mackenzie bristow, phd

Dr. Mackenzie Bristow has over 20 years of experience in program design, teacher training, internationalization strategy and, and UX design and research. Over her career, she has supported programs across higher education and corporate learning to achieve better quality, processes, and student-centered empathy. Her recent affiliations as a UX faculty at Home Depot, Interim Dean of Students, and Director of the English Language Support Program and Global Engagement at Emory’s Laney Graduate School provide her with a unique skill set balanced between practice and research.

In addition to serving at CLN, Dr. Bristow is an English Language Specialist for the U.S. Department of State, where she is selected to advise universities across the world on curriculum design, assessment, and specialized approaches such as English for Specific Purposes, Task-based instruction, and Content and Language Integrated Learning. She recently completed an assignment for the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology in Trivandum, India, focused on space science communication and research publication.

As a User Experience Researcher, she works directly with organizations to improve both learner and customer digital experience.  Dr. Bristow employs qualitative and context-driven approaches to dive into the behaviors of users to inform design. She also finds innovative ways to engage stakeholders in the design process. This approach increases empathy towards a target audience or learners that ultimately provides clarity into the problems that need the most attention. Insights gathered from her work have helped refine roadmaps, develop customer journeys and complex flows, service blueprints, and increased usability and engagement for websites and applications. 

Dr. Bristow holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Georgia State University. Her research focused on higher education language policy and English language program design. Her insights drove the creation of the first international partnership between the Laney Graduate School and the Nanjing College of Engineering and Applied Sciences; this program delivered a tailored biomedical English language program coupled with a graduate student teacher training program.