Open to opportunities

Helen Fake

@helenfake

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Senior UX research and design leader driving human-centered, measurable product improvements.

United States

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What I'm looking for

I want to lead research-driven design at an org that values measurable user outcomes, mentoring, cross-functional collaboration, and scaling UX practices.

I am a senior UX research and design leader with deep experience leading large-scale modernization and product efforts across healthcare and consumer finance. I mentor teams, craft agile qualitative and quantitative research plans, and translate complex systems and user needs into actionable product decisions.

At CMS I led UX on a multi‑million dollar Medicare Payment modernization, helped migrate legacy mainframe systems to cloud architectures, and designed AI-assisted rule analysis for claims adjudication. At The Motley Fool I oversaw research that ran thousands of user tests and interviews, producing conversion increases, engagement gains, and measurable retention improvements.

I also teach graduate courses in learning technology and design, have led instructional design teams, and published work on personalized learning and online education. I seek roles where I can lead research-driven design, scale UX practices, and deliver measurable business and user outcomes.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Lead Lean UX Researcher

Current

Flexion, Inc.

Jul 2023 - Present (2 years 7 months)

Lead UX research and design for a $10M+ CMS Medicare Payment modernization contract, driving cloud migration and launching the first cloud-based dental adjudication system while mentoring researchers and designers.

UX Research Service Design AWS Usability Testing Qualitative Research Quantitative Research CI CD Accessibility

Current

Adjunct Professor

Current

George Mason University

Jun 2020 - Present (5 years 8 months)

Teach graduate courses in learning technology and design, oversee project-based teams, and convert master's courses to online formats; nominated for Adjunct Teaching Excellence awards.

Instructional Design Articulate Storyline Online Education Curriculum Development

Head of UX Design Research

The Motley Fool

Jan 2021 - Apr 2023 (2 years 3 months)

Led and coached a team of 5 designers/researchers, running 1,000+ remote tests and 250+ interviews in 2022 to drive design changes that increased conversions 5–87% and engagement by 8–10%.

UX Research Team Leadership A B Testing Quantitative Analysis User Interviews Product Strategy

Lead User Experience Researcher

The Motley Fool

Aug 2018 - Jan 2021 (2 years 5 months)

Designed and executed research programs for premium and free user bases, improving task completion up to 83% and informing product changes across sites serving 800k+ premium members.

User Research Task Analysis Usability Testing A B Testing Data Analysis Prototyping

User Experience Designer

The Motley Fool

Jan 2016 - Aug 2018 (2 years 7 months)

Built iterative prototypes and facilitated design-thinking sessions that produced product fulfillment improvements, saving the company $2M and improving retention.

Wireframing Prototyping Design Thinking User Testing Interaction Design

Technical Training Lead

Grant Thornton, LLC

Jan 2015 - Jan 2016 (1 year)

Managed four instructional designers to deliver global training, eLearning, and job aids for ITA personnel, achieving 95% student satisfaction and supporting enterprise technology shifts.

Instructional Design Training Development E Learning Curriculum Design Team Management Workshops

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

George Mason University

Doctor of Philosophy, Learning Technologies and Design Research

2013 - 2018

Completed a PhD in Learning Technologies and Design Research, conducted graduate research under Dr. Nada Dabbagh and developed technology solutions including the Tech Select Decision Aide.