Crystal Marcus-Kanesaka

About

Seasoned product strategist and UX-led product leader with ~20 years across education, cybersecurity, Web3, martech, media, and public/private sector work. She combines hands-on AI-enabled product building with large-scale team leadership, including launching zero-to-one cybersecurity learning products, scaling Braintrust programs from 2,500 to 58,000 users, and improving onboarding experiences that helped double ARR to $400M. Her background in underserved K-12 communities and blended learning makes her especially compelling for human-centered AI and educational equity roles.

Key Strengths

• 20 years of cross-industry product leadership across public/private, education, media, tech, martech, cybersecurity, and blockchain
• Led end-to-end build of CyberEd Interactives with 15 designers and engineering partners
• Strong user-centered product and UX judgment backed by General Assembly UX certification
• Built realistic cybersecurity simulations by instituting early-and-often SME review to reduce late QA churn
• Drove zero-to-one revenue generation at CyberEd with 4 warm leads and 1 upsell SLA worth $15K-$100K
• Delivered high user satisfaction with 4.8/5 average rating
• Applied AI across the product lifecycle to improve team production velocity by 15%
• Designed proprietary AI search/discovery layer for a learning platform
• Resolved metadata, API, and live data feed issues to improve AI result accuracy
• Exceeded engagement goals by 3x with AI-powered search and discovery
• Materially improved onboarding UX at Optimizely, accelerating ramp time by 75%
• Contributed to doubling ARR to $400M through rebranded, productized onboarding experience
• Scaled Braintrust education/community programs from 2,500 to 58,000 users
• Supported growth in talent earnings from $5M to over $80M at Braintrust
• Managed large distributed teams including 2 project managers and 50 engineering/design ICs
• Built lean recruiting, onboarding, and peer mentorship systems to manage churn and maintain delivery continuity
• Developed internal talent, including promoting ICs into project management roles
• Deep experience in underserved K-12 education environments and human-centered AI for learning

Reference Highlights

• highly effective leader
• strong strategic thinker
• executive excellence
• strong cross-functional leadership
• exceptional collaborator
• consistently high quality of work
• professionalism
• ownership
• strong commitment to delivering results
• successful concept-to-launch execution
• clear vision setting
• effective roadmap alignment
• thoughtful decision-making
• data-driven approach
• balanced user, technical, and business needs
• instrumental to successful launch
• hands-on product leadership
• strong understanding of practical AI applications
• well-received AI-enabled products
• strong engagement outcomes
• strong business outcomes
• strong product design and UX judgment
• user-first mindset
• creates intuitive experiences
• creates engaging experiences
• builds strong team alignment
• fosters collaborative environment
• fosters accountability
• communicates clearly
• sets high standards
• empowers team members
• encourages ownership
• trusted leadership
• genuine support for colleagues
• pragmatic approach
• empathetic approach
• human-centered use of technology
• 4.8/5 user satisfaction
• 7:4:1 conversion ratio
• generated $15,000-$100,000 per SLA
• strategic ownership of onboarding and activation
• hybrid product strategist
• strong cross-functional partnership
• effective scope reduction decisions
• saved significant engineering time
• accelerated time to market
• customer-focused decision making
• fast execution
• clear roadmap planning
• strong prioritization judgment
• close partnership with engineering
• kept teams aligned
• real-time implementation support
• user empathy
• strong design instincts
• challenged incorrect assumptions
• improved UX through progressive reveal
• created psychological safety
• mentor without formal authority
• capable designer
• warm and friendly

Experience

Education

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