Michelle Handy, PhD
About Michelle Handy, PhD
Michelle Handy, PhD, is a Senior Behavioral Scientist and User Researcher at FM Global with extensive experience in behavioral science and user research across various organizations.
Title and Current Role at FM Global
Michelle Handy is currently serving as a Senior Behavioral Scientist and User Researcher at FM Global, a role she took on in 2023. She operates out of Johnston, Rhode Island, United States. In her capacity at FM Global, Michelle develops workshops to educate stakeholders on behavioral science principles such as default bias and loss aversion. She also introduced Behavioral Mapping to Design Thinking to guide strategic direction and vision setting for senior leaders.
Past Positions and Employment History
Before joining FM Global, Michelle Handy has accumulated diverse experience across several prominent organizations. She worked at WW / WeightWatchers as an Applied Behavioral Scientist from 2021 to 2022 for 10 months. Prior to that, she was a Research Associate at See Change Institute for 5 months in 2021. She was a Quantitative Researcher at PBS for 3 months in 2020. Additionally, she served as a Researcher and Analyst at UC Santa Barbara from 2017 to 2021 and also held the role of Teaching Assistant and Undergraduate Supervisor there for the same duration. Earlier, she worked in various research capacities at Columbia University and the University of Maryland.
Education and Academic Background
Michelle Handy holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychological & Brain Sciences from UC Santa Barbara, which she completed from 2017 to 2021. During the same period, she earned a Master of Arts (MA) in Psychological & Brain Sciences. Her undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Maryland College Park, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Psychology and Spanish from 2012 to 2016.
Skills and Technical Expertise
Michelle Handy has a strong analytical toolkit, particularly in the statistical programming language R, including R Markdown and R Projects. She also has substantial experience with survey tools such as Qualtrics, CloudResearch, and Braze. Her skills are further complemented by her ability to define a framework of UX metrics and KPIs, which she has applied in facilitating discussions with Product Owners and Senior Leaders at FM Global.
Contributions and Initiatives at FM Global
At FM Global, Michelle Handy has been instrumental in several initiatives. She led the effort to define a framework of UX metrics and KPIs across FM Global's digital products. She also played a significant role in building the foundation for quantitative behavioral research on FM Global's UXR team by collaborating closely with Design Developers and Analytics. These initiatives have helped in strategic direction and vision setting for senior leaders in the company.