About
A short summary of my story
In a nutshell...
Looking back, my path to user experience research was always fated, but it took a little while to get there. I’ve pretty much always questioned why things “were the way they were,” and imagined how they might be better. (Sidenote: This is a good way to annoy family and friends).
I wasn’t always doing it in an official capacity, but that curiosity, and the philosophy that the world can and should work better, eventually led me to working as a UX researcher and strategist.
If you’ve ever been in a hurry or in the freezing cold at a gas station and wondered why you need to answer five questions to proceed, I feel you. If you’ve ever flung your phone across your car in frustration because Siri suggested a destination in Tokyo vs. the literal name of the business five miles away, I’m your man. Fixing things like that, and envisioning undiscovered potential is my life mission.
Where it started
I spent the first part of my career in the mid-2000s working at one of the largest and most award-winning public relations agencies in the world, Weber Shandwick, just as the society was undergoing rapid digitization and social media was emerging. I became a digital strategist in their fledgling digital practice to help guide clients navigate this new landscape. During this phase, I helped the IRS eliminate paper from their interactions with taxpayers, I helped the Census Bureau navigate numerous online crises during the 2010 census, and helped the American College of Surgeons and Federal Reserve, among others, begin to create digital content that could connect with the right audiences.
I did a ton of writing and content collaboration/creation, as well as presenting recommendations and strategies to clients of all types, including CEOs, U.S. government officials, surgeons, lawyers and Big Four accountants.
Where it led
One of the biggest areas I gravitated to through this work was user experience (UX). I was lucky to be assigned to serve as lead UX strategist during a multi-year project with the U.S. Treasury to launch a digital retirement savings tool for people without a 401(k) at their jobs. This involved partnering with the U.S. Digital Service to do user research and design sessions. It was a fascinating experience and poured a lot of gasoline on my UX fire.
I then left the PR business, and jumped fully into the role of UX researcher and strategist with a role at Best Buy, working with both employees and customers to improve experiences in stores and online.
During the height of Covid, digital experiences became even more important and I was able to do impactful work that helped customers stay safe by avoiding having to go to a store.
I learned from employees things could make their work lives easier, and identified missing pieces when it came to the tools they used.
I also did extensive customer research focused on understanding shopping behaviors and needs when it came to the shopping experience — both online and in stores.
I led design sprints, tested prototypes and facilitated discovery research and future visioning.
