Customer Advisory Board Member

• Feb 2023 - Present

User Research Foundations Director

• Jul 2022 - Present

With over 20 years of work experience in user experience, research operations, and design, I am a passionate and driven leader who strives to create and deliver human-centered products and services that solve real problems for our customers and the people who use our products every day. I lead a high-performing team of ResearchOps practitioners who support and enable the user research practice. My mission is to accelerate the research practice and help scale the impact and craft across… Show more With over 20 years of work experience in user experience, research operations, and design, I am a passionate and driven leader who strives to create and deliver human-centered products and services that solve real problems for our customers and the people who use our products every day. I lead a high-performing team of ResearchOps practitioners who support and enable the user research practice. My mission is to accelerate the research practice and help scale the impact and craft across organizations by creating and implementing intentional strategies, processes, systems, and providing the tools required to get the job done. I bring diverse perspectives and experiences to teams, as I have worked in different industries, disciplines, and contexts, and I value collaboration, innovation, and customer satisfaction. I am responsible for creating and executing strategic initiatives to help user research thrive and scale, such as implementing internal tooling consisting of a user research library, voice of the customer, and atomic research customer insights. I also design and implement team organization structure, staffing processes, culture, career development, and mentorship, and manage user research tooling selection, user research participants, procurement, budget, upskilling/enablement, data privacy governance & compliance, and advocate and communicate the distinct value of user research to the larger design community and product organizations. I use my skills in management, user experience, marketing, and business writing to deliver successful outcomes and drive continuous improvement. I am an inspiring and effective mentor and ResearchOps thought leader, and I have received multiple awards and recognitions for my work. Show less With over 20 years of work experience in user experience, research operations, and design, I am a passionate and driven leader who strives to create and deliver human-centered products and services that solve real problems for our customers and the people who use our products every day. I lead a high-performing team of ResearchOps practitioners who support and enable the user research practice. My mission is to accelerate the research practice and help scale the impact and craft across… Show more With over 20 years of work experience in user experience, research operations, and design, I am a passionate and driven leader who strives to create and deliver human-centered products and services that solve real problems for our customers and the people who use our products every day. I lead a high-performing team of ResearchOps practitioners who support and enable the user research practice. My mission is to accelerate the research practice and help scale the impact and craft across organizations by creating and implementing intentional strategies, processes, systems, and providing the tools required to get the job done. I bring diverse perspectives and experiences to teams, as I have worked in different industries, disciplines, and contexts, and I value collaboration, innovation, and customer satisfaction. I am responsible for creating and executing strategic initiatives to help user research thrive and scale, such as implementing internal tooling consisting of a user research library, voice of the customer, and atomic research customer insights. I also design and implement team organization structure, staffing processes, culture, career development, and mentorship, and manage user research tooling selection, user research participants, procurement, budget, upskilling/enablement, data privacy governance & compliance, and advocate and communicate the distinct value of user research to the larger design community and product organizations. I use my skills in management, user experience, marketing, and business writing to deliver successful outcomes and drive continuous improvement. I am an inspiring and effective mentor and ResearchOps thought leader, and I have received multiple awards and recognitions for my work. Show less

Head of User Research Operations

• Apr 2020 - Jul 2022

Creating the infrastructure to help enterprise scale user research teams succeed. I am an inspiring and effective mentor and ResearchOps thought leader. I established, scaled, and lead a high-performing team of ResearchOps practitioners, for the IBM Software Automation, Data & AI, Public Cloud, Security and Sustainability portfolios, who are forward thinking discipline leaders that apply specialized skills to operationalize IBM user research. ResearchOps accelerates the research practice… Show more Creating the infrastructure to help enterprise scale user research teams succeed. I am an inspiring and effective mentor and ResearchOps thought leader. I established, scaled, and lead a high-performing team of ResearchOps practitioners, for the IBM Software Automation, Data & AI, Public Cloud, Security and Sustainability portfolios, who are forward thinking discipline leaders that apply specialized skills to operationalize IBM user research. ResearchOps accelerates the research practice and helps scale the impact and craft across the organization by creating and implementing intentional strategies, processes for repeatability and automation, and scalable systems, and creates the infrastructure that enables IBM user researchers to focus on delivering valuable insights that help deliver successful human-centered products for our clients. • Create and implement strategic initiatives to help user research thrive and scale • Design and implement team organization structure, staffing processes, culture, career development and mentorship • Design, engineer, scale and manage our internal IBM tool consisting of a user research library, voice of the client and atomic research client insights to share and expand the impact of user research across all of IBM • Create and maintain resources to support and guide the user research practice • Manage user research tooling selection, procurement, budget, and training • Ensure data privacy governance, compliance, and ethical practices in all user research related activities • Recruit user research participants and maintain a robust participant management tool accessible IBM wide • Develop content strategies to enable researchers to communicate research findings effectively • Advocate and communicate the distinct value of user research to the larger design community and product organizations Awards: IBM CrushIt, IBM Data & AI Hero, IBM People's Choice Culture Award, IBM Managers Recognition Award, IBM Peer Recognition’s

Design Evangelist | User Experience Program

• May 2018 - Apr 2020

Design advocate for user experience: what it means, why it matters, and how to make it better. Focused on increasing awareness of the importance of user-centered design and the power of relationship building to form strong partnerships with clients, business partners and IBM teams alike, to continually improve the user experience of IBM product offerings. • Led the User Experience Program: a high-performing, customer-focused program that is results-driven and process-focused, for the Cloud… Show more Design advocate for user experience: what it means, why it matters, and how to make it better. Focused on increasing awareness of the importance of user-centered design and the power of relationship building to form strong partnerships with clients, business partners and IBM teams alike, to continually improve the user experience of IBM product offerings. • Led the User Experience Program: a high-performing, customer-focused program that is results-driven and process-focused, for the Cloud, Data and AI portfolio of product offerings • Grew the program from seven initial product offerings, to include the entire product portfolio consisting of sixty products • Help increase awareness of Cloud, Data and AI Design (both internally and externally) by having our team featured at prestigious IBM events, such as THINK, Data and AI Forum, etc., partner with IBM Community to expand design’s presence and facilitating a “Design Innovations Campaign” with marketing • Advocate for IBM design and user experience by speaking at customer events Awards: Two IBM Manager’s Choice Award for Putting the Client First, IBM Peer Recognition’s

