brand studies for Proctor & Gamble fem care, laundry care, and baby care businesses. In her free time, she loves spending time with family and friends and traveling, usually to go to a concert or a Disney park.

As a Mixed Methods Researcher, Barb exercises both sides of her brain by working in the fields of quantitative and qualitative research. Her favorite projects involve both methods because they result in the best insights – the “what” and “why.” Her journey in marketing research started at Georgian College, where she received her post-graduate Research Analyst certificate with honours. Barb is currently a seasoned marketing research professional that manages projects, moderates online communities and in-depth-interviews, analyzes complex data and presents actionable insights. She has worked with many different CPG clients from cannabis to condoms. There’s never a dull moment! She has also developed new and innovative tools, and written MRX blogs. When not on land working in the world of research, Barb can be found scuba diving with dolphins and sharks. Her other passions – no pun intended – include boxing, floral artistry and the piano.

Brin is a Partner at Trusted Talent, a firm specializing in helping Market Research firms find the right talent for the right jobs. An industry leading executive, Brin has over 20 years of diversified expertise in building, leading and mentoring world-class sales, business development, product and marketing organizations in the Market Research Industry. Brin started in quantitative & qualitative research at companies such as IRI and Greenfield Online and has experience in both custom and syndicated research. With a move to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early days of online, was a member of the founding management team at Greenfield Online, Brin has stayed at the forefront of emerging technologies for market research and consumer insights and has had experience with online sample, mobile research, video and data visualization, among other

Brin has been responsible for building new products, growing international markets, full P/L management, brand marketing, and ROI. Demonstrated leadership in partnering with senior teams, transforming margin challenges into sustainable, high yield profit centers and on strategic initiatives focused on increasing market share, profitability, and shareholder value. The key to her success has been building and mentoring the right team(s) for the business.

As Managing Director at MESH Experience, Dana is a strategic member of the global management team leading business strategy while being a ground zero representative in the America's working hand in hand with marketing, advertising and research experts across various different brands and categories.  Dana has a strong history of team leadership and coaching, strategic relationship building and close to 15 years of making agile business decisions to create the best outcomes for her clients and team in her day to day role.  She has been able to combine her insider’s knowledge of the market research landscape and her experience uncovering impactful and actionable insights, to help propel businesses forward.  Previous to MESH Experience, Dana was the Vice President of the Nielsen Opinion Quest, and has also been a primary research consultant within Nielsen focused on large social, digital, and technology clients.  At home in Rochester, NY, she is often a guest lecturer at colleges like Rochester Institute of Technology and St. John Fisher, most recently bringing the value of Experience Driven Marketing to our up and coming marketeers. A passionate diversity champion, long time member and mentor in WIRe and a C-Level executive member of Chief, it is a personal goal of Dana’s to help bolster and support women in business in any way she can.  Outside of her professional walls, Dana is the mom of two young boys and a certified Yoga instructor.  She has a deep love for animals, a passion for plant based healing and eating and is a self-proclaimed documentary watching nerd!

Danielle is a Director at insight-driven strategy consultancy The Forge. Danielle is passionate about elevating our industry; being the Women in Research (WIRe) London lead, WIRe Advisory Board member, MRS Diversity, Inclusion and Equality lead and is often seen presenting, Chairing or writing at and for IIEX, ESOMAR or MRS.

Danielle holds an MA in Geography, and an MSc in Environment, Society and Culture, both from the University of Edinburgh. Danielle also enjoys exploring wine, dystopian fiction and CrossFit, but usually not at the same time.

Edna Thiong’o  is the founder and Managing director of Breakthrough Consulting Ltd (BTC Group), a full service market and social research firm that operates in 6 countries in Africa. She holds a B.ED Arts (Hons.) and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Nairobi. She is also a part time lecturer of Consumer Behaviour at the University of Nairobi, School of Business.
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With over a decade of experience in the industry, she has moderated over 1000 focus groups, hundreds of interviews with top executives and overseen multiple projects in Brand development, Market & Social research, Strategic Planning and Training across Africa for leading global brands in FMCGS, Financial services and Nonprofits. She is passionate about brands and the transformation borne out of informed data driving positive impacts on corporations.
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Edna is a published author of a new book that celebrates mothers titled 'Tea with Mom-Stories of Mothers' that was launched in 2020. She is a member of the Marketing, Social Research Association (MSRA) and the European Society for Market Research (ESOMAR).

