Leeza Pesenson
Hi! I'm a UX Researcher who loves utilizing my deep listening skills, innate curiosity, and creative problem-solving to uncover insights that drive meaningful change. I thrive on collaboration—working across teams to challenge assumptions, connect the dots, and translate findings into action.
With over a decade of experience in tech and a Master’s in Cognitive Science, I use qualitative methods and analytics to help teams design and refine services used by millions.
I’m eager to bring my passion for human-centered design to an established UX team that values learning, efficiency, and customer obsession as much as I do. In the meantime, you’ll find me swing dancing, cycling around the SF Bay Area, or coaching and teaching Nonviolent Communication.
Recent Experience, Projects, and Awards
U.S. Bank
Nov 2016 - Mar 2024 (7 yrs 5 mo)
At U.S. Bank, I collaborated with multiple cross-functional teams on projects ranging from a full redesign of the mobile app to AI-powered insight cards, real-time payments, and complex money movement solutions for retail, wealth, and small business customers. I conducted qualitative research, usability testing, surveys, and data analysis—both independently and in partnership with other teams—to drive strategic insights and enhance the customer experience.
Strategic Research: Bill Pay Assessment
Opportunity: Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores were low, and the Customer Experience team identified multiple pain points both above and below the glass. Leadership needed clarity on where to focus efforts next.
Approach: I conducted qualitative interviews and combined insights with data from Quantum Metric session analyses, feedback surveys, and a competitive review. This multi-source approach allowed me to develop a holistic understanding of the key issues and create a prioritized action plan, which I then mapped onto an existing product framework.
Impact: CSAT increased from 50% to 67% as this work reshaped priorities and inspired similar investigations by teams such as the call center. Aligning insights with an established product framework made it easier for product leaders to quickly grasp and integrate recommendations into their existing mental models, leading to faster adoption.
Bill Pay as seen on the U.S. Bank consumer-facing, public website.
Award: Human Insight to Action
Summary: UserTesting.com awarded our Bill Pay experience an illumi award for Human Insight to Action for improvements based on research that I had supported the design team in crafting and conducting in 2024.
Details: "U.S. Bank worked with UserTesting's Unlimited Insight Services function to improve the bank's autopay function—putting client feedback at the center of designing an intuitive entry point to set up autopay, manage autopay, and confirm they had set it up correctly. U.S. Bank's Experience Design Team built a winning experience that earned them a 14% increase in page visits, while generating a 7% decrease in calls to their contact centers."
UserTesting's illumi award badge.
Usability Testing Support: Autopay Enhancements
Opportunity
Autopay setup and edit features were not getting used as much as expected and we were noticing confusion in autopay set up and management during qualitative user testing that I had conducted.
Approach
I supported designers in framing the problem, helped brainstorm solutions, and guided them in setting up, running, and analyzing UX research studies which resulted in design changes like adding "Set up autopay" & "Manage autopay" buttons on the account dashboard and a critical new line of content indicating whether autopay was or was not set up for the next payment.
Impact: Autopay edit visits: 59% increase. Autopay edit confirmations: 40.3% increase. Autopay setup visits: 36.7% increase. Autopay setup confirmations: 35% increase.
Autopay set up as seen on the U.S. Bank website.
Award: Best Mobile Check Deposit Experience - 3 yrs in a row
Summary: Cornerstone Advisors ranked 20 banks on Mobile Check Deposit and awarded 1st Place to U.S. Bank from 2020 until 2023, when they stopped releasing reports. I was the sole researcher supporting the Mobile Check Deposit team at the time and for many years prior.
Details: "U.S. Bank has demonstrated remarkable prowess in optimizing their mobile deposit system, making it a standout in the realm of user experience. [...] Their app incorporates optical character recognition (OCR) to pre-emptively identify if a check has been signed, enhancing efficiency. The bank also excels in communication with its users. From promptly displaying cut-off times to sending deposit confirmations via email, as well as immediately providing feedback once the check photo has been rightly captured, U.S. Bank ensures that its users are always informed and engaged throughout. [...] U.S. Bank should continue their tried-and-true method of innovating new ways to offer their customers excellent quality from their digital experience."
Proj name
opportunity
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Mobile Check Deposit as seen on the U.S. Bank consumer-facing app.
Diary Study:
U.S. Bank unveiled an entirely rebuilt U.S. Bank mobile app, co-created every step of the way with its customers. BusinessWire wrote an article about it.
Wells Fargo
Jul 2015 - Nov 2016 (1 yr 5 mo)
role and breadth of work
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Bill Pay as seen on the U.S. Bank consumer-facing, internal website as of 3/2025.
Microsoft
Sep 2014 - Jul 2015 (11 mo)
role and breadth of work
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Bill Pay as seen on the U.S. Bank consumer-facing, internal website as of 3/2025.