Kate Finn

Kate Finn has worked on user interfaces and usability since the mid-1980s. After obtaining her Ph.D. in Computational Linguistics from Georgetown University, she conducted research on natural language understanding systems and automated speech recognition in the Washington, DC area. Then she moved to California (hurray!), where she spent several years at SRI International, creating prototypes of graphical user interfaces. While working in multimedia and collaborative workstations at SRI, she co-edited the book, Video-Mediated Communication (1994).

Since then, Kate has been an independent consultant, evaluating the usability of websites and apps. Around 2005, becoming increasingly aware of the technical difficulties experienced by older people (including her own parents), she turned her attention to the intersection of aging and technology design. She obtained a Certificate in Gerontology to better understand the unique capabilities and needs of older users.

In 2011, she and Dr. Jeff Johnson formed the consulting group Wiser Usability, focused on advising organizations how to develop age-inclusive digital interfaces. Their book, Designing User Interfaces for an Aging Population, was released by Elsevier/Morgan Kaufmann in 2017.