AI isn’t just giving us faster ways to synthesize data. It is redefining how organizations make decisions, assign value, and understand people.

For UX researchers, this moment isn’t about mastering prompts. You need to rethink your role, your influence, and what human-led insight will mean in an AI-shaped world.

Researchers are facing many challenges in this new age:

• Are we practitioners of rigor or facilitators of speed?

• Are we strategic partners or service providers?

• Are we ready to lead, not just adapt?

GenAI has surfaced the weak spots in our field with unclear objectives, lack of stakeholder trust, and an over-focus on artifacts instead of outcomes. But it has also created an opening: to step into greater influence, credibility, and leadership.

This Lift Up Collective Cohort™ is designed for mid-to-senior UX researchers, designers, and product managers who want to go beyond “good enough” workflows and chart a strong, human-centered path forward.

What Makes This Cohort Different:

• Collective learning, not only one thought leader. You’ll learn from four powerhouse leaders, each building on the other, to create a cohesive journey from Now → Next → Future.

• Beyond tools. While you’ll gain practical methods for applying AI to personas, journey maps, and alignment frameworks, you’ll also tackle the bigger questions about integrity, leadership, and influence.

• Interactive and applied. Each session includes discussion, frameworks, and exercises you can use immediately in your work.

• Hosted by Lift Up Connections. Our mission is to amplify women leaders and share their collective wisdom with the field.

What you will experience over the three weeks:

Over four interactive sessions and a culminating panel, you’ll gain clarity, tools, and confidence to navigate this inflection point.

You’ll learn how to:

• Reframe AI as a catalyst for reimagining the researcher’s role, not just a tool for workflows

• Use the NCredible Framework to align stakeholders, position research strategically, and integrate AI responsibly

• Streamline personas and journey maps with AI while maintaining rigor and human value

• Apply Futures Thinking to envision the next era of research leadership

• Articulate your unique human strengths in a landscape where automation is everywhere

The Five-Session Journey

Session 1 - Now: From Synthesizer to Strategist (Christine Perfetti)

Session 2 - Next: Aligning Teams for Strategic UX Research in an AI World (Meena Kothandaraman)

Session 3 - Application: Using AI to Streamline Personas, Journey Maps, and Workflows (Kyle Soucy)

Session 4 - Future: Futures Thinking for Researchers (Amy Heymans)

Session 5 - Integration: Panel conversation with moderator, Lori Landesman and all speakers