About Situated Research...

Matthew Sharritt, Ph.D., President and Co-founder of Situated Research, specializes in user-experience (UX) research and usability testing within software and video games. Dr. Sharritt is a 2008 graduate of the interdisciplinary Communication & Information Sciences Ph.D. program (specializing in communication, computer and information science, human-computer interaction and IT management) and the Computer Science M.S. (2003) at the University of Hawai‘i, where he served as a teaching assistant. Prior, he was webmaster at Time Warner Telecom while earning his B.S. at Marquette University in Computer Engineering (2001). His research examines ways of maximizing self-efficacy, fun, and flow through the design of engaging technologies: describing how learning in games can occur through playtesting and exploration. Check out his personal site at situatedgaming.com.

Michel Ann Sharritt is Co-founder and Vice President of Situated Research, and has over fourteen years of business and customer service experience in administration, information technology, finance, and the medical industry. Her B.A. in psychology (with focus in behavioral psychology) helps her to uncover users' needs and wants while interacting with software interfaces. She previously ran Finance Management where she consulted physicians that struggled with business, helping them avoid bankruptcy and become profitable. Mrs. Sharritt is dedicated to customer service and aims to create the best experience possible for clients of Situated Research. She has a creative touch for designing new media such as websites, interactive marketing, and video games. She conducts private consulting and live webinars (check out the schedule) to help small businesses utilize social networks to generate business.

Marion Wozniak has over fifteen years experience in customer service, sales consulting, and account management. She is an alumni of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, where she earned a B.S. in Mathematics, Education, and Psychology, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Her career progressed towards technology: with positions at American Eagle Airlines as a Regional Manager, American Airlines as an Account Development Manager, and United Airlines as a Senior Planner (managing a sales support team). Recognizing the importance of an effective Internet presence for business, Marion earned a Master's Certificate in Interactive / Internet Marketing from the University of San Francisco, focusing on SEO and usability. She strives to build exceptional client relationships through customized sales programs and project coordination, with seamless interaction among our internal departments.

Mark Wagner has been a technical sales professional for over twenty years. He has experience with major accounts while working with Intelligent Marketing and ADT Security Services. Mark has supported customers on a global level with pre and post-sales support on a technical and personal level. Graduating on the President's list with an Engineering degree from DeVry Institute of Technology, he has expertise with security systems, information technology (IT) deployment, and the design and integration of products with various systems and platforms. Above all, Mark enjoys building relationships with customers and providing exceptional customer support and follow-up to ensure their satisfaction.

Eric Nardo has a B.A. in multimedia design from the Illinois Institute of Art, and has spent the past five years working in front-end interactive and visitor-focused design. He has worked for Rosen & Brichta as a Design Director, InfoTube, Inc. as a Lead Media Developer, and Linx Media as a Designer. A passion for web standards and extensible mark-up allow Eric to create compliant and functional websites. Eric handcrafts websites that are forward thinking, user-friendly, and accessible. Eric has leveraged his career knowledge and attention to detail in his website development in order to focus on designing and developing professional, standards compliant and accessible projects. Some of his clients include Apartments.com, Interiors Magazine, and the Sinai Health System. Samples of his excellent work can be found on our clients page.

Kelly Reif has been a graphic and web designer / developer in the Chicagoland area for nearly ten years, working as a Freelance Graphic Designer and as a Web Developer for Eberle & Associates, Inc. The unique combination of her strong creative skills as well as the technical ability to fully develop web sites gives her the ability to create top-notch websites. Kelly holds a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Computer Science from Indiana University. She has designed creative, user-friendly products and services (printed collateral, websites, e-commerce and electronic marketing campaigns) for a variety of growing businesses and non-profit organizations including Bradley Enterprises, the Illinois Water Polo team, and Smycal Homes.

Andrea Paulus has worked professionally as a Web and Graphic Designer for over ten years, designing innovative graphics and websites for such industry icons as Petco, Sony, Xerox and Amazon. She earned a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of Oregon and the Level 1 certification course in Usability from Human Factors, International. Having been a key player on both marketing and advertising teams, she understands the importance of clear communication, commitment, and dedication; and constantly looks to learn and grow both professionally and as an individual. Accordingly, she strives to provide fresh and stimulating ideas while designing functional graphics: on time and within guidelines. Previously, she has created large and small websites, wireframes, user-interface (UI) designs, and advertising / marketing collateral such as Flash banners, emails, brochures, and flyers.

Dorothy Mason has over ten years of experience as Graphic Designer and Art Director, and has worked with nonprofits such as The Field Museum in Chicago: in exhibitions, education, and the conservation department. She has also worked extensively on projects with McDonalds Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, Disney, and Target: giving her experience working with graphic identity, printed collateral, invitations, and brochures. Dorothy Mason loves to collaborate with clients to formulate design concepts and presentation approaches. Conceptualizing projects and implementing them through to completion, she works well as a liaison from one way of thinking to another. She frequently interprets concepts into visuals, clarifying and distilling information into stunning digital art.

Jon Wenzel has designed many creative websites for companies such as AquaFlex USA, Nehemiah Capital Partners, and The Hudson Branch. His six years of experience have included a variety of website and Internet branding projects for small businesses as well as national corporations. Jon specializes in creating high-quality web sites specifically tailored to clients' goals: helping design products that can help his clients grow their businesses. Jon's websites are not made from templates; rather, they are built from the ground up. Each website Jon produces is 100% unique and tailored to the client and their unique needs.

Disney Interactive Studios self-publishes and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. Formerly Buena Vista Games, Inc. (and before that, simply Disney Interactive), the company is the interactive entertainment arm of the Disney Company's Consumer Products business unit for developing, marketing and distributing a broad portfolio of PC and multi-platform games worldwide, as well as the license holder for externally-developed products featuring Disney entities. The studio publishes both Disney and non-Disney branded video games for all platforms worldwide, with titles that feature its consumer brands including Disney, ABC Television, Disney/Pixar and Touchstone.

The Games, Learning, and Society (GLS) group, based in the Educational Communications and Technology Program in Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, is a collection of academic researchers, interactive media (or game) developers, and government and industry leaders who investigate how this medium operates, how it can be used to transform how we learn, and what this means for society. As such we seek to understand what cognitive work goes into playing Zelda, World of Warcraft, or Civilization, how these design features might be leveraged to improve learning via the design of learning systems, and how organizations such as schools will need to respond.

The Laboratory for Interactive Learning Technologies (LILT) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa pursues a diverse portfolio of cognitive science, human-computer interaction, and social science approaches to technology-supported learning and collaboration. Currently active projects include the study and design of technology affordances for intersubjective meaning-making in small group collaboration and for relationship formation and synergy in online social networks, and envisioning and prototyping applications of new wireless and augmented reality technologies to leverage social information sharing.

The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to be the largest suburban Chamber in Illinois, representing over 2,000 businesses in the region, and one of only a handful of Chambers in the nation to receive 5-Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce aims to help make businesses successful by providing them with unique networking and marketing opportunities, dedicated advocacy support, and by continuing business education. Since its founding in 1913, the Chamber has stood for enhancing the economic vitality of the community by helping businesses succeed.