Barbara is an integral part of the leadership team at Smarty Pants. Her primary roles as Insights Sage is to establish, lead and grow relationships with many of the agency's flagship clients.
Barbara's expertise lies in qualitative research–both in-person and virtual. She is a highly-relatable moderator and ethnographer with great intuition and a natural ability to connect no matter the topic. From talking to tweens about charitable giving to riding roller coasters with kids at their favorite amusement parks to spending time in bathrooms exploring how different showerheads can transform a shower into a spa like oasis, Barbara makes it her business to creatively study consumers where the answers lie. In fact, there is no one more willing than Barbara to do whatever it takes to unearth rich insights.
Barbara is a Riva-certified moderator with intensive training in the theory and practice of special tools and techniques of qualitative research. She also holds a certification in Advanced Moderator Techniques. She has logged more than 4,000 hours of in-person research around the globe! She has the tools and experience to connect with people across ages, cultures and subject matter. Research participants love her, and so do Smarty Pants clients.
Over the past 15 years, Barbara has led countless youth-and family-focused qualitative research initiatives for clients such as Unilever, Girl Scouts, Cartoon Network, Dick's Sporting Goods and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. She has considerable insight into the lives, lifestyles, preferences and behaviors of contemporary kids, teens, parents and grandparents. From 48-hour ethnographies, to new product play parties, to virtual journaling, Barbara leverages unique research tools that match consumers' lifestage and abilities with client informational needs.
A graduate of Boston University with a BA in Psychology, Barbara began her research career as a recruiter and consultant at a qualitative research firm in Stamford, CT. There, she grew to become a master of identifying quality research respondents and ensuring fieldwork is successful for clients and participants.
Barbara is based in sunny Myrtle Beach, SC. She is the proud mother of a 22-year-old son who is a recent graduate of Wake Forest University.
