Dorothy Nam, Practice Consultant
Dorothy is a Qualitative Practice Consultant, where she manages research from planning and design through fielding and reporting. Her responsibilities span project management, logistics, and client collaboration.
With a particular interest in ethnography, Dorothy explores how everyday routines and cultural context shape consumer attitudes and behaviors. She brings an anthropological perspective to understanding consumers within the broader context of their lives, translating insights into opportunities for clients.
Before joining W5, Dorothy served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal and worked with Bass Connections, an interdisciplinary research program. These experiences strengthened her skills in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration, project planning, and research design. She studied Global Studies and Anthropology, with a minor in Medical Anthropology, at UNC-Chapel Hill and earned an MSc in Global Health from Duke University.
Fast Facts
Joined W5: 2022
Favorite Methodology: Photovoice—a participatory qualitative method that combines photography and storytelling to help people share their lived experiences in their own words and images. We incorporate elements of this approach into W5, especially longitudinal studies where participants use photos and videos to bring us into their everyday lives.
Life Motto: “You think your pains and your heartbreaks are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who have ever been alive.” — James Baldwin
Cats or Dogs: Both!