Emily heads up Opinium Amsterdam, insight agency Opinium’s European Headquarters.

As a former journalist and editor, Emily specialises in engaging with diverse audience groups to help brands shape their communication strategies, evaluate market trends, and develop new products and propositions. She has spoken at and chaired panel debates at the Market Research Society and recently won the B2B Market Research Society Award for her work on the changing role of B2B communication. Emily also sits on the advisory board member for Loughborough University’s Online Civic Culture Centre for Doctoral Training which is studying the impact of social media on the spread of misinformation, disinformation and the rise of hate speech and incivility.

Because she believes sleeping is often cheating, she completed a PhD on the relationship between violence and women in American Literature, set-up a pop-up pudding bar in London, rowed at a national level and is currently writing her first book.

Emma is Senior Legal Counsel at Toluna and advises Toluna globally, together with the rest of the legal team, on the full spectrum of legal issues facing the business. Emma was new to Market Research in 2018 when she first joined Toluna in the UK before relocating, with her family, to Perth, WA in 2021.

Emma has over 20 years’ experience as a commercial lawyer and has a particular interest and expertise in the field of intellectual property and is truly passionate about brands, with her legal career seeing her involved in some high profile trade mark and design right matters.

Emma loves the fast pace and diverse nature of market research and is driven by the enjoyment of delivering commercially focused no nonsense advice to Toluna which helps enable its business goals and growth.

When not in the office Emma loves the outdoor lifestyle that Perth has to offer, including tennis, water sports, dog walking, BBQs with family and friends and of course the beach!

Georgia is COO and co-owner of Luma Research, one of the world’s leading brand and communications insights agencies. She has over 20 years’ experience specializing as a consultant in brand and communications research. She has conducted research with clients on every continent and has worked alongside dozens of the world’s top advertisers; her passion is helping her clients to optimize their ads and brand strategies to grow their brands. An accomplished speaker, Georgia has spoken at many conferences around the world in New York, London, Paris, Shanghai, Athens, Barcelona, Sydney, Mexico City, Cannes, Lisbon, Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne and has written scores of research papers for industry associations like ARF, WARC, ESOMAR and AMSRS. The focus of her research aims to understand more detail on how communication works within different markets and audiences.  

Prior to Luma, Georgia has worked with large research company NOP (now GFK) in London, Ipsos in Australia, Add+Impact International, ADS. She started her career as an AMSRS Graduate Trainee. She is a member of AMSRS & ESOMAR and is a QPR (Qualified Professional Researcher).  She is also the Melbourne representative for WIRe and loves to help support younger women who are entering the industry. Georgia holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) and Bachelor of Science (Psychology) from the University of Melbourne.

Jo is currently the Client Engagement Lead for Kantar Insights Australia, having been in the depths of the research world for over 15 years she's found her passion area in recent years - leading & inspiring people, peers and clients. Jo has also been engaged with WIRe for over 10 years, being inspired herself by the events in London she has since launched a WIRe event series in Australia in 2014 which now covers Sydney, Melbourne & Perth. Jo's a fierce believer in paying it forward and championing others, she takes joy in watching others flourish in their professional and personal lives and being part of that journey.

Laura Beavin-Yates holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology and has more than 15 years of experience helping brands use data to achieve key growth goals and optimize communication strategies in a way that is authentic, meaningful, and relevant. Laura has vast experience with innovative emotion-based research methodologies, and a proven track record empowering brands like Google, P&G, Danone, Mars, and Kimberly-Clark to solve complex brand, product, and messaging challenges through data-driven storytelling. As an experienced startup leader, she has also contributed to a variety of growth and optimization levers - including marketing, sales, data science, product, and customer experience.

Currently, Laura is the Chief Marketing Officer for LiquorSplit, a technology startup focused on the last-mile delivery of beer, wine, and spirits. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President of Customer Success at Immersion Neuroscience, a neuromarketing SaaS startup enabling brands to quantify the emotional impact of content and experiences via a proprietary smartwatch app. Laura also has 5 years of experience in market research, working with traditional and innovative methodologies to measure brand impact across a wide variety of verticals including education, food & beverage, beauty, media & entertainment, CPG, finance, and travel.

