Stef is a design research leader specializing in emerging technologies. She helps teams navigate ambiguous product areas and build useful, usable products for anticipated markets. She has led research for numerous 0-to-1 product launches in spatial computing, including Adobe Aero, Adobe Substance 3D Suite, and Meta Quest 3. Stef established the design research function at augmented reality (AR) start-up, DAQRI, leading the company’s first case studies on in-field use of enterprise AR hardware and software. She recently founded her own design research practice, Sendfull, providing fractional design research leadership to product teams building at the frontier of Spatial Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Stef’s work is grounded in her deep subject matter expertise in spatial computing, AI and neuroscience. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Toronto, focusing on cognitive neuroscience. Stef has published 15 peer-reviewed articles, holds several patents on augmented reality and brain computer interfaces, and has delivered 30+ presentations to industry, academic, and public audiences. Passionate about teaching, she designed and taught user experience research curriculum for Fortune 500 product teams, and is an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Information and Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation.