Christina Mendat, PhD
Christina Mendat, PhD
Christina Mendat, PhD
MANAGING DIRECTOR
As our Managing Director, Christina runs the operations of the company and provides technical oversight of all programs. She has over twenty years of experience in human factors and has spent (and continues to spend) countless hours in human factors testing sessions. While Christina is intimate and well-versed in many clinical applications and spaces, her passion is in helping companies make their products meet the needs and capabilities of lay people.
In addition to her professional expertise, she has the uncanny ability to sing the lyrics to almost any song (in key) and is the reigning champion of the lab's annual high kick contest.
Christina has a Ph.D. in experimental psychology and ergonomics from North Carolina State University and is also a Certified Cage Rattler.
Liz Mauer, MHCI
Christina Mendat, PhD
Christina Mendat, PhD
SENIOR TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Liz has been a committed, principled, and passionate human factors practitioner for 20 years.
As a Senior Technical Director, Liz is responsible for providing human factors strategy, oversight, and execution for both medical devices and combination products for our clients.
She's a critical thinker and problem solver who actually enjoys sifting through mountains of data and information in order to identify actionable insights and opportunity areas, and she takes a lot of pride in communicating these things effectively through reports that tell a story.
While Liz has experience across many different user groups and clinical applications, her real passion is in helping companies bring commercially viable products to market that will meet the needs and capabilities of ALL people. She firmly believes that every person has a fundamental right to understand how to manage their own health and that of their families - not just those who were lucky enough to have access to money, high quality education, and healthcare.
ERIC SHAVER, PHD
Christina Mendat, PhD
ERIC SHAVER, PHD
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Eric brings over two decades of human factors experience to the company. He has spent a good portion of that time in product development with a focus on warnings and risk communication. Prior to joining Human Factors MD, he oversaw human factors for a large, multinational medical device company. Eric holds a PhD in Ergonomics Psychology from North Carolina State University.
He’s not just about the work. Instead, there are few things he enjoys more than exploring and photographing the wilds of the Intermountain West with his wife and puppy by his side.
CORINNA PROCTOR, MS
HEATHER COLBERT, BASC, PENG, CHFP
VINCE VELOCCI, MSC, BASC
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Corinna has 20+ years of experience employed in the field of Human Factors. She has worked in a variety of domains including medical hardware, health IT, and consumer / commercial IT product and software development. Corinna has conducted countless hours of user testing and is passionate about fixing a product or software design issue at its core rather than adding extra sentences to a user guide as a means to prevent use problems.
Corinna loves to ask 'why is this here' and 'does this really matter' as much as she loves Rafa Nadal, dogs, clutter-free kitchens, and her family who likes to clutter-up that kitchen counter. Corinna hates horror movies and people who drive too close to cyclists. Corinna holds a Master’s Degree in Cognitive Psychology from North Carolina State University and can't wait to work with you on your next HF program!
VINCE VELOCCI, MSC, BASC
HEATHER COLBERT, BASC, PENG, CHFP
VINCE VELOCCI, MSC, BASC
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Occasionally mistaken for an older silverback gorilla, Vince has spent most of his 35-year professional career designing and evaluating medical software and devices. He has completed all manner of human factors projects, from contextual inquiry studies to formative and validation testing. He doubles as the quality manager and the go to security guy as needed.
Vince was on the 8 year plan at the University of Toronto - trained in Pharmacology, Physiology, Biomedical and Electrical Engineering and has probably forgotten more than most people will ever learn. For fun he spends time with his dog daughter Lucca, plays competitive hockey, but is happiest cycling and drinking the fine wines of France and Italy - occasionally at the same time.
HEATHER COLBERT, BASC, PENG, CHFP
HEATHER COLBERT, BASC, PENG, CHFP
HEATHER COLBERT, BASC, PENG, CHFP
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Heather has over 20 years of experience conducting Human Factors evaluations of advanced technology in complex, safety-critical environments. Since 2007 her primary focus has been healthcare, in particular formative and validation studies for medical devices. She is a licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Human Factors Professional.