Michele’s focus at MetrixLab is to work closely with clients across projects, helping to deepen relationships and build trusted partnerships. Her extensive research expertise spans the entire range of innovation and brand research for multiple categories, including beauty, consumer healthcare, packaged goods, and financial services.  

Prior to MetrixLab, Michele held senior positions at Kantar Millward Brown and RTiResearch, where she played a critical role in the development and analysis of strategic research for US-based and international clients alike. Michele has partnered with multiple clients to revamp and revitalize research program processes, including the establishment of methods, action standards, playbooks and ‘roadshows’ with brand, agency and business stakeholders.  Proudly, Michele’s work has supported the development of multiple award-winning creative campaigns.

At Kantar, she regularly led workshops and training modules for clients and colleagues and has served as judge for the North American Effie Awards. She was also the regional lead for Kantar’s Women-in-Leadership program.

Michele is the founder and event leader for the Connecticut chapter of WIRe(Women in Research), a global non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of women in the marketing research and intelligence community.

Michele holds a BA in Economics and US History from Binghamton University and a Masters in Education from Iona College. A former teacher, she remains active in education by volunteering on her local School Governance Council. She lives in Stamford, CT. Email

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Rebecca is the Founder and CEO of Alter Agents, a full-service market research consultancy redefining research in the age of the promiscuous shopper. In her 22-year career, Rebecca has developed a keen ability to glean insights from research to help clients make smart and successful decisions. She’s worked on nearly every type of research project but specializes in communities, segmentation, and brand strategy. Rebecca is also an industry thought leader having spoken at MRA ISC, IIeX, and ESOMAR as well as publishing numerous articles and eBooks.

Tammy has over 20 years of experience in big data, analytics, and market research, and has helped numerous clients over the years with product development, marketing campaigns, and brand health.  Her client list has spanned a variety of industries and companies, including Google, Nestle, Athleta, Blue Apron, McDonald’s, Cigna, The Home Depot, Amazon, Microsoft, Warner Brothers, NBC Universal and many more.  In Tammy’s current role, she is leading a team at Toluna to help bring market research solutions to clients in the Tech, Media, Telecom, and Entertainment industries.  She is committed to growing and supporting the Denver community of women in the insights industry and to put Denver on the map as a top research talent hub in the country.  In her spare time, Tammy likes to take advantage of all that Colorado has to offer in the great outdoors, especially with her husband, two teens, and dog.  She also volunteers at a local shelter by fostering animals and getting them ready for their forever families.

Tchicaya Ellis Robertson, Ph.D. is a Senior Principal in Accenture’s Survey Insights Center of Excellence who enjoys using data and analytics to help tell compelling stories. She brings a wealth of experience in uncovering what people want and what organizations need, using advanced statistical methods to determine how her research translates into business outcomes.
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With close to 25 years of corporate research experience, building on formal training in applied research methods and a specialization in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and a focus on Consumer Psychology, Dr. Robertson’s primary research explores both Future Workforce and Customer Experience measurement. She has co-developed and applied a data-driven approach to customer experience measurement that is changing the way companies think about the interactions they create with their customers. An expert in quantitative methods, Tchicaya’s research is fueled by advanced statistical modeling, analytics and survey-based research. She leads the innovation agenda for the survey insights team at Accenture, identifying and scaling innovation in the research process.  

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As VP, Client Services Manager at Burke, Inc., Thania Farrar leads a team of talented account executives as they help client partners gain a research-fueled perspective that moves their business forward. She is driven by her passion and curiosity for understanding why people do what they do, and for building insight through a combination of emerging research solutions and traditional approaches to help companies achieve greater success. Thania specializes in the design and implementation of research programs focused on customers, consumers, shoppers and multicultural populations across a wide range of industries. Hallmarks of Thania’s consultative approach include her ability to translate complex business issues into actionable research learning plans. Her research expertise and her focus on the communication of insights that inspire action earned her the trust of her client partners. In addition, Thania has developed viewpoints on storytelling, measuring emotions and non-conscious measurement, which have earned her speaking roles at industry events such as the Omnishopper, ESOMARLive, the Insights and Innovation Exchange and The Market Research Event. Thania joined Burke in 1999, most recently serving as Director of Research Innovation and as an Account Executive prior to that. She earned her MBA from University of Cincinnati and her bachelor’s degree from Universidad Internacional de las Américas in San José, Costa Rica.