Todd Diemer is the User Research Lead at Khan Academy, the non-profit educational organization created in 2006 to provide free, world-class education for students nationally and internationally. He is a user researcher rooted in qualitative methods, which has rooted his career in mission-driven organizations, including the Peace Corps, Fitbit, and Khan Academy.
Todd's work focuses on user research efforts to help build empathy with and design for the students, teachers, district leaders, and parents who use Khan Academy.
He is passionate about education through new media, a part-time photographer, and a full-time Christmas enthusiast.In the inaugural episode of the second series of the Optimistic Design podcast, I talk to Todd about how he has taken the overarching vision of Khan Academy into account when leveraging his skills as a leader of user research. We discuss what differentiates Khan Academy as an education technology company, why Todd’s work itself is at the intersection of both education and technology, and his background in both spaces.
“"I'm optimistic that the role of ethics within design is becoming more and more of a hot topic these days. Whether that be about data privacy, company intentions with their product lineups, or acknowledging dangers behind our work."Todd Diemer : User Researcher / Khan Academy
