About Tanya Pinto

Experience · education · selected work

Portfolio

Principal UX Researcher | AI and Product Strategy | Market Research | Brand and Social Impact

Selected professional work across research, brand strategy, nonprofit leadership, and storytelling.

Tanya Pinto with the 2025 MREF Everyday Hero Award
Research leadership, strategy, and social impact.

Bio

Insight, strategy, and impact.

Tanya Pinto is an AI researcher, brand strategist, and social-impact founder who turns insights into strategy and growth. Across 25+ years, she has worked with world-class enterprise technology brands alongside a deep commitment to humanitarian work.

Tanya joined Microsoft almost a decade ago and is now a Principal UX Researcher, shaping the future of AI through leading enterprise research. From AI metering, Copilot adoption, agents and future-of-work roles, Tanya translates insights into product strategy. Prior to UX, she scaled Microsoft Compass Customer Research Program and spent 4+ years in Research + Insights as a Director of Market Research driving communications, education research and proactive insights.

Through her firm, Shakti Consulting, Tanya advised global organizations including Pfizer (Emergen-C), Save the Children, and World Vision International (WVI), leading rebrands and field storytelling across Ethiopia, Somalia, Senegal, Malawi, and Zambia, including from Dollo Ado (UNHCR), one of the world’s largest refugee camps. She was also based in Asia to lead branding for a consortium focused on child malnutrition around the FIFA Qatar 2022 World Cup and moderated a global food-security forum at UN World Food Programme headquarters in Rome.

Tanya spent 13+ years in Brand Management at The Richards Group, leading global campaigns for Nokia and Travelocity, a Super Bowl spot for Florida Orange Juice, and award-winning healthcare ads for MD Anderson Cancer Center and Children’s Health. She drove its cause-marketing practice, creating the Auntie Anne’s and Alex’s Lemonade Stand partnership that raised millions for pediatric cancer research.

That same rigor drives her life’s work. In 2005, after volunteering at Mother Teresa’s orphanage in India, Tanya founded Baal Dan Charities and scaled it into a lean, high-impact organization that feeds 1,500+ children every day and has served 15,000+ children across 15 countries. Her work has been honored with the MREF Everyday Hero Lifetime Achievement Award, the John Curtin Medal of Honor (Curtin University, Australia), and Harvard University’s WECAN “Woman of the Year” award.

A keynote speaker, trusted advisor, and global citizen who has traveled to 55+ countries, Tanya brings depth, creativity, and heart to every partnership, helping leaders harness AI, insights, and storytelling to grow business and social impact.

Tanya Pinto speaking with a young girl during a field visit
Tanya listening to a young girl during a field visit.
Tanya Pinto moderating a panel at the Strong Women Strong World Summit
Tanya moderated a panel of African Women Leaders at the Strong Women Strong World Summit at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, an event hosted by World Vision with keynote speakers Jenna and Barbara Bush.
Tanya Pinto at Victoria Falls during a World Vision assignment in Zambia
Tanya hiked to Victoria Falls during an assignment in Zambia for World Vision, which took her near the Tanzania border.
Tanya Pinto reporting from the Dollo Ado refugee camp for World Vision Ethiopia
Tanya was one of the few “Western” reporters at the Dollo Ado Refugee Camp in Ethiopia on assignment for World Vision Ethiopia. At that time, Dollo Ado was the second largest refugee camp in the world.
Tanya Pinto meeting women during World Vision fieldwork in Malawi
Tanya produced over 10 videos about the impact of World Vision WASH investments for women in Malawi, traveling there to write, produce, and direct.
Tanya Pinto conducting a field visit in Ethiopia
Tanya recently conducted a field audit in Mekele, Tigray region of Ethiopia, with grantee partner ASDEPO.
Tanya Pinto spending time with children at the Look Forward Creativity Center in Johannesburg
Tanya loved spending time with children at the Look Forward Creativity Center orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa, where Baal Dan provided numerous grants for a period of time.

Professional experience

Deep Cross-Sector Professional Experience

Experience spans enterprise technology, global research, advertising, nonprofit leadership, and humanitarian communications.

Microsoft

Principal UX Researcher, Experiences + Devices

Research leadership across Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365, and worldwide education, shaping enterprise AI strategy and the future of productivity.

