Résumé

I am a human-centered researcher, strategist and designer with 20+ years experience across creative and tech environments. I left industry from 2022 - 2024 to focus on graduate school full-time at UT Austin and to explore UX in non-traditional spaces. I practiced UX in climate science/tech and responsible human-AI interaction through employment with research labs at the School of Information and the Jackson School of Geosciences. I'm currently an employed contract consultant at UT Austin leading the UX research, strategy and accessible design of a civic science platform for Planet Texas 2050. I am distilling 10 years of interdisciplinary research into useful data tools, resources, and stories of lived experiences to support community climate resilience.

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Skills

Core Competencies

Translating ambiguity/complexity into tangible solutions
Research synthesis and strategic insights with business value
Systems-thinking with attention to detail
Interdisciplinary stakeholder collaboration and facilitation

Research Skills

Ethical human subjects research, generative studies, evaluative studies, usability testing, observational studies, ethnographic studies, SUS, RITE, Likert scale, card sorting, thematic analysis, heuristic analysis, survey design, data cleaning, recruitment, remote studies, on-site studies, workshops, stakeholder mapping, competitive research, market research, WCAG accessibility audits

Design Skills

Wireframing, prototyping, mood boards, infographics, illustration, data visualization, branding, visual language development, design systems, micro-interactions, user journey mapping, user flows, accessible UX

Software and Tools

Figma, FigJam, Miro, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premier Pro), Sketch + Invision (2021), Microsoft Office, Google Workspace; AI: ChatGPT 5, Claude, Gemini, Firefly, Canva, UIzard, Galileo, Otter, Scite

Education

2021-2024

The University of Texas at Austin

Master of Science in Information Studies, dual specialization in Human-Computer Interaction and Responsible A.I., GPA 3.89

Courses:

Capstone Master's Thesis: Enhancing Human-Centered Design in RAI Tools and a Proposed RAI Resources Cataloging System
Individual Study - UX/HCI for Accessible Climate Data Portal
Individual Study - Emotion AI in Job Interview Assessments and Candidates with Disabilities
Human-A.I. Interaction
Health Informatics
Ethics of AI
Datafication
Information Architecture and Design
Accessible User Experience
Serving and Understanding Users
Organizing Information
Usability
Perspectives on Information

2007-2010

Texas State University

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design, minor in Anthropology, GPA 3.69 Magna Cum Laude; 6x Award-winning student designer

2017-Present

Certifications

CITI Social/Behavioral Researchers Credential ID 54364242 (2023), LinkedIn Academic Research Foundations - Quantitative (2024); Career Foundry UX Fundamentals (2017)

Experience

2024-Present

UT Austin, Office of the Vice President for Research and Creative Endeavors,

Planet Texas 2050

Research group at a large public university focused on interdisciplinary work in ecological resilience and community engagement.

Initiated UX research for a high-profile interactive platform based on $10M and 10 years of interdisciplinary research.
Pitched, planned, and conducted 36 semi-structured 45-minute stakeholder interviews 1:1 via Zoom with a digital workshop component from July 2024 to June 2025 to uncover goals, challenges, risks and synergies, informing platform scope, roadmap, metrics, design and features.
Facilitation of group workshops for brainstorming and prioritization of ideas.
Conducting comparative research of other websites, exploring development options, I translated qualitative data from UX research into themes, insights, and tangible recommendations.

2023-2024

UT Austin, School of Information, Human-AI Interaction Lab

Research lab at a large public university largely focused on human-AI interaction in the public/civic sector.

Proactively overhauled lab operations, enhancing team efficiency via best practices, digital tools, and streamlined communication.
Developed equity-centered surveys and improved usability testing, resulting in better research methods and outputs.

2023

UT Austin, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT-City Climate CoLab

Research lab at a large public university focused on climate science and climate tech for improved mitigation of extreme weather events in collaboration with the City of Austin.

Initialized UX integration, designing the Austin Future Climate Report and data portal to improve the accessibility of complex data
Enhanced research communications with the community and helped establish human-centered design as a core value of the lab.

2022

Evernorth, UX Lead (Contractor)

Data engineering and analytics team within a health insurance (fintech) corporation focused on improving internal analytics tools.

Streamlined UX research methods by introducing tailored scalable frameworks and resources.
Improved usability through heuristic evaluations, rapid iterative testing (RITE) method, generative qualitative studies, and market research translated into wireframes for monitoring health insurance trends.

