Reena Merchant is a User Experience (UX) Manager at Google, making her one of the few people we know that holds an MBA in Design Strategy.

In this episode, Reena and Chris discuss her journey from shy kid to tech executive, the weight of family expectations and why believing in yourself is the best cure for self-doubt. And rest assured, Reena will lay out what exactly UX is and how you can go about learning it.

A tech geek at heart, Reena has always had a knack for problem-solving, along with an additional passion for art and design. Throughout her time in college, UX just wasn’t a thing yet. She was a developer taking on design projects on the side.

When she found her first role in UX where she could marry her passions for art and tech, she had hit the jackpot and found her dream job. With her first UX role at Blackberry, she grew from being a designer to taking on a leadership role at Google.

On top of that, Reena is the founder of a community organization called Our Voice, where their mission is to create positive human impact. In a nutshell, Reena is a wildly talented and intelligent person.

Listening to her accomplishments, it seems that Reena can pretty much do it all, from programming, to design, leadership, and design strategy. But Reena shares her struggles of overcoming self-doubt, feeling more confident in herself, and finding her voice.

Growing up, Reena was a shy kid, but her parents recognized this and encouraged her to break out of her shell. She took improv classes, hosted school talent shows, and over time, became more comfortable with speaking publicly. Hearing her speak, you’d never think she was once shy or doubtful of herself.

There’s so much we can learn from Reena, from finding your voice, to working towards your dream, and staying true to yourself. We hope you enjoy this episode.