I like to think of myself as a professional empathizer. As a content manager at a travel technology start-up years ago, I noticed I couldn’t navigate our website. I worked there, how were customers getting around?! So I began to ask questions—to the marketing folks, developers, and leadership. These conversations along with some outside research led me to discover an entire field devoted to designing with a user’s needs in mind, considering how people process information, the mental models they rely on, and unique challenges they face. As I learned more, I introduced new steps into our project workflow—personas, journey mapping, wireframing and usability testing. I was teaching myself on the job, but I wanted deeper expertise, so I pursued an MS in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Technical Communication. When the company was acquired by Travelocity, I gained peers in the discipline, but craved the experience of working amongst a larger team of design practitioners.

At the digital agency R/GA, I honed my craft among other designers, researchers and writers before leading cross-functional teams of creatives on a range of project types across industries—retail, finance, telecom, healthcare, and tech. With experience both in-house and agency-side, I built the foundation to launch my own consultancy, where I shape how start-ups and established brands evolve their UX practices. 

My work spans systematic redesigns to mobile apps to productivity platforms to branding, but I fancy projects that solve resonant problems, often ones users can’t articulate. When I’m not immersed in design, you’ll find me dancing, crafting, writing and refining how I explain my work to others (relatives, especially).