Click a team member's name for a brief introduction.

Ben Jacobson : Managing Partner
A cultural anthropologist who helps invent and refine products, services, and businesses from a human-centered perspective, Ben studies mobility and work culture, health-seeking behaviors, physical and digital information storage, and the structure of compelling experiences. Recent clients include Datex-Ohmeda, Steelcase, World Business Chicago, and International Masters Publishers. Educated at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago, Ben is Conifer's Managing Partner.
Ben's email

Anne Schorr : Partner
Anne brings to our clients an enduring passion for research as rigorous as it is engaging and revelatory. She has built her career in the creative application of methods from the academic social sciences to business challenges, decision processes, and time-frames. Anne is committed to continuous innovation in research approach – which she believes is the key to gaining true competitive advantage from research. As customer sophistication increases and more companies use basic ethnography to understand customers, Anne is working to help Conifer’s clients stay ahead of the curve. Anne is equally ardent about helping client teams internalize and engage with research process and output.
Anne's email

Carolyn Stuenkel, PhD : Director of Research
Carolyn is a qualitative sociologist who uses her extensive experience in the field to quickly establish rapport with participants. In the course of seemingly casual conversation, she elicits details that ultimately inform analytic insights. At Conifer, Carolyn is the voice of the data – she creates research protocols, leads interviews, structures data analysis, and produces video collections. As the Director of Research, she works with project teams to oversee research design, staffing and post-project reviews. Carolyn has a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Chicago. Her clients include Estee Lauder, International Masters Publishers, McDonalds and Pfizer.
Carolyn's email


Megan Fath : Senior Design Associate
Megan is an empathetic designer who practices research to understand user need and identify design opportunity. At Conifer, she blends her design and research capabilities to create meaningful information models, compelling research visualizations, and analytical frameworks. Her professional passions include user research, brand and communication strategy, and information design. Megan is also adjunct faculty at IIT Institute of Design teaching a graduate-level communication design course focusing on visual identity systems and corporate brand design. Prior to consulting with Conifer, Megan collaborated with Gravity Tank, IDEO, and Steelcase on specific project engagements. Professional awards include two Addys and three Citations of Excellence. A graduate of IIT Institute of Design, Megan received her masters degree in human-centered communication design as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication Design from Kent State University. Clients include McDonalds,McGraw-Hill, Yahoo!, and Mayo Clinic. 
Megan's email

Molly O’Donnell : Research associate and
..................../Communications Specialist
Molly is a researcher, cinematographer, and video editor who helps convey the customer experience to our clients in their own words. At Conifer, her lens captures consumers using products and services in the real world and identifies potential opportunities that inspire ideation and concept generation. Her projects have taken her into department stores, restaurants, and even onto rooftops. Molly received her B.A. in Communication from Loyola University Chicago. Clients have included Kaiser Permanente, American Greetings and Target.
Molly's email

Russ Nelson : Research Associate
Russ is a cultural anthropologist who uses his international experience to frame and synthesize everyday interactions in the US. At Conifer, he introduces new technologies to enrich user participation, such as VOIP voicemail, digital video cameras, and online photo tagging. Russ also develops data analysis plans, leads fieldwork, and produces insightful and actionable results. He has a bachelors in Anthropology from Northwestern University. Clients have included McDonald's, Intuit, Yahoo!, and Kaiser Permanente. 
Russ's email

Holly Roeske : Senior Associate
Holly is an ethnographic researcher, planner and designer responsible for all phases of contextual design research. She has a Masters of Design in Design Planning from the Institute of Design and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. At Conifer, Holly plans, organizes and manages field work, leads interviews, facilitates data analysis and synthesis, develops product design criteria, and drives deliverable creation. In Addition to project work, Holly provides technical support to the office. Holly’s work has informed numerous products and services including telephones, software and public transportation. Her clients have included Steelcase, Philips, Microsoft & Intuit.
Holly's email

Marta Cuciurean-Zapan : Research Associate
Marta's background in cultural anthropology, including ethnography of complex societies, informs her work in the field and the office. At Conifer, Marta guides participants through long-term self-documentation exercises, codes and analyzes data, and contributes to client deliverables, particularly video collections. She also enjoys photo documenting the interaction and artifacts of everyday life, both as an integral part of fieldwork and to record process and teamwork at the Conifer office. Marta has a Bachelor's in Cultural Anthropology and Art Theory and Practice from Northwestern University. Clients have included Dyson, American Greetings, McGraw-Hill and Philips.
Marta's email

Joanna Wicher : Research Associate
Joanna is a sociologist who uses her background in quantitative and qualitative research to add insight to various stages of Conifer projects. She has earned a Masters of the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago. At Conifer, she contributes to projects by working closely in various project stages including protocol development and by taking an active role in fieldwork through the analysis of data and development of project deliverables. Joanna brings her abilities in database management and survey research to the table by providing a conduit for accessible information in each of her projects. Her clients include McGraw-Hill and McDonalds.
Joanna's email

Evan Hanover : Senior Research Associate
Evan combines his academic background in anthropology with eight years of experience in business research to help clients parlay ethnographic knowledge of customers into actionable user-centered strategies. As the newest member of the Conifer research team, he recently worked with Yahoo!. In his previous position as Director of Research at a Chicago-based boutique business-to-business research firm, Evan formulated custom methodologies and lead teams in studies for clients in financial services, healthcare, technology, and consumer retail. He has degrees in anthropology from Cornell University and the University of Chicago.
Evan's email


Douglas Radecki : Design associate
Douglas is an information designer, working directly with the research and analysis teams during final synthesis to design key elements of the research that communicate these findings in powerfully and meaningful ways. Aiming to take the information collected for our clients, Douglas presents our findings in a clear structure, that is quickly understood by our clients due to his understanding of effective design principles. Douglas has a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with emphasis in Visual Communication.
Douglas' email


Brian Flannery
Brian is a cultural anthropologist with a degree from Creighton University and one of the newest members of Conifer's research team. He uses his extensive experience in video and photography to capture the finer more elusive details of research subjects and phenomena . He enjoys the opportunity at conifer to mix multiple documentation tools and his pensive presence in interview environments to elicit the most comprehensive insight into the study. His recent Conifer projects include Yahoo, The Mayo Clinic and a project on refrigerators.