I’m really into accessibility, accessible design, inclusive design and universal design.
I’m a well-rounded UX person – I create designs by making decisions based on data. I can design and implement a process or a scalable research program, conduct usability tests, certify your product as 508 compliant (and make sure it remains that way), facilitate workshops, teach pretty much anything, create beautiful interfaces, create and implement content strategy and/or information architecture. I can talk just about anyone into anything if I have the research to back it up. I can get teams running smoothly from the beginning or after a few rocky starts. I can design a thing to be accessible initially, or we can go back and fix it right before launch. I read all the rules and policies. I can help you design how people work, an agenda, a workshop, what a button does or your next year’s budget, I’m pretty flexible. I also am fairly relentless about following up. I communicate well across all areas of a business and have been referred to multiple times as a team’s translator. I have experience designing and implementing business strategy, managing diverse and distributed teams, running a budget, forecasting, procurement and lots of other things that don’t necessarily fit into a design job description.
Non-work specific things:
I’m a great team lead or team member. I volunteer on boards around the community and voraciously read the neighborhood newsletters. Parts of my past that are interesting are that I used to be an ESL teacher in Japan, I managed coffee shops and video stores, I was a choreographer for a few colorguards. I can make or fix just about anything if I have enough time and the right tools (and maybe a youtube video or two.) I make a mean lasagna.
Current Design Interests (outside of work):
- “Process”, risk spaces, opportunities, team dynamics, individual and team interactions with respect to empowerment and morale, burnout vs engagement and the power of acknowledgement and psychological safety
- Accessible Content Design (and/or Plain Language for Non-English Speakers/Readers)
- Pro-bono design instruction/coaching, particularly for women/people of color who are interested in the field of design. (If you have an opportunity for teaching design to say, a women’s shelter or a returning citizen’s program, please send me a message on LinkedIn)
- I also do one-off/not program related mentoring, send me a message if you’re interested