ABOUT ME

Currently, I manage The Makery Group, my User Experience Design practice and teach as an Adjunct Professor of Design.  

Previously, I was the Vice President of User Experience Design for Shutterstock in New York City and a Design Manager for Expedia in Seattle.

I have won a Webbby Award for Best of Use of Artificial Intelligence in Design as well as a UX Magazine Design for Experience Award for nonprofit design work.

​I've also been a speaker at design conferences including: Creative Week, The Art Director's Club, BitCon and the Design Thinkers. 
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I've earned a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from St. Thomas University and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) at Gettysburg College. I'm also working towards a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership and Learning.

UX/UI LEADERSHIP CASE STUDIES

​SHUTTERSTOCK

As the Vice President of Product Design & User Experience, I led a 25 person User Experience Design Organization that shaped overall company design for Shutterstock. I spearheaded a company-wide design and UI infrastruture project, to help scale the platform and provide a efficient user experience for our customers. 
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EXPEDIA 

During my time as a Design Manager at Expedia, my team and I led a UX/UI redesign of the Expedia Flights experience. This included design strategy, UX architecture, UI design for global and accessible audiences, comprehensive User Testing. When launched, the new design boosted conversion as well as attach rate for additional purchases. 
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DESIGN WRITING

SMASHING MAGAZINE

If great design can imbue customers with trust, so removed from product management and the larger business strategy? Largely, it's an educational gap - as traditional BFA, MFA and career pathways for UX/UI designers lack business and financial education. 

​Very soon, I found a workable solution: a part-time MBA program where I would study and learn actionable skills of business frameworks and best practices of management. I wrote about some of the most important lessons I learned as a designer in business school in a piece with Smashing Magazine. 

READ ARTICLE

DESIGN EDUCATION

TEACHING & DOCTORATE

I’ve built and taught design education as Adjunct Professor of Design at the University of Minnesota as well as the University of Denver. I also serve on the Advisory Board for Vantage Studies, an innovative public high school professional studies program. 

I'm also working towards a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership and Learning. As the highest degree in the education field, my work will balance academic research alongside community partnerships, concentrated on the improvement and expansion of design education for high school students. 

Especially during these challenging times, it's important to have remote-friendly education available for our teachers and students. To keep keep our students learning during the COVID-19 epidemic, I created a free and fun UX design class for all ages.

FREE k-12 DESIGN CLASS