JASON DUNHAM, BS
ANGELA HOCK, RN, BS, BSN
ANGELA HOCK, RN, BS, BSN
MANAGER OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Jason is our Manager of Finance with over 15 years of experience in corporate accounting. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Concentration in Accounting from East Carolina University. When he is not in the office crunching numbers, you can catch him on the golf course trying to avoid sand traps - FORE!
ANGELA HOCK, RN, BS, BSN
ANGELA HOCK, RN, BS, BSN
ANGELA HOCK, RN, BS, BSN
CLINICAL CONSULTANT
Angela has 23 years of experience in healthcare as a registered nurse. Her clinical experience includes: cardio, neuro, ortho, trauma, peds, dialysis, oncology, surgery, respiratory diseases, debility and medically complex patients. Angela holds degrees from Penn State University and University of NC at Charlotte.
ALDOUS SILVA, BA
ANGELA HOCK, RN, BS, BSN
ALDOUS SILVA, BA
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Aldous has over 25 years of experience as a visual design professional and has been doing amazing work for us since the company was founded! He has created highly-usable visual designs for software user interfaces for a wide range of medical applications ranging from handheld mobile devices to high resolution touch screen workstations. Aldous also creates phenomenal illustrations, Instructions For Use (IFU) and label designs for medical devices and combination products.
RACHEL ARONCHIK, MS, BCPE
RACHEL ARONCHIK, MS, BCPE
RACHEL ARONCHIK, MS, BCPE
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Rachel has been working as an HF consultant in the medical space since 2013 and has been extra critical of poor everyday design ever since. She first discovered the world of user-centered design circa age 10, when she bought a twisty-top blue Gatorade and realized that the top matched her mouth perfectly – the rest is history.
As a Technical Director, Rachel leads various research activities, advises clients on HF regulatory expectations, and helps clients apply HF design principles to maximize a product’s safety and intuitiveness. Her incessant asking of “Why?” as a kid, particularly when it came to why Iceland is green and Greenland is icy, has translated nicely into moderating technique (though with less annoyance – we promise).
Rachel enjoys making things make sense. So much so that she co-authored Designing for Safe Use – 100 Principles for Making Products Safer, an illustrated coffee table book full of design principles and fun fact nuggets. She holds a BS in Human Factors from Tufts University and an MS in Interactive Design from Northeastern University.
YOUR NAME HERE
RACHEL ARONCHIK, MS, BCPE
RACHEL ARONCHIK, MS, BCPE
WANT YOUR FACE ON THIS PAGE?
We are always looking for talented and dedicated human factors professionals.
If you've got what it takes, SEND US YOUR RESUME.
MARISSA KARAGIANNIS, BA
RACHEL ARONCHIK, MS, BCPE
MARISSA KARAGIANNIS, BA
RESEARCH MANAGER
Marissa fell in love with human factors after participating in a usability study several years ago. Fast forward - now she has over 5 years of experience in the field of HF and spends countless hours conducting, facilitating, and planning human factors studies. Marissa especially loves coordinating logistics to ensure projects are smooth, efficient, and fun.
In her free time she loves to cook new dishes and travel the world. Marissa holds a Bachelor's degree in Health Communication and Public Health through The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
MARGARET RAWLINGS, MA
MARGARET RAWLINGS, MA
MARGARET RAWLINGS, MA
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Margaret has a Master’s in Health Communication through The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Margaret assists with project facilitation including data entry, video operations, and quality control.
ASHLEY LANCE
MARGARET RAWLINGS, MA
MARGARET RAWLINGS, MA
OFFICE MANAGER
Ashley has over 20 years of experience in management and business administration. She makes sure that the lab is run like a well-oiled machine during our study weeks and that we are ready for anything before a study even starts. She has her bachelors from Appalachian State University, go Mountaineers!
Kathy King, PHD
MARGARET RAWLINGS, MA
Kathy King, PHD
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Kathy brings a diverse background to our company. She has over a decade of experience conducting cognitive psychology research as well as teaching psychology at the college level, including research design courses. Kathy has a PhD in cognitive experimental psychology from Georgia State University.