About Me

Growing up between generation X & Y, I'm a natural-born connector. I love to bring people and ideas together in service of a shared goal. 

Owning an event management company for over a decade gives me a unique perspective on how user experience and design align with overall business strategy.

I help companies succeed by understanding their users, and translating research findings into business goals and solutions.

If you want to discuss working together, send me an email and let's talk!

What I'm Reading

• The Age of Cryptocurrency
• This is Service Design Thinking.
• Just My Type: A Book About Fonts

What I value

• Family 
• Creativity & the physical process of making
• Positivity: "Pain is inevitable, misery is optional"

What I do for fun

• Spending time in nature (camping, hiking, foraging)
• Reading books
• Playing video games and board games

RESUME

Experience

Merrill Corporation, UX Designer, 2018-present

Merrill's flagship product DatasiteOne is used by legal and financial teams worldwide for secure document access during Mergers & Acquisitions, IPOs, and capital markets disclosures. As the UX lead on an Agile squad I collaborate with developers to improve the product experience for our clients. My role includes user research, wireframing in Sketch, and using a Design Language System for quick and consistent UI design.

Scuttlebug LLC, Co-Founder & Experience Designer, 2005-present

Part-time boutique event management company that designs and runs creative shopping experiences in the Twin Cities.

• Interviewed artists to develop strategy for a diverse creator-centric shopping event, now in its 13th year.
• Designed responsive, user-centered websites with strong visual appeal and intuitive navigation.
• Planned strategic, data-driven changes that nearly tripled attendance (to 5,500) in year two.

Greenspring Media, Event Operations Manager, 2014-2017

Responsible for logistics of seven major annual events including the Minnesota Monthly Food & Wine Experience.

• Partnered with Digital Designer to create online system for exhibitor registration and payment.
• Implemented A/B testing on emails to improve sales and increase compliance with paperwork submission.
• Maximized customer retention: 100% of my 2017 clients stated they were satisfied and likely to return next year.

ReconRobotics, 2007-2010

Customer Service Manager, 2010-2014

 Directed worldwide strategy and front-line issue resolution in the Customer Service department.

• Acted as voice of the customer, collaborating with other departments to increase satisfaction to 99.5%.
• Surveyed product users to identify opportunities to decrease costs and improve processes.
• Designed manuals to reduce the number of service calls and improve customer success.

Sales Support Manager, 2007-2010

 Hired as employee #5 at a DARPA-funded tech startup out of the University of Minnesota.

• Supported 115% YOY revenue growth over three years to $5 million in annual sales.
• Created policies, procedures, and supporting materials for the new sales team.
• Promoted to lead the Customer Service department as the company expanded worldwide.

Public Speaking

• Springboard for the Arts, Panelist: “Work of Art+: Juried Craft Fairs”. October 3, 2017
• BushCONNECT, Session Presenter: “Nights & Weekends”. May 9, 2015
• NEMAA Arts Foundry, Panelist: “How to Approach Galleries”. August 12, 2014
• Ignite Minneapolis, Speaker: “The Value of Passion Projects”. November 21, 2013
• MIX, Moderator: “It Came From the Internets” & “Rural Life in Comics”. November 5, 2011
• The Creative Connection, Panelist: “Creating an Event”. September 17, 2011
• Pecha Kucha, Presenter: “How to Run a Craft Fair in Your Spare Time”. August 12, 2009

Community Involvement

• UX Whiteboard Challenge, Event Host. January 2017 - present
• UXPA, Member. December 2017 - present
• Weekly Planner Podcast, Host. June 2014 - January 2016

Tools & Skills

• Sketch
• Axure
• InDesign
• HTML
• CSS
• Photoshop
• Pen & Paper
• Research
• Interviewing
• Design Strategy
• Collaboration
• Service Design
• Visual Design
• Usability Testing
• Persona Creation
• Journey Mapping
• Heuristic Evaluation
• Wireframing
• Prototyping
• Storyboarding
• Information Architecture
• Contextual Inquiry
• Directed Storytelling
• Design Ethnography

Education

Prime Digital Academy

User Experience Design Certification, grad. April 2018

The UX program at Prime Digital Academy is an intensive 18-week boot camp in downtown Minneapolis. Prime is built and taught by industry professionals, and the curriculum is focused on developing real-world experience by working with clients and experts in the field.

University of St. Thomas 

Part-Time MBA Program, 2012-2014

Completed coursework: 

• Management of Organizational Behavior
• Statistic Methods for Decision Making
• Financial Accounting
• Managerial Accounting
• Legal Environment of Business
• Marketing Management

University of Wisconsin: Eau Claire

BBA Management & Entrepreneurship, 2003

Graduated from the College of Business after a one-year capstone course in Entrepreneurship. For two years I served as FCC Coordinator for the on-campus radio station. I also spent one semester studying abroad at Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata City, Osaka, Japan.