Marta Villanueva is a bilingual/bicultural qualitative researcher and strategist with 20 years of experience in moderating and facilitating meetings with various group sizes, across categories, different participant types, sensitive/complex challenges, and in various locations (U.S. and internationally). She has a proven track record advising top 100 clients, leveraging experience from 3500+ insights and strategy sessions.

Marta earned a M.Sc. in Creativity, Creative Problem Solving, and Change Leadership from State University of New York. As one of the only market research veterans with a master’s in creative studies, she publishes and speaks in various industry organizations about how creative techniques can empower respondents to be creative, leading to breakthrough strategies. 

Malena Donas is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multi-passionate professional. She started her career as a psychology major in Uruguay and quickly pivoted to qualitative research where she spent the next 12 years working on both the agency and client side with the world’s largest research and CPG companies. Malena is currently a Senior Qualitative Insights Manager with GLG, a consulting firm that connects experts with researchers. Alongside her passion for insightful research, Malena loves working with startups to define and structure their brand purpose, with the hope of building brands that positively shape society. Malena’s passion for the environment has led her to be president of an NGO in Costa Rica that works with regenerative agriculture, further deepening her hopes of creating a sustainable future.

Her session, Researching the Researcher, leverages her education in psychotherapy as well as her extensive qualitative experience to examine some thought-provoking questions about ourselves as researchers. She will take a closer look into how our work shapes us as consumers and how our consumerism shapes us as researchers.