Megan J. Wang

As a Sr. Consumer Insights Analyst at Popeyes, I lead end-to-end research initiatives that inform strategic decisions across marketing, digital, and innovation at Popeyes. I manage a $6.6M research budget and collaborate with multiple external vendors to design and execute research programs that unlock consumer insights and drive guest-centric growth. As part of my day-to-day vendor management and research operations, I also spearhead the integration of AI solutions to enhance process efficiency, forecasting accuracy, and accessibility of historical insights—ensuring our work continuously elevates both digital and in-store customer experiences. Key Contributions: o Developed and executed an internal engagement strategy that doubled the usage of our insights knowledge library within 6 months, improving cross-functional access to consumer intelligence. o Led qualitative and quantitative research initiatives—including segmentation, U&A, concept testing, media testing, focus groups, taste tests, IDIs, and digital UX studies—to inform brand strategy and innovation roadmaps. o Spearheaded initiatives to leverage AI for workflow efficiency, including vendor evaluation and training large language models on historical insights data to create a searchable knowledge base for past research findings. o Led the development of a forecasting algorithm integrating past sales data, concept testing, and taste testing results to generate dynamic forecasts. Currently partnering with a vendor to integrate AI into the process, enabling scenario-based forecasting through natural language inputs. o Collaborated with the operations team to translate customer feedback, competitive intelligence, and behavioral data, using AI tools and the mystery shopping field agent program, ensuring timely delivery of guest experience insights to drive continuous improvement in product and service delivery.

As a Customer Experience Analyst at Pfizer, I spearheaded research on generative AI in the customer experience realm, integrating this knowledge into the journey mapping process. Key Contributions: o Led research on generative AI within the customer experience domain and seamlessly applied acquired knowledge and techniques into integrating generative AI with the journey mapping process. This innovation contributed to a more insightful and data-driven approach to understanding and improving the customer journey. o Collaborated with a diverse team, including senior strategists, UX designers, product managers, engineers, and business stakeholders, to deliver service design tools, including journey maps, prioritization workshops, service blueprints. These tools highlighted customer needs from an experiential perspective and translated insights into actionable strategies, providing a roadmap for product feature requirements for digital products and platforms. o Investigated and evaluated current journey mapping processes and best practices. Actively advocated for the voice of customers throughout these processes, ensuring customer-centricity in decision-making, and contributing to the continuous optimization of journey maps. Personal Reflection: This role was an enriching journey into the intersection of generative AI and customer experience. Collaborating with multidisciplinary teams allowed me to witness the impactful transformation of customer insights into tangible strategies and product features. I was an advocate for the voice of customers in every step to ensure and reinforce empathy and user-centricity in crafting solutions. This experience not only deepened my understanding of AI in CX but also strengthened my ability to bridge technical knowledge with human-centered design principles.

As a Customer Experience Manager at CVS Health, I spearheaded Customer Experience (CX) research on CVS Caremark, a leading Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM), impacting over 100 million customers. Key Contributions: o Conducted investigations into the current state, identified customer pain points, and provided recommendations for enhancements based on data-driven research, customer feedback, and user testing. o Assisted the UX team in developing and adopting user personas, enterprise style guides, and best practices for conversational AI design. This collaborative effort aimed to refine and enhance the user experience in alignment with industry-leading standards. o Collaborated seamlessly with data, engineering, and product teams to contribute to the development and delivery of the future state of conversational AI design within the Nuance Mix platform. This involved aligning various teams towards a unified vision for an enhanced customer experience. Personal Reflection: This role was a dynamic learning experience, allowing me to gain extensive knowledge about different facets of the healthcare system and understand diverse processes from various stakeholders. The opportunity to leverage creativity in mapping visual user journey maps on the Miro Board was particularly gratifying, as it provided a tangible way to impact people's everyday lives. Despite being new to conversational AI design, I quickly adapted and collaborated with the UX team to deliver seamless voice experiences, efficiently guiding customers to the modules they needed. This experience not only enhanced my skill set but also reinforced the value of adaptability, creativity, and collaborative problem-solving in a dynamic work environment.

