Our Team
Lyman Casey, Ph.D.
Co-founder & Partner
With an extensive background in cognitive psychology, interface design and business strategy, Lyman Casey brings a broad and pragmatic perspective to our work at Centralis.
Prior to co-founding Centralis, Lyman served as Director of User Experience at the leading Chicago e-commerce integrator Giant Step, now part of Publicis Groupe. In that role, he established the company's User Experience practice and built a team recognized as a leader by industry analysts such as Forrester Research. His prior technology experience includes the design and development of custom expert systems software for Fortune 500 clients.
Lyman holds a doctorate in Cognitive Psychology from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from Williams College. In his free time, Lyman is a gadget hound, a runner, and most of all a doting dad.
Kathi Kaiser
Co-founder & Partner
As co-founder of Centralis, Kathi leads our team in creating great user experiences. As a researcher, Kathi’s expertise lies in crafting research protocols that provide rich, relevant insight into user behavior. As a designer, she applies that insight to creating products that help users accomplish their goals while helping clients accomplish their business objectives.
Kathi’s experience in human-computer interaction spans fourteen years and includes engagements at notable user experience firms HannaHodge and Doblin Group. She is an authority on user-centered design who serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Kathi holds a Master's degree in Social Science from the University of Chicago and a BA in Psychology from Georgetown University.
When out of the office, Kathi can often be found with her family and friends, listening to ‘80s music or cheering on the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Elizabeth Benker
User Experience Director
Elizabeth Benker is an accomplished designer and tenacious advocate for user needs. Her expertise spans all areas of application design, including needs analysis, user research, requirements engineering, information architecture, interaction design and prototyping. She has worked on projects ranging from a $300M tactical redesign of a multi-channel web-based policy administration system for a Fortune 500 company to a $0 budget web site redesign project for a local non-profit.
Elizabeth joined Centralis after working as an Information Architect in the financial services and insurance industries. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and a Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction from DePaul University. She speaks and publishes on issues of user-centered design, most recently as a presenter to the Usability Professionals' Association.
Matthew Scholl
Senior User Experience Specialist
Matthew Scholl has extensive experience partnering with clients to create solutions that balance user needs with client business objectives. Whether facilitating usability tests, conducting contextual user research or designing wireframes, he is a patient, careful observer and is persistent in his pursuit of detailed, actionable findings and recommendations.
Prior to joining Centralis, Matt spent 10 years at Accenture in roles including product manager and user experience consultant. He has worked on both consumer-facing websites and business-to-business web applications and his past clients include software manufacturers, insurance companies, and electronics manufacturers. He holds a Masters degree in Human Computer Interaction from the University of Michigan and a BS in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Jennifer Canady
User Experience Specialist
Jennifer Canady brings a broad background in film, radio, marketing and sales to Centralis' user experience team. Jenni is a talented research facilitator and a tireless advocate for user needs. When she’s not working to build the best possible user experience, she can be found prototyping iPhone apps or collaboratively writing a book chapter about virtual collaboration.
Jenni comes to Centralis from DePaul University, where she worked to create intuitive university-wide online experiences for both faculty and students. Jenni holds a BA from Loyola University Chicago in Communications and an MS in Human Computer Interaction from DePaul University.
Libby Lane
Office Manager
In her role as Office Manager, Libby ensures that the daily operations at Centralis are executed with the highest level of professionalism and efficiency. Libby manages Centralis Lab, serving as host during usability testing to provide our clients with a comfortable and productive on-site experience.
Libby brings to Centralis a solid background in business management, having previously served as Meeting Planner and Membership Manager for Bostrom Corporation, an association management firm located in downtown Chicago. A champion of impeccable customer service, Libby provides a dynamic level of dedication, personal commitment and sensitivity to each of her clients and responsibilities.
An active member of the Chicago theatre community, Libby holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Millikin University and an MFA in Acting from Western Illinois University. She has worked with theatre companies across the country and performs regularly with local companies such as Lifeline and Emerald City Theatre Company.