24 Aug The Faces Behind Fluent: Tiffany Salone
As part of Fluent Research’s 20th anniversary, we’re introducing the people behind the research and the experiences that shape how they approach their work. This week, we’re featuring Tiffany Salone, Senior Researcher at Fluent.
Tiffany is passionate about research that helps make education and technology more accessible and equitable, particularly for young learners, families, and communities that have historically been underserved. With a background spanning educational media research and video production, she brings both a human-centered and creative perspective to understanding how people engage with media, technology, and learning.
Read on to learn more about Tiffany’s path from video production to research and some of the interests and experiences that have shaped her along the way
1) What inspired you to join Fluent Research?
I was looking for an opportunity to continue researching how children and families use and learn from media and technology while gaining the chance to design and manage my own studies and teams. I’m good at managing people and projects, and I wanted more leadership opportunities than I had been afforded in more academically structured environments. The work that Fluent Productions was doing in 2021 also provided chances to use my skills as a producer and director from my previous career in service of the research we do at Fluent Research.
2) What’s a fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
All of my friends know this about me, so I guess it’s not most people, but I love languages. I started learning Mandarin at school starting at 5 years old, but I also expressed an early interest in other languages—one of the stories that I wrote and illustrated in elementary school was about how to say hello in other languages, including German, French, Swahili, and Spanish. Today, I have the basics down in Italian and Spanish; I have better-than-basic German; I’m alright with French; I’ve hung onto most of my Mandarin, and my latest project is learning Korean.
3) If you weren’t in research, what career would you have pursued?
I would probably still be exercising my research skills wherever I ended up, but I might apply them to sociology or organizational psychology.
4) What’s your favorite way to unwind after a busy day?
I love to knit. I usually have a couple of different projects going at once, so I’ll pick one up and listen to a podcast or watch TV.
5) If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand to experience all of the different climates and natural beauty there.