Labs Life: Getting to Know Nicole Laborde
Welcome back to Labs Life – the series in which we ask our amazing team to share a little about themselves and their path to Sutherland Labs. This time we’ve been lucky to catch up with Nicole Laborde, Senior Design Researcher and Ethnographer in our San Francisco office.
Can you explain your job to me like I’m a 5 year old?
I talk to people to understand how to make things work better for them – apps, games, and other things like that.
What did you do before you came to Sutherland?
I did public health research, especially in reproductive and sexual health. Some of the biggest projects involved HIV prevention for women and sexual and reproductive wellness for Latinx teens.
What would your ten year old self say that they wanted to be when they grew up?
I did a report on Margaret Mead and thought traveling around and learning about how people live around the world seemed like the best job. For a while I wanted to be a National Geographic photographer, but in the end I became an anthropologist!
What is the unique talent that you bring to Sutherland?
The ability to listen to stories and understand how they fit into bigger cultural or social contexts, and the ability to make people feel heard.
What is your average working day like?
Variable! It often starts with meetings in the morning, followed by some time to answer emails and Slacks, then project work- building out research plans, guides, writing reports, conducting interviews (that is the fun part!).
What has been your best experience while working with Sutherland so far?
Connecting with contact center workers all over the world to learn about their experiences answering texts and calls. It was a very humbling and eye opening experience.
What do you do for fun?
I hang out with my two daughters, husband and dog. I started doing Karate after my oldest daughter joined. She has her black belt now, which feels very far away for me, but I have been advancing little by little! I love to go to flea markets and thrift shops, and to be outside.
What existing product, process, service or institution would benefit the most from the application of some “design thinking?”
Every public service entity!
Do you have any pets?
Too many! We have a dog that we adopted during Covid – he is the sweetest. We have a very loud and demanding (and lovely?) cat, a bearded dragon, and chickens that live at my mom’s!
Gemma Wisdom
Snr Director, Marketing & Communications
Sutherland Labs
Gemma Wisdom
Snr Director, Marketing & Communications
Editor, communicator, strategist; Gemma’s goal is to share our stories with the world, imparting insights on how to grow businesses through human centric research and design. Gemma has over 20 years’ experience of growing UX and design teams – developing talent, creative environments and company culture. At Sutherland Labs Gemma leads our thought leadership, marketing operations and strategy initiatives. She is also mother to two Jedi Knights in training.