Have you ever dreamed of living the consultant lifestyle?  So have we.  That's why we've invited some seasoned user experience professionals who have "made it" to share their experiences and lessons learned in a discussion setting. From the perks (setting your own hours, cherry-picking projects) to the down sides (self-employment taxes, no paid vacation time), our panelists will be there to answer all your burning questions.  

Schedule:

6:00pm-6:30pm Networking & Introductions

6:30pm-8:00pm Panel Discussion (Bring your questions!)

The Panelists:

Matthew Belge
http://www.visionlogic.com / @mbelge
Matt Belge has been a UX designer from before the time such titles existed. In moving from GUI platforms like Windows and Mac, to Web applications, to mobile apps,  the continuing threads have been innovation and the human connection. He has presented papers at the national CHI conference, was president of BostonCHI from 2004-2007, and offers UX consulting services to clients large and small.

Deb Biggar
http://www.biggarnet.com
Deb is a consultant at the core - she finds that when she approaches every project as if she were a consultant, she is able to give more honest, holistic advice to her clients (or employers). Deb completed her MS in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley in 2006 and her UX career has taken off since. 

Margot Bloomstein
http://appropriateinc.com / @mbloomstein

Margot Bloomstein (@mbloomstein) is the principal of Appropriate, Inc., an independent brand and content strategy consultancy based in Boston. She crafts brand-appropriate user experiences to help retailers, universities, and other clients engage their target audiences and project key messages with consistency and clarity. Over the past 10 years, she’s partnered with Philips, Tretorn, Harvard, Tufts, Timberland, ECCO Shoes, Fidelity, and Sapient to address messaging for both traditional and social media. A participant in the inaugural Content Strategy Consortium, Margot speaks regularly on the evolution of content strategy within interactive agencies; recent engagements include SXSW, Web Content 2010, A List Apart, and more intimate regional events across the country. She holds a BFA in Communication Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

Michael Hawley
http://www.madpow.com 

Michael Hawley (@hawleymichael) is the VP of Experience Design at Mad*Pow. As a small agency, Mad*Pow consistently works with contractors and freelancers on a variety of projects. Part of Michael’s role is to enable those freelancers to be successful with subcontracted projects, so that the client, the agency and the freelancer get the most out of the engagement.

Michael holds his MS in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley College McCallum Graduate School of Business, and a BA from the University of Michigan. He continues to explore trends within the UX discipline as a published columnist, with articles appearing in publications such as UXMatters, iMedia, TMCNet and CPWire.

Ron Perkins

http://ww.DesignPerspectives.com / rperkins22

Ron Perkins is the founder of Design Perspectives and has been an independent consultant for 14 years.  Having worked as both an interaction designer and usability consultant prior to that at companies such as Ziff Davis, Wang, IBM, and Lockheed, Ron has seen the pros and cons of life as an internal and external consultant.  He has presented papers at the national CHI conference, UPA, is a past president of BostonCHI, and past director of BAYCHI.  He offers UX consulting services to clients ranging from blue chip to small startup and non-profit organizations from world headquarters on Plum Island.

Greg Raiz
http://www.raizlabs.com
Gregory Raiz, founded the company Raizlabs. The company designs and develops mobile applications for iPhone, Android and iPad. Founded in 2003 the company provides consulting, design and development services. Greg has formerly served on the boards of UPABoston and BostonCHI and can be found on twitter as @graiz.

The Moderators: 

Dan Berlin
@banderlin

Eva Kaniasty
@kaniasty

Our Sponsors:

Special thanks to Boston IxDA and Boston UPA for their help organizing and marketing the event, and Bentley's Design and Usability Center for kindly providing us with space.