UX RESEARCH · MUTUAL AID PLATFORM
UX Researcher · Remote · June 2026 – Present
Overview
GoodGesture is a free civic platform launching in Portland in 2026, built to make community resource sharing and volunteer coordination easier. We lead qualitative user research that grounds the product in the real needs of the people who give and receive help.
The Challenge
A mutual aid platform only works if both sides of the exchange trust it—people asking for help and people offering it have very different needs, hesitations, and definitions of a good experience. Early design decisions needed to be grounded in how people actually navigate asking for or offering help, not assumptions about it.
What I Do
The work spans user interviews and usability testing with neighbors, nonprofits, and mutual aid organizations. I synthesize findings into design recommendations and map user journeys across requester and supporter personas so the team can prioritize with evidence rather than assumption.
Research Process
Recruit & Interview
Source neighbors, nonprofits, and mutual aid orgs, then run qualitative interviews.
Usability Test
Watch requesters and supporters move through the core flows firsthand.
Synthesize & Map
Cluster findings into themes and journey maps for each persona.
Recommend
Turn evidence into prioritized, testable design recommendations.
Current Focus
Interviews and synthesis are ongoing. The current round is focused on nonprofits and community organizations—specifically, what motivates an organization to participate in a free civic platform built for resource sharing and volunteer coordination. Findings will shape the next round of design decisions.
Methods
User interviews · Usability testing · Journey mapping · Thematic analysis · Persona development.