Sam Ladner
Sociologist and Researcher
Sam Ladner (she/her) is a sociologist who helps teams innovate, design, and learn. She is the author of Practical Ethnography: A Guide to Doing Ethnography in The Private Sector and Mixed Methods: A Short Guide to Applied Mixed Methods Research. She has worked on dozens of software projects at Microsoft, Amazon, and many other client companies. She recently retired from Workday, an enterprise software company, as a Senior Principal Researcher studying the future of work. She received her PhD in sociology from York University and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Rosenverse talks by Sam:
" I use storytelling as armor to present findings clients may not want to hear, preserving the authentic voice. "
Methodological toolkit for unique research impact
March 11, 2026
" The purpose of research is paramount; it guides the choice of methods and how rigorously to apply them. "
Methodologies: Beyond the interview [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
September 4, 2024
" You have to have a point of view, and you have to lead in order to get that impact in strategic foresight. "
How Research Can Drive Strategic Foresight
March 9, 2022
" There’s this inflection point about how research work is done and what the system wants from knowledge workers. "
The Future of Research: Bridging the Gaps
July 29, 2021
" Zuboff called it informating technology—technology that serves users by providing insight, not just automating tasks. "
Data Exhaust and Personal Data: Learning from Consumer Products to Enhance Enterprise UX
June 8, 2016
" If you create a separate team to work on the future, make sure they stay focused on the future, or you’ll never get out of the trap. "
Discussion
June 8, 2016