2019-2022

EY, Advanced Technology Tax Lab, UX Lead

Boston-based blockchain and AI technology incubator within EY focused on innovating solutions to challenges in the exchange of sensitive information within supply chains and global tax processes.

Senior UX Designer (July 2021—June 2022)
- Led UX research and design for 3 MIS platforms, driving stakeholder engagement and earning leadership buy-in, resulting in an invitation to apply to EY’s global UX team.
- Interpreted, architected and prototyped a blockchain-based platform designed to manage forced labor risks in supply chains, managing project complexities and enabling quick turn-around for stakeholder buy-in.
UX Design Contractor, ClearPath Workforce Management (Nov 2019—June 2021)
- Developed UI for TaxGrid, enhancing stakeholder trust and facilitating a global demo with 12 stakeholder organizations across government, industry and academia, paving the way for commercial production in 2024.
- Spearheaded a design system alignment initiative for TaxLab, influencing strategic discussions that shaped global UX leadership’s evaluation of a solution for isolated designers and small teams.

2019

Kapitus, Design Generalist (Contract)

NYC-based financial services company providing small business loans.

Led design in a lean marketing team for 3 months as back-fill for their design leader, resulting in enhanced branding across touch points and an offer of ongoing consulting work.
Addressed UX challenges in online marketing, website design, and print mailers, resulting in improved design solutions.
Directed activities of junior marketing employee while leading company-wide intranet update initiative.

2011-Present

Independent Design Consultant

UX and communication design professional providing services in product research, product design, stakeholder engagement, digital presence, branding, and marketing execution.

Crafting detailed proposals for UX research services, aiming to identify user needs and enhance product usability through targeted research methods and stakeholder collaboration.
Led UX projects across various industries, enhancing user engagement, operational efficiency, and stakeholder communication.
- Public navigation app for Duke Farms nature preserve
- App management system for top national entertainment brand
Developed and implemented a comprehensive branding and web design strategy for clients, enhancing online presence and user engagement.
- AMP Engineering | www.amp-engineering.com
- EcoAssets Environmental | www.ecoassets.us
Led design and production efforts for high-profile clients, improving marketing effectiveness.
- Revitalized brand expression across touch points for the Texas Hospital Association
- Produced graphics for top NYC retail brands at Catch24

Volunteer Work

2015

OpenAustin Civic Hack Summit,

Canvas Designer

Developed a custom Project Planning Canvas as a tool to help facilitate the problem-solving process at The Civic Hack Summit, part of Code Across America and in collaboration with The City of Austin
Resulted in 11 viable ideas (up from 1) and adoption of the canvas by a non-profit in Japan.
The event brought together local developers, designers, project managers, government staff, public policy experts, and citizen advocates to launch a new wave of community-developed civic technology projects for Austin. www.open-austin.org

2015

Cultivate Health Hackathon, DLogit Team, Ethnographic Researcher and Project Coordinator

Coordinated team and designed observational research study for in-home interviews with people who live with diabetes.
The product is an app that helps people living with diabetes in low-income neighborhoods better manage their food intake, levels, and allows them to easily share that data with their healthcare providers.

2017

NYU EdTech Accelerator,

UX Consultant

Advised an edtech start-up on design thinking, emphasizing user research and iteration.
Delivered UX research strategy, user survey results, interview questions, user research insights, wireframes for the website, mixed fidelity mocks, and graphic assets.
Guided graduate student interns in UX activities.

2023

UT EcoCentric Future Lab,

Graphic Designer

Enhanced and unified team poster series exploring frameworks for animal-computer interaction and interspecies interaction in art-making and design.
Posters were displayed at a local Austin art show, Interspecies Intelligence.

2024

UT AI in Health Lab,

Market Researcher

Led market research for an AI-powered CBT ADHD app for women (NSF I-Corps) to understand the experiences, motivations, attitudes, and behaviors of target users.
Designed the research study, which included competitive research, recruitment method, survey design, interview script / discussion guide, and analysis method.

2013-2014

Rainforest Partnership,

Graphic Designer

Collaborated with the director, volunteers, board members and associates in South America to design pitch, promotional, branding and packaging materials.
Supported an inititative to empower local indigenous communities in Ecuador and Peru through economic partnership with communities in Austin, in an effort to conserve 40+ hectares of rainforest.