Passion for Learning

I attended The University of Georgia where I majored in cultural anthropology. There I studied Mandarin for two years and minored in religion. I piloted an independent study course for college credit, carried out research with IRB approval, studied abroad in Fiji and worked at the university as a research assistant. I also led student organizations and graduated with honors in the top 2% of my class. All this to say: I have a passion for learning.

Federal Research

After college I worked with the US Forest Service in WA state. I carried out ethnographic field work with the Cowlitz Tribe and partnered with them to designate Mount St. Helens as a Traditional Cultural Property with the National Register. It was a great honor to work alongside the tribe and help them reclaim land which is of spiritual and religious significance to their cultural identity and heritage.

Start-up UX

I joined the Clean team and quickly found myself doing UX work before I knew what it was. As the manager of their support team I investigated issues faced by customers, designed solutions, and worked between design and development teams to create unique solutions. The support team I managed achieved and maintain a team-wide satisfaction rating of over 99%, I was able to address internal UX within the company, and many of the solutions I helped develop are still present today including their referral program, start date adjustment, and FAQ information architecture.

Change in the Air

I moved back to Georgia from California to help family. During that transition I worked as a recruiter for physicians, and later took an apprenticeship to learn to tune steel musical instruments called handpans. I studied under the lineage of Dr. Ellie Mannette, godfather of the steel pan in West Virginia and worked with a small, local company that manufactured handpans in Georgia. In this role I managed online presence and personally handled over $100,000 worth of inventory. I ended up founding a network of artists who create free albums of handpan music, volunteer to perform in health and wellness facilities, and raised over $5,500 for health and wellness nonprofit organizations.

Coming Full Circle

I started working in education and have been freelancing to help improve UX by redesigning and creating websites for a local school, after school provider, and social club for young adults with disabilities. I became interested in continuing down the UX path as a way to bring my skills, education, and experience together in a career that is personally fulfilling. I really enjoy working to understand people, communicate their needs, working within and between teams, and creating unique solutions to help solve real life problems. I attended the UX/UI Boot Camp through Georgia Institute of Technology and love working in this field.

Weird and Wonderful Zappos

I got the opportunity to work at Zappos as a Sr. UX Designer helping design their internal support software. There I worked independently on the Customer Support Tech Team alongside another UX Designer to help get their software finalized before the former solution was deprecated. I then moved to the Marketing Tech team where I worked as the only UX Designer helping redesign their influencer program, loyalty reward program, and shoppable content. I helped with their recent redesign efforts by recommend atomic design principles and design documentation solutions.

What’s Next?

I look forward to exploring opportunities where I might bring my skills, knowledge, passion and experience together with a company where I can help solve problems and have an impact with potential for my own growth. I’m currently seeking full time positions remotely or in-person/hybrid around Atlanta. With the world becoming more and more virtual, now is the perfect time to rise to the occasion, level-up your company’s user experience, help customers meet their needs and deliver some much needed joy.

I’d love to help! Let’s chat…