Vanessa Witenko

About Vanessa Witenko

I am a Senior User Experience Researcher with 10+ years designing and executing mixed-method studies that drive product innovation, improve user outcomes, and influence cross-functional decisions. As a former journalist, I practice deep compassionate listening, which allows me to build trusting relationships with stakeholders and clients, leading to deeper insights and broader organizational support. I enjoy using my investigative mindset and statistical rigor to solve meaningful problems in environments that value curiosity and collaboration. I thrive when I’m deep in data, myth-busting assumptions, and surfacing insights that make people say, “Wait, what?” In one example, I conducted statistical analysis on a popular metric and determined that we could achieve the same insight with one survey question instead of three, thus allowing us to swap redundant questions with ones that would gather valuable data. I’m currently working NYC hours in LA, and enjoying afternoon walks on the beach. If you\'re in the UX - Research - Behavioral Analytics arenas, I\'d love to connect to chat! Always open to learning more about future opportunities.

Experience

1. Quantitative Ux Researcher

   Citi

   Oct 2023 — Present · Los Angeles, CA, US

   Led mixed-methods UX research across 8+ initiatives within Citi’s product ecosystem, with a focus on intercept and email surveys via Qualtrics.• Improved survey engagement by 2x through strategic targeting, design iteration, and code fixes.• Built real-time dashboards that cut research-to-insight turnaround by 90%, streamlining decision-making for product managers.• Created a client interview directory, which could be filtered based on specific client profiles, expediting qualitative data analysis.

Education

• Baruch College

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Philosophy

• UC Santa Barbara

  Ph.D. , Education/Quantitative Methodologies in Social Sciences

• UC Santa Barbara

  Master of Arts (MA), Education