As a Health Communication Specialist at Upfront Healthcare, I witnessed the transformative power of data and SQL in uncovering meaningful patterns and trends. Key Contributions: o Led a comprehensive investigation into the current user experience of over 50 users in receiving reminders from healthcare providers. Managed an informatics specialist to conduct deep dives into user data, identifying patterns and trends that informed a data-driven approach to improving user engagement. o Created a detailed use case study report and presentation outlining the current state problem in user compliance with health behavior suggestions. Proposed a global communication strategy aimed at increasing users' compliance by an impressive 20%. This strategic proposal was grounded in data insights and user experience findings. Personal Reflection: This experience served as a profound intersection of my communication and storytelling skills with the dynamic world of data. Beyond storytelling, I experienced firsthand how quantitative metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) could shape future goals. This exposure has not only enriched my skill set but has also instilled in me a deeper appreciation for the synergy between communication and data-driven decision-making.

As a Communication Intern at Northwestern Medicine International Health, I embarked on a transformative journey, exploring the creation of communication strategies and industry connections. Key Contributions: o Prepared communication-related activities aimed at creating a robust presence for Northwestern Medicine in Asia. This involved strategic planning to ensure effective communication strategies tailored to the Asian market. o Maintained clear and updated communication plans to foster connections between Northwestern Medicine and foreign hospitals and academic institutions. This included ongoing refinement to align communication strategies with evolving organizational goals. o Collaborated with internal teams, vendors, and agencies to create specialized content across 12+ articles, ensuring alignment with the Northwestern Medicine brand and mission. This involved a nuanced approach to crafting content that resonated with diverse audiences. Personal Reflection: This experience not only allowed me to contribute to Northwestern Medicine's communication goals but also served as a foundation for my future endeavors in strategic planning and communication mapping. This embarked on my first venture into creating a communication "map," a significant milestone in my professional journey. This innovative approach focused on the comprehensive development of communication plans, reflecting my commitment to strategic and design thinking.

As a Clinical Research Coordinator at Winterlight Labs, I embraced the opportunity to cultivate innovative processes and elevate project management methodologies for the company. Key Contributions: o Supported the onboarding experience by training clinical research staff on the Winterlight app, fostering long-term client relationships with over 30 international clinical research sites. o Initiated and spearheaded process improvement projects aimed at modernizing clinical operations' record-keeping, client training, and project management processes. Leveraged Asana to create a ticketing system and tracking dashboard, significantly enhancing workflow efficiency. o Interviewed vendors and collaborated with the legal and compliance team to develop and implement new workflows. These initiatives resulted in a remarkable 40% increase in efficiency for onboarding new clients. o Enthusiastically approached these initiatives as "experiments," utilizing the project management tool, Asana, for prototyping, building, testing, and refining workflows. This iterative process allowed for the creation of systematic and efficient approaches to managing the client onboarding process and documentations. Personal Reflection: This role allowed me to combine creativity and practicality, turning experimental ideas into tangible improvements that positively impacted the company's operations and client interactions. I successfully transformed ideas into reality, playing a pivotal role in developing and implementing new processes that modernized clinical operations, ensuring a more streamlined and effective approach.

As an Informatics Intern at the Ontario Brain Institute, I played a pivotal role in bridging the realms of healthcare and technology, undertaking impactful projects that reshaped informed consent processes and data management. Key Contributions: o Collaborated with five internal stakeholders and over thirty privacy counsels to comprehensively revise the informed consent form for Brain-CODE. This initiative ensured compliance, clarity, and ethical standards in data collection processes. o Executed auditing and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for the OBI web page, expediting the approval process and enhancing user experience. This effort contributed to streamlined workflows and improved accessibility for various stakeholders. o Pioneered the Participant Portal Project, fostering research data linkage with medical records and enabling direct data entry from participants to Brain-CODE. This innovative initiative centralized health-related data, providing a unified portal for efficient data management. o Collaborated with four internal staff and over five engineers to develop use cases, surveys, and workflows for the data access approval process. This streamlined procedure facilitated efficient data access while maintaining rigorous security standards. o Led discussions on topic selection, event flow, and speaker selection for a virtual public talk. The event attracted over 300 attendees, promoting research literacy among the general public and fostering data-sharing practices within the research community. Personal Reflection: This experience marked my transition into the health tech space, unveiling the endless possibilities of translating healthcare and research knowledge. Working on real-life projects had a tangible impact on study participants and research teams, solidifying my commitment to driving positive change at the intersection of technology and healthcare.

