Loryn Cole | Strategic User Researcher

Human-centered research that drives impact

I combine my experience in anthropology, UX, and data analysis to deliver practical research and transform product strategies.

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My approach

Questions before methods.

Before approaching any project, I ensure we clearly understand what information we actually need to learn, so that we can make decisions faster and de-risk initiatives.

Human-focused systems thinking.

I leverage my anthropology background to understand how systems shape your users' day-to-day lives and experiences, which creates strong product strategy.

Collaborative impact.

Research is only as valuable as its impact, and I have found that closely collaborating with product and design produces the best insights.

Experience

10+ years leveraging qualitative and data to inform product and marketing strategies

Industries

Specializing in EdTech and B2B technical products

Diverse methodologies

Qualitative and quantitative methods influenced by anthropology and product expertise

Research process

Ability to prioritize across multiple product areas and define lightweight, modern processes

Recent work

Presentation

Thesis Presentation: The Realities and Imaginaries of AI in Education

Presented my thesis research about how high school students and teachers feel about AI in the classroom and their hopes and fears about what it may become in the future to the UNT Anthropology department.

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Presentation

"It's Inevitable": High School Student And Teacher Perspectives About The Future Of AI In Education

Presented a paper based on my thesis research at the Society for Applied Anthropology 2026 86th Annual Meeting, as part of a panel about the impact anthropology can have on the field of artificial intelligence.

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Project

Exploring trust in SaaS AI solutions

As AI tools began to permeate the SaaS market, the Segment team wanted to understand what it meant for customers to trust AI, and which observability and security features were tablestakes for trust.

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Project

Unpacking Segment self-service churn

To help the Segment self-service team understand an uptick in customer churn, I conducted a research project that connected product analytics events with actual customer experiences.

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From the field
Loryn speaking at the Big Design Conference 2026
Loryn with her research poster at UNT May 2026
Loryn at her thesis presentation May 2026