research & strategy consultant

I help teams make better product, care, and program decisions by understanding what people need, do, and choose.

Health & care AI, technology & communication Social impact & development

about


I study people and phenomena.
In context.

Lara J. Mertens, PhD

I'm Lara, a PhD-trained anthropologist and research strategist working across digital health, emerging technology, and social impact.

For more than a decade, I've combined ethnographic research, fieldwork, and product thinking to help teams make sense of complex human realities and act on them. My work has taken me from remote care platforms and AI-enabled health tools to global health systems and digital experiences across four continents.

I've worked with founders, product teams, nonprofits, and international organizations, including leading $1.5M+ technology programs for WHO and the Gates Foundation across West and Central Africa. I work best where research is meant to shape the roadmap, not simply validate it.

See my approach

Also: copyeditor, occasional website-maker, pottery-wheeler, Latin dancer, AI nerd, and frequent forest-walker with my wolf-sized dog, Penny.

Sector experience

Digital & global health · emerging technology · social impact & nonprofit programs · consumer platforms · AI-enabled services · early-stage startups · European consumer goods · public-sector innovation

Geographic experience

North America · Europe · Central & West Africa · Middle East · Southeast Asia

Also: copyeditor, occasional website-maker, pottery-wheeler, Latin dancer, AI nerd, and frequent forest-walker with my wolf-sized dog, Penny.

Lara J. Mertens, PhD

Sector experience

Digital & global health · emerging technology · social impact & nonprofit programs · consumer platforms · AI-enabled services · early-stage startups · European consumer goods · public-sector innovation

Geographic experience

North America · Europe · Central & West Africa · Middle East · Southeast Asia

Selected organizations and teams I've contributed to

how i can help


Complex, consequential problems are hard to see clearly from inside an organization alone. That's where I come in.

My work combines research, fieldwork, synthesis, and strategic guidance, from scoping the right question through to making findings useful in product, care, program, and organizational decisions. I can join for a focused project, strengthen an existing research effort, or work as an embedded partner when the work needs to go deeper.

Complex, consequential problems are hard to see clearly from inside an organization alone. That's where I come in.

What I offer

Engagements are designed around your actual problem, not a service menu. These categories describe where I most often work.

selected work


my approach


01

Relational Insight

Understand the relationships that shape trust, adoption, and care.

I care about how people relate to systems, technology, and one another, because that is where the fuller story lives. I pay attention to what people do not say out loud.

Ethnographic FieldworkIn-Depth InterviewsParticipant ObservationDiary StudiesEmpathy MappingFocus GroupsJourney Mapping

02

Contextual Thinking

See the cultural, technical, and personal context around a decision.

No question makes sense without its cultural, technical, and personal context. Having lived in seven countries, I know the same problem rarely has the same answer twice.

Context MappingSystems & Ecosystem MappingContextual InquiryComparative Case StudiesDigital EthnographyTrend & Horizon ScanningStakeholder MappingJourney Mapping

03

Ethical Foresight

Consider trust, dignity, and risk before a decision scales.

I think about the people affected by a decision long before it is made, not as a box to check, but because it is the question I cannot help asking. Trust and dignity are not features to bolt on later.

Risk & Ethics AssessmentStakeholder MappingLongitudinal StudiesCo-Design WorkshopsCultural ProbesDiscourse Analysis

04

Strategic Framing

Turn insight into a clear direction a team can act on.

Research means little if it stays in a report. I turn what I learn into something a team can actually act on: clear, direct, and grounded in the real world.

Insight SynthesisThematic AnalysisConcept & Message TestingPersona DevelopmentAffinity MappingSurvey Design & AnalysisMixed-Methods ResearchUsability Testing

say hello


Working on a question that needs closer attention? I'd be glad to hear what you're building, navigating, or trying to understand, and explore whether I can help.

Location

Freelance clients worldwide · US & PT work authorized · Time zone: UTC+0 / UTC+1

Availability

Currently open to new work

selected writing