About
Technology should make things easier for people
That simple idea has driven 15 years of design leadership across aerospace, insurance, broadcasting, and enterprise software.
I got into UX because of a conversation with a professor.
I was studying Online Media at the University of Florida — essentially building web pages — when I showed my professor a website I'd designed. She looked at it and started asking me questions I hadn't considered. Could someone actually use this? How would they find what they needed? She introduced me to the concept of user experience design, and something clicked.
I spent four years working for the New York Times Company before deciding to go deeper. I took a two-year break from working to complete a Master's in Human-Computer Interaction Design at Indiana University, Bloomington. It was one of the best decisions I've made. What drew me to HCI — and what still drives me today — is a simple idea: technology should make things easier for people. When it doesn't, that's a design problem worth solving.
I'm drawn to difficult problems. The kind where you have to get in close, untangle what's actually happening, bring the right people into the room, and build something carefully enough that you can test whether it's actually working. I've done that with aircraft maintainers in hangars in Atlanta, with pilots at an FBO in Vancouver, with broadcast TV planners at Turner, and with brokers and agents navigating complex insurance products at Aflac.
The thread across all of it is the same: get close to real users, understand what they actually need, and make sure what gets built reflects what you learned.
My teams will tell you I'm always in their corner. I look for untapped potential and gently push people toward it. I try to set my team up to take credit for wins and help them work through the things that didn't go as planned. Some of my favorite professional relationships are with people who used to report to me — I'm still friends with many of them, and watching them grow in their careers is genuinely one of the most satisfying parts of this work.
"I really appreciate everything you have taught me. I am already arguing for changes in a list of 30 requirements. It's because I know what happens when you don't. Questions steer ships towards clearer skies."
— A designer I worked with at Honeywell, after landing a new roleThat's what I'm trying to do. Help people ask better questions — and trust what they find.
Most people who know me know about my dress collection — vintage and contemporary pieces spanning various eras. Fashion and home renovation are where I put my creative energy outside of work. I have a running list of ideas for our home that I'm slowly working through.
I'm also one of the founding leaders of IxDA Atlanta, where I've been part of the community for 17 years — currently serving as Treasurer and curating our speaker series. The Atlanta UX community has given me as much as I've given it. I've met people through IxDA who changed how I think about design, and that keeps me coming back.