About me
Summary
For the last 13 years, I've been fortunate enough to work in this amazing industry. I lead with an open and curious mind and I willfully adapt to changes in technology, trends, and what's expected from designers. I've cut my teeth across multiple unique industries (medical, consumer, Saas, etc). My leadership values have been formed through experience, empathy, relationships, trial and error, and starting with 'why'. I'm a people-oriented, user-centered design leader specializing in digital product design, cross-functional collaboration, design systems, strategy and scaling design practices.
Work History
Benchling / Sr. Manager, Product Design
2022 - PRESENT (REMOTE)
I lead the Design efforts for multiple Benchling company pillars. Responsible for the vision, cross-functional coordination and execution of Design support for all scrum teams across Platform & Infrastructure and Automation & Analytics. I strategize and collaborate with Product and Engineering leadership to build enterprise-grade experiences, controls, systems, and accessible tools which enable Benchling - a cloud-based biotech platform - to scale effectively and solve user-centered problems.
Zillow / Sr. Manager, Experience Design
2016 - 2022, SEATTLE WA
Led a diverse, cross-functional team of 18 designers and engineers focused on Global Patterns & Experiences, Design Systems, Visual Language, Principles & Frameworks, Engineering, and Accessibility. Developed systems, tools and infrastructure to enable designers, developers and product teams to build high-quality, consistent experiences faster, and at scale. Previously, I worked as a lead Product Designer (IC) on several teams across Zillow focused on experiences for homeowners.
Lish / Co founder & Design Lead
2014 - 2016, SEATTLE WA
Co-founded a food delivery startup with 3 other individuals. We raised funds and were accepted to a startup accelerator program in San Francisco, CA. I partnered closely with my co founders and engineers to strategically define and execute the end-to-end experience. I was solely responsible for our web & app design, research, creative direction, photo shoots, branding, packaging design, print materials and everything in between.
SonoSite / Lead Visual Designer & Industrial Designer
2010 - 2015, BOTHELL WA
Lead the visual design and industrial design on a number of touch-interface medical devices which are still being used by point-of-care physicians around the world.
Collaborated with Researchers, Human Factors, Engineers, Brand groups and Medical experts to identify the problems, ideate, iterate, prototype and test solutions for portable ultrasound equipment.
Skills & Experience
Product Design / Platform UX:
My experience spans several industries and different aspects of the design process. I have extensive experience designing and delivering products from 0-1 across multiple platforms and devices. As long as we listen to the user, start with 'why' and execute at a high bar, the recipe for good product design generally remains the same.
Design Systems:
I've directly contributed to multiple Design Systems, built teams to support them and led the strategy to scale them. I was designer #1 for Zillow's visual language and grew the team to 18 people over a number of years. I continue to emphasize the importance of Design Systems and the focus on building tools, processes and infrastructure for design and front-end engineers.
Team Building & Management:
I have over 8 years of management and team building experience - 2 of which I was managing managers. I work closely with individuals and team members to find opportunities for ‘collective wins’. Recruiting, hiring, coaching and leading through others has been a big part of my roles over the years.
Process & Operations:
Operational rigor and processes are important for any individual or team to scale effectively. These are muscles that need to be worked over time. I enjoy finding and implementing new ways to broaden impact, influence and elevate quality.
Visual Design:
I’m a strong advocate for visual design. I believe it must be conducted in concert with product design. It’s not an afterthought. It's definitely not a ‘coat of paint’. It’s an essential tool for satisfying user and business needs.
Creative Direction & Branding:
Maintaining a strong partnership between Product Design and Brand Marketing is vital. We need to speak a common language around what we want users to ‘feel’ when they engage with our products or services
Tools
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Figma / FigJam
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JIRA
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Confluence
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ChatGPT / Generative AI
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Asana
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Airtable
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Google Suite
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Adobe Suite
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Sketch
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MS 365
Education
Western Washington University
Bachelor's - Industrial Design / 2010
Minor - Sustainable Design