As a Technical Associate at BTNX, I embarked on my inaugural industry experience, seamlessly integrating scientific principles into a diverse range of applications and spearheading impactful initiatives. Key Contributions: o Orchestrated the management of five external vendors, formulating a robust Quality Control SOP overseeing the quality of 40+ medical devices, spanning drug tests, pregnancy tests, flu tests, and COVID-19 rapid tests. This foundational work ensured the reliability and efficacy of critical diagnostic tools. o Collaborated closely with three engineers to pioneer innovative strategies for monitoring the quality of gold colloidal tests. This included the integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence, showcasing a commitment to advancing technological solutions within the medical device industry. o Assumed a leadership role in the investigation of over 10 customer complaints, working collaboratively with the quality assurance team to ensure compliance and prompt closure of cases. o Corresponded with suppliers in China, reviewing product research study reports to guarantee the quality of raw materials and final products, establishing robust quality assurance standards. Personal Reflection: This role marked my inaugural foray into the industry, where I seamlessly applied scientific concepts to shape protocols, standards, and technology. The experience was transformative, allowing me to bring order to the workplace and engage with diverse internal and external stakeholders. It laid the foundation for my commitment to merging scientific expertise with practical applications, fostering innovation, and driving excellence in the broader fields of industry and technology.

As a Research Assistant at the University of Toronto, I delved into the intricate world of drug interactions with mitochondria, combining scientific analysis with knowledge translation to empower patients with mitochondrial disorders. Key Contributions: o Conducted in-depth analysis of research studies and data related to drug interactions with mitochondria, contributing to the co-authorship of a white paper. This publication aimed to educate the public on diverse drug categories' interactions with mitochondria, offering crucial insights for individuals managing medications with mitochondrial disorders. o Co-authored a white paper, demonstrating a commitment to knowledge translation by transforming complex scientific information into accessible insights for patients, fostering a greater understanding of medication management for those with mitochondrial disorders. o Led the creation and management of the MITO2019 conference webpage, overseeing operations for a successful conference with over 200 attendees. o Orchestrated the development and operation of the MITO2019 conference, showcasing organizational and leadership skills in ensuring a seamless experience for over 200 conference attendees. Personal Reflection: This experience marked my initiation into knowledge translation, igniting a passion for breaking down scientific concepts for broader audiences. I discovered the power of transforming scientific discoveries into accessible products and tools. This realization became a catalyst for my career development, prompting me to explore the application of my clinical research and communication skills beyond traditional drug development processes. It opened doors to diverse opportunities and shaped my perspective on the broader impact of scientific knowledge.

This program holds all my interests in a package: communication, healthcare, and technology! After taking all the courses and completing the internship, I realized that I have the power and skillset to work in any industry. I found my interests and passion in stakeholder engagement, and user journey mapping. I have an eye for spotting the inefficiencies in products and processes. I started to put this superpower at work by exploring conversational AI design, because where is a better place to start than things we do so naturally every day- having conversations? Courses: How Interaction Works, The US Healthcare System, Difficult Conversations in Health, Engaging Patients in Healthcare, Human-Computer Interaction, Changing Health Behaviors, Misinformation in Healthcare, Change Management, Proseminar

I decided to learn about tech integration in healthcare while working at a full-time job because I wanted to improve my work efficiency and collaborate with the engineering team at work. It was my first exposure to data visualization and technical project management in healthcare. I realized that there are so many ways to improve the current healthcare industry with technology and data. I was motivated to move to the health tech industry from the traditional clinical research and medical device fields. Courses: Health Data Standards and Classification, Health Informatics Data Analysis, Health Information Management I, Privacy Confidentiality & Security, Systems Analysis & Evaluation, Professionalism, Ethics & Professional Standards

I discovered my passion for facilitating and improving user journey and human interactions with technology and medical interventions as I managed clinical trials and participated in pharmacology community engagement projects. This has planted the seeds for my pursuit of communication and human computer interaction studies and experiences afterwards. Courses: The Art of Drug Discovery, Research Experience in Pharmacology and Toxicology, Experimental Approaches in Drugs Discovery, Introductory Toxicology, Understanding the Role of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Society, Pharmacology and Toxicology in Drug Development, Project in Pharmacology, The Molecular and Biochemical Basis of Toxicology, Biomedical and Interdisciplinary Toxicology, Advanced Topics in Pharmacology and Toxicology Special Course: Forensic Pathobiology Biotechnology