  • Shaped enterprise AI monetization through the Metered AI Changes More Than Cost program, reframing how Microsoft communicates AI value beyond price and informing metering strategy across the Microsoft 365 Copilot portfolio.
  • Drove Copilot adoption strategy through Unlocking Copilot Adoption and Enterprise Use Cases for Agents, surfacing workflows and barriers for product and go-to-market priorities.
  • Co-led enterprise role-journey mapping with Copilot Engineering, Research, and Design, producing end-to-end role and industry maps that informed product direction and role-based impact.
  • Delivered PowerPoint + Copilot feature-impact research that drove a design change to the Designer chat pane and informed work to win back lapsed PowerPoint users.
  • Established future-of-work research through AI Natives - A Beacon for What’s Next, The Growth of AI Transformation Roles, and enterprise video studies covering creation, consumption, accessibility, and multimodal preferences.
  • Built the Excel Advisors Panel with 115+ global customers and a 25+ member higher-education panel to support previews, pilots, qualitative research, and segmentation.
  • Led Worldwide Education research across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and India; redesigned the internal SharePoint Research Hub containing hundreds of reports.

Baal Dan Charities

Founder and President

Founded and leads a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) public charity connecting donors with trusted grassroots organizations serving vulnerable children.

  • Leads strategy, fundraising, partnerships, field reporting, and donor communications for programs supporting food, shelter, water, refugee assistance, and education.
  • Built long-term local partnerships across 14 countries, including programs feeding more than 1,000 children daily and projects that established two schools.
  • Raised more than $1 million for children’s programs and produced more than 100 videos to share partner work and field stories.

Shakti Consulting

Founder and Freelance Consultant

Founded a consulting practice offering big-agency research, brand, cause-marketing, and communications expertise with an agile partner network.

  • Advised Lagardère, Tribal Brands, Pfizer/Emergen-C, charity: water, UNHCR, Save the Children, and World Vision International.
  • Supported World Vision International brand work across food, maternal health, WASH, and humanitarian emergency affairs; moderated a Food Security Forum at World Food Programme headquarters in Rome.
  • Produced 60+ field videos across Ethiopia, Somalia, Senegal, and Zambia, and led communications for the OneGoal sports-and-cause consortium associated with the FIFA/AFC Qatar 2022 World Cup.
  • Managed brand refresh and growth strategy for organizations including HighGround Advisors, a $2B+ asset manager serving nonprofits.

The Richards Group

Brand Management / Account Director and Planner

Thirteen years of brand, account-planning, and campaign leadership across CPG, B2C, B2B, technology, and nonprofit clients.

  • Led integrated campaigns across television, print, radio, outdoor, and digital, including a Super Bowl television spot.
  • Managed Nokia launches and Travelocity expansion across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, leading budgets up to $30 million and cross-functional teams of 20+.
  • Founded the agency’s cause-marketing practice and brokered long-running partnerships, including Auntie Anne’s and Alex’s Lemonade Stand, which has raised millions for pediatric cancer research.

Education: B.A. in Mass Communication, Curtin University, First Class Honors; Journalism, Marketing, and Public Relations. A global traveler who has visited 50+ countries, Tanya grew up in the UAE and Australia, holds dual U.S. and Australian citizenship, and has worked on projects in more than 20 countries.

Global Brand Experience

Nonprofit, humanitarian, and social impact

OneGoal, GAIN, FIFA/AFC, American Heart Association, Alex’s Lemonade Stand, Buckner International, charity: water, Doha Goals, HighGround Advisors, Medical Teams International, United Nations mPowering Action, United Way, World Food Programme, and World Vision International. Tanya also contributed to a global sports-and-cause consortium formed around the 2022 World Cup, with work spanning Malaysia, Doha, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Technology, consumer, and B2B

Microsoft, Envision Golf, Lagardère, FracTest, Hurst Metallurgical, Janjoon Jewelry, Nokia, Sabre, and Travelocity.

Healthcare and agencies

Children’s Health, Children’s Medical Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, The Additive Agency, The Richards Group, Ketchum, Rev-D, and Tribal Brands.

Ways to work together

Capabilities & Services

From the first question to the story people remember, Tanya offers flexible advisory, research, strategy, and communication support for organizations working through complex change.

AI and product strategy

Human-centered AI adoption, Copilot and enterprise AI value, agentic workflows, future-of-work research, and competitive positioning for product and go-to-market teams.