Design Thinking Facilitator, IBM Analytics Global Elite

• May 2017 - May 2018

Partnered with IBM Analytics Global Elite clients to help them solve complex problems by uncovering new possibilities and moving beyond expected solutions. • Cultivated a collaborative culture between internal teams to successfully implement a new white glove concierge service initiative to show our commitment to client satisfaction, and to provide a very high bar on client service to IBM Analytics Global Elite • Led customized Global Elite IBM Design Thinking workshops to provide… Show more Partnered with IBM Analytics Global Elite clients to help them solve complex problems by uncovering new possibilities and moving beyond expected solutions. • Cultivated a collaborative culture between internal teams to successfully implement a new white glove concierge service initiative to show our commitment to client satisfaction, and to provide a very high bar on client service to IBM Analytics Global Elite • Led customized Global Elite IBM Design Thinking workshops to provide user-centric outcomes for our clients

Head of Global Photography & CG Imaging

• Dec 2015 - Apr 2017

Award winning team lead, photo art director and branding specialist with a passion for design, working with talented people, leading and mentoring creative teams and turning strategic goals into valuable company assets with tangible business results. • Led a team with expertise ranging from CG imagery & animated videos, product & lifestyle photography, photo & art production • Managed studio operations and project management, including defining team priorities, creating timelines from… Show more Award winning team lead, photo art director and branding specialist with a passion for design, working with talented people, leading and mentoring creative teams and turning strategic goals into valuable company assets with tangible business results. • Led a team with expertise ranging from CG imagery & animated videos, product & lifestyle photography, photo & art production • Managed studio operations and project management, including defining team priorities, creating timelines from pre-production through delivery, managing multi-million-dollar budget, and running quality standard audits • Facilitated photographic/design-centric initiatives that created a consistent visual experience across Dell’s portfolio of products and full funnel assets, visually communicated the benefit and value for each line of business, increased product desirability and ultimately sales – examples: ---- Increased creative excellence for Dell’s product imagery while achieving a 20% cost-savings by developing photo brand standards and negotiating a new pricing structure ---- Team lead for Dell’s new animated video strategy which included, concepting, prototyping, cost-structure development and implementation – page views increased on Dell.com and YouTube Awards: Silver & Bronze Addy Awards for Still Photography

Senior Studio Operations Manager

• May 2012 - Dec 2015

Led and managed studio team, operations (quarterly quality & process reviews), logistics, studio budget, project scheduling, talent & vendor resourcing, and equipment acquisition for the Dell internal photo & video studio. • Transformed the group into a highly effective and creative team by leading a ground-up overhaul of the Dell photo & video studio: restructured the team, hired new talent, defined roles & responsibilities, established operational model and studio processes in order to… Show more Led and managed studio team, operations (quarterly quality & process reviews), logistics, studio budget, project scheduling, talent & vendor resourcing, and equipment acquisition for the Dell internal photo & video studio. • Transformed the group into a highly effective and creative team by leading a ground-up overhaul of the Dell photo & video studio: restructured the team, hired new talent, defined roles & responsibilities, established operational model and studio processes in order to create consistent and impactful visuals that defined the brand experience and adhered to the core brand guidelines, and combined productions to improve quality, drive consistency, and reduce costs • Developed studio change efforts: improved photography & CG image quality, revitalized image standards and strategically reduced Dell’s product images - reduced cost by 35% per product Awards: Gold Award, Breakthrough Thinking, Silver Award, Outstanding Performance for Alienware Product Launch

Package Design Program Manager

• Dec 2008 - May 2012

Managed key company projects and initiatives, including creating global packaging, streamlining translations workflow and pricing, developing emerging market packaging solutions, and Dell’s competitive retail package design Out of Box Experience template. • Created strong cross-functional relationships with global Dell teams and vendors to define the criteria required to effectively implement program plans to drive packaging concepts to successful completion • Developed printing… Show more Managed key company projects and initiatives, including creating global packaging, streamlining translations workflow and pricing, developing emerging market packaging solutions, and Dell’s competitive retail package design Out of Box Experience template. • Created strong cross-functional relationships with global Dell teams and vendors to define the criteria required to effectively implement program plans to drive packaging concepts to successful completion • Developed printing guidelines to ensured quality was maintained with our vendors by conducting quarterly quality & process reviews

Principal & Owner

• Aug 2000 - Dec 2008

Full-service visual communications studio. Managed studio productions, operations, logistics, budgets, negotiated purchase parameters & usage rights, and new client development and relationship management. Customers included: Microsoft, Getty Images, Eddie Bauer and Nordstrom Full-service visual communications studio. Managed studio productions, operations, logistics, budgets, negotiated purchase parameters & usage rights, and new client development and relationship management. Customers included: Microsoft, Getty Images, Eddie Bauer and Nordstrom

Design Manager

• Jul 1997 - Aug 2000

Provided creative leadership for global branding and packaging projects, managed budgets & projects, developed and managed client relationships, and collaborated with executives to conduct discovery and formulate successful design and communication strategies. Provided creative leadership for global branding and packaging projects, managed budgets & projects, developed and managed client relationships, and collaborated with executives to conduct discovery and formulate successful design and communication strategies.