Marta Villanueva is a bilingual / bicultural qualitative researcher and strategist with 20+ years of experience in moderating and facilitating sessions 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 the State University of New York. As one of the only market research veterans with a master’s in creative studies, Marta publishes and speaks in various industry organizations. Her article “Keeping the ‘Co’ in Virtual Co-Creation” made the cover of QRCA VIEWS magazine’s winter 2020 edition. 

Marta has served QRCA in many roles, including co-chairing the first ever 2021 QRCA Virtual Annual Conference. Marta was the featured opening speaker for the QRCA 2022 conference in San Diego and was the 2015 QRCA Maryanne Pflug Spirit Award Winner. She lives in Texas.  

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.