Research leadership

Mixed-methods programs spanning global customer panels, qualitative fieldwork, ethnography, segmentation, journey mapping, pricing research, and executive-ready synthesis.

Storytelling and influence

Executive narratives, brand strategy, communications, public speaking, partnership development, fundraising, and stories that make complex work matter to people.

AI and product strategy advisory

Human-centered AI adoption, Copilot and enterprise AI value and pricing research, agentic-workflow use cases, and competitive positioning. Move beyond prompt experimentation to business-backed workflows that address real friction for executives, IT teams, and employees.

Research as a service

End-to-end mixed-methods programs: customer panels, ethnography, segmentation, journey and persona mapping, executive-ready synthesis, and research-operations modernization.

Brand development and rebranding

Brand promise and positioning, naming, identity, logos, standards, messaging, and rebrands through mergers, leadership changes, and business transitions.

Nonprofit, NGO, cause marketing, and CSR

Brand-cause partnerships, nonprofit communications, fundraising strategy, and impact storytelling informed by work with World Vision, charity: water, UNHCR, and Save the Children.

Communications, storytelling, and content

Executive narratives, media kits, thought leadership, social-media growth, copywriting, storyboarding, and short-form video and field production.

Speaking, facilitation, and workshops

Keynotes, panels, moderation, and research and insights facilitation for teams, conferences, and organizations navigating change.

Creative collaboration: For projects that call for additional craft, Tanya partners with a trusted network of designers, illustrators, film and video editors, copywriters, and researchers.

Awards and recognition

Recognition for leadership, research, and service.

  1. Everyday Hero Lifetime Achievement Award

    Marketing Research Education Foundation, New York City

  2. One Microsoft Award

    Research and Worldwide Education Marketing partnership, Seattle

  3. Award of Honor

    Public Relations Society of America, Dallas Chapter; Buckner International campaign

  4. Leaders of Excellence Award

    National Association of Asian American Professionals, DFW

  5. John Curtin Medal of Honor

    Curtin University, for leadership and humanitarian service

  6. Woman of the Year

    Harvard University WECAN, Boston

  7. Award nominations

    ANNIE, Aster, Hermes, and CLIO Healthcare awards for a Children’s Medical Center campaign

  8. Award for Uplifting Human Values

    Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Foundation, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.

Published work

Research, humanitarian work, and the future of AI.

  1. Marketing Research Education Foundation

    Charity provides critical aid to children in need

  2. International Journal of Advertising

    Agency Client Chemistry: Demographic & Psychographic Influences

Interviews, talks, and films

Video stories

Tanya has over 150+ videos across social media. Explore the Baal Dan YouTube channel and the Shakti Consulting YouTube channel.

Selected interviews, conference appearances, and humanitarian films featuring or produced by Tanya Pinto.

Brooke’s Broken Heart video thumbnail Watch
Shakti Consulting video

Shakti Consulting

Brooke’s Broken Heart

An animated story from the Children’s Medical Center Storybook campaign, recognized by ANNIE, Aster, and Hermes awards and nominated for a CLIO Healthcare Award.

Conference and industry events

Speaking engagements

Selected talks, panels, and facilitation. Links lead to the conference, organizer, or recorded session.

  1. 2025

    ESOMAR Congress

    Speaker and panelist

    Prague · Charitable Giving: Amplifying Impact for Global Communities

  2. 2025
  3. 2025

    IIEX North America

    Speaker

    Washington, D.C. · Harnessing the power of empathy for real-world impact

  4. 2025

    Quirk’s New York

    AI panelist and speaker

    New York

  5. 2025

    Machine Learning, AI & Data Science Conference

    Conference participant

    Microsoft

  6. 2024

    Quirk’s Dallas

    AI panelist and speaker

    Dallas

  7. 2023

    Quirk’s New York

    Speaker

    New York

  8. 2023

    Compass Connect Experience

    Conference appearance

    Industry event

  9. 2022

    Tech Circus BAD Conference

    Panelist and moderator

    Technology, media, and research conference

  10. 2022

    Insights Association Southwest Chapter

    Keynote speaker

    Las Vegas

  11. 2010

    Baal Dan Means Thank You

    TEDx speaker

    Tanya shares the story and meaning behind Baal Dan.

  12. Additional

    Insights Association Annual Conference

    Conference appearance

    Year not specified in the source material