TARA BUTLER

Hi, I'm Tara...


Untangling complex challenges is where I shine-identifying patterns and making connections that can slip by. With 10+ years of experience, I have launched and scaled solutions across diverse sectors, including HR, MarTech, CRM, Fitness, and Gaming. My approach is centered on inspiring teams through curiosity and collaboration blending strategic, creative, and critical thinking to turn bold visions into reality. I am dedicated to empowering individuals, teams, and businesses to reach their full potential. 

Top accomplishments include establishing the first product discipline at VML Atlanta, co-founding a Neurodiversity Resource Group for VML NA, mentoring emerging talent in Product and UX (feedback at adplist.org/mentors/tara-butler), and launching SMB Wellness, an online business dedicated to making wellness accessible to all. 

My Approach


From concept to launch, the user comes first...

In all of the research, development, and launches I have led, the user has been the ultimate focus. I have guided a variety of features, ranging from campaign creation tools to Business Intelligence integrations, through each phase of the product development lifecycle using insights to ensure solutions add value for the user and business.

Experience

Toolbelt

Expertise in:

  • End-to-end Product Development
  • Strategy Definition and Goal Setting
  • Roadmapping
  • Prioritization
  • Operations and Process Improvement
  • Exploratory + Evaluative Research
  • Persona Development
  • Journey Mapping
  • Jobs To Be Done
  • User-Centered Design
  • Collaborative Workshops


  • Mobile + Desktop Design 
  • Design Systems
  • Information Architecture
  • Data Analysis + Reporting
  • Documentation and Training 
  • Product-Market Fit
  • Go-To-Market
  • Continuous Learning & Delivery
  • Risk Identification
  • Resourcing & Budgeting
  • Coaching and Mentoring

References

"Tara is curious and collaborative. In under a year, she brought improved processes to teams and forced them to grow and evolve in ways that make us more focused and better thinkers."

-Holly Hefner, Director of Experience Strategy at Wunderman Thompson

"Tara truly works so hard to ensure that we're set up for success and leaves no stone unturned when thinking through the best experience & build for users. Her approach keeps the entire team engaged, invested, and excited about what we're going to build for our client."

- Mina Shahid, Project Manager at PRPL

"[Tara] was vigilant in ensuring our product marketing materials were both engaging and informative, and offered recommendations for new, more ideal deployment times in order to increase open rates.Her value and insight were not only evident in her marketing efforts, but also in her work as a skilled product manager. In an effort to revamp our reporting offerings to customers, she expertly leveraged user data, analytics, competitive analysis and market research to recommend the best BI tool and determine MVP."

- Mary Fran Thompson, UX Designer at WhatCounts

"During our time as colleagues, [Tara] consistently facilitated the creation of an open, collaborative, and efficient work environment. Her sharp ability to identify and implement necessary systems and processes to help our team increase productivity, while maintaining a sense of balance, was invaluable."

 -Kimberly Vandiver, UI Engineer at Salesfusion/SugarCRM

"During the time we worked together I was continually impressed with [Tara's] ability to absorb information, synthesize what she gathered, and translate that back into requirements for the product and engineering teams to execute. She was a key player in fostering our company culture and even hosted monthly, lunch-time yoga sessions to help us all relax a little more."

-Jana Ferguson, Director of Customer Enablement at Salesfusion/SugarCRM

"[Tara] excelled at providing the central hub for what was going on and what was coming up within the product's roadmap, and making sure that design and engineering were focused accordingly, moving swiftly towards each release, and removing blockers in the meantime. All while making sure that the company as a whole was kept abreast of updates, bug fixes, deprecation plans, and anything else that may affect the user. She was crucial in ensuring rewrites of some of our core features were accomplished, tested, and rolled out in ways that made the most sense, and communicated with users through it all for smooth adoption. "

-KC Daniels, Sr. Product Designer at Salesfusion/SugarCRM

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