About reena merchant
UX Leadership, Google/Founder, OurVoice
Reena is currently on the User Experience leadership team at Google. Previously, she was Sr. User Experience Manager at Sony PlayStation and Sr. Customer Experience Manager at Citrix, leading design of the flagship product, GoToMeeting. Reena has also held the position of User Experience Manager at Rogers Communications Inc. and has managed a design team at BlackBerry, spearheading the design of mobile, tablet, desktop and internet applications. She has over 15 years of design and management experience, and has additionally designed for CGI Group, Bell Canada, and Ontario Power Generation.
Reena’s graduate studies at California College of the Arts have equipped her with an MBA in Design Strategy. Previously, Reena graduated with a specialization in Computer Science from the University of Toronto and also attended the Art Institute of Toronto specializing in Digital Graphics Design. Reena is currently an advisory board member for the Master of Human Computer Interaction and Design (MHCID) program at the University of California, Irvine. Additionally she has conducted research and teaching projects for OCAD University, University of Toronto, California College of the Arts, and The Savannah College of Art and Design. Read More
Get To Know Reena
Would you consider yourself a logical person? If your answer is yes, how do you combine what your heart tells you vs. what your brain wants? My guest has been in those situations many times. She uses her logic everyday as a User Experience team leader at Google. But you probably have seen her previous work as well without knowing it: she made sure your experience using your Playstation or even using your Blackberry phone is enjoyable. She realized how important not only logic, but how important intuition is when making decisions. Understanding how to combine those two forces can help you to improve yourself, and Reena shares her story on how she did it. She is also the Founder and CEO of OurVoice, a community benefit organization dedicated to strengthening our self esteem and authentic presence. Reena is also a visual artist, and her artwork has been exhibited at venues including the Royal Ontario Museum and the Canadian National Exhibition.