Gloria Osardu urges researchers to slow down, understand the business, and partner with intention—sharing why empathy, alignment, and asking the right questions are the foundation for research that matters.

Highlights include:

05:02 – How did your parents shape your worldview and curiosity? 15:22 – Why is success as a research leader about facilitating others? 24:26 – What does “understanding the business” really mean? 30:43 – What does “skin in the game” mean for stakeholders? 45:24 – How has embracing slowness changed your approach to leadership?

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Who is Gloria Osardu?

Gloria is a Senior Director and Global Head of UX Research, Brand, and Consumer Insights at Yahoo!, where she leads initiatives to deepen Yahoo’s understanding of consumer behaviour, aligning the company’s brand, product, and marketing strategies with these insights.

Before joining Yahoo!, Gloria was Senior Director and Head of UX Research and Insights at Gusto, where she built and led Gusto’s Global Product Experience Research Team, overseeing both research and research operations professionals.

She has also held senior research roles at Amazon Web Services, where she led UX Research Operations and Programs, and at Capital One, where she headed UX Research for their Enterprise AI and ML Platforms.

With extensive commercial experience in customer insights and analytics, Gloria also brings an impressive academic background, holding a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, a Master of Science in Applied Health Informatics, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.

A committed contributor to our field, Gloria is a long-standing mentor with the Computing Research Association and has been featured in User Weekly, as well as on podcasts like Black Stories and Saving UX.

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Find Gloria here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriaosardu/

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Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here:

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Esther Ahn reflects on the twists and turns of her creative journey, shares how critique can unlock better design without breaking spirits, and reveals why embracing the oops is essential for building resilient teams and products.

Highlights include:

12:13 – How do you make sense of your career’s twists and turns? 28:52 – What does a healthy culture of critique look like? 35:24 – What works best when presenting design work to executives? 42:19 – Where is the most tension between business goals and user needs? 01:06:36 – How is the children’s book Beautiful Oops! relevant to your career?

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Who is Esther Ahn?

Esther is the Director of User Experience for YouTube TV and Primetime Channels on YouTube—a role in which she brings deep expertise in human-centered design and research to enhance the viewing experience across platforms and at scale.

Throughout her career, Esther has pioneered new participatory design methods and conducted global research across the US, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

Before YouTube, she was Director of Digital Health UX at Stanford Health Care and a Creative Director at the world-renowned innovation firm Frog Design.

She’s also worked at two other giants of design—IDEO and Smart Design—where she shaped experiences through multidisciplinary practice.

Esther holds a BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Interaction Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

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Find Esther here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/estherahn/

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Subscribe to Brave UX

Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

• Apple Podcast
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Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• LinkedIn
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Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here:

• Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn
• The Space InBetween Website

Meryl Evans shares why accessibility is everyone’s responsibility, how captions can create connection—not just convenience—and why progress over perfection is the mindset that drives lasting inclusion.

Highlights include:

• 11:30 – How did publishing your first video in 2018 change everything?
• 20:28 – Why progress over perfection is essential in accessibility
• 29:06 – How do you carry the responsibility of being an advocate?
• 49:34 – What does it take to build a culture of accessibility?
• 59:15 – Why equitable design matters for dignity and inclusion

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Who is Meryl Evans?

Meryl is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC), a sought-after speaker, trainer, and accessibility marketing consultant who has spent over two decades championing inclusive digital experiences.

Named one of LinkedIn’s Top 12 Voices for Accessibility Advocacy, Meryl’s work has been recognised by organisations such as the North Texas Disability Chamber and featured in The Wall Street Journal, MarketingProfs, and The Dallas Morning News.

She’s the author of The Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook and co-author of Adapting to Web Standards: CSS and Ajax for Big Sites, and her speaking credits include TEDx, SXSW, and the American Marketing Association.

Beyond her consulting and speaking, Meryl is a passionate volunteer, contributing to the W3C’s Immersive Captions community group and XR Access, helping ensure emerging technologies are accessible to everyone.

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Find Meryl here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meryl/ Website: https://meryl.net/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/merylkevans/videos X: https://x.com/merylkevans

======

Subscribe to Brave UX

Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

• Apple Podcast
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Podbean

Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• LinkedIn
• TikTok
• Instagram

Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here:

• Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn
• The Space InBetween Website