Nice to meet you! Here’s a bit about me. 

What’s your work personality?

I ask more than I tell, laugh more than I disapprove, and I provide straightforward feedback. I have a deep respect for the experience every team member brings to the table.

I will be the first to admit, “I’m not certain,” but I will also be the first to explore and learn as to obtain an informed answer.

When working with a shared team, everyone naturally pushes for what they individually want, with their own motivations and for their own discipline. With everyone better engaged in the process, however, the more we can collectively find solutions that everyone actively supports–or at least can live with.

Success can be measured in metrics but the heart is in the appreciations. 🙌

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What does product design mean to you?

Product design, to me, revolves around crafting intuitive, delightful, and valuable experiences for users, seamlessly meeting their needs without requiring conscious effort. Achieving this goal necessitates the harmonious collaboration of three essential pillars: product management, design, and front-end development. By aligning these aspects cohesively, we can bring forth user-centric solutions that leave a lasting impact and enrich the experiences of our users.

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What are your ‘superpowers’?

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How did you get started in this industry?

My career progression showcases a passion for design, a thirst for growth, and a talent for effectively overseeing multifaceted projects and teams.

After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in NYC, I dived headfirst into the dynamic world of the digital field, kickstarting my journey with website design and development. Throughout my career, I've embraced a diverse range of roles at agencies and large corporations. These ventures have allowed me to spearhead and supervise an array of projects and products for clients hailing from different industries. My expertise has led me to don the hat of a leader. Managing teams and optimizing processes to achieve the best results have become second nature to me.

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How do you see your role?

💪 My role in supporting designers revolves around facilitating their creative process and providing the necessary resources for their success. I strive to understand their needs and challenges by actively listening and empathizing with their perspectives.

I support designers by fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment, where they feel comfortable sharing their ideas and exploring innovative solutions. I encourage open communication and feedback, valuing their expertise and unique contributions to projects.

I leverage my strengths in project management, team coordination, and problem-solving to remove obstacles and ensure a smooth workflow. I advocate for their needs within the organization, ensuring they have the tools, time, and support necessary to excel in their roles.

Additionally, I actively seek opportunities for professional development, workshops, and training to keep them up-to-date with industry trends and best practices. My goal is to empower designers to do what they do best by providing the support and resources they need to thrive.

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What do you love about what you do?

The moments when I feel deeply satisfied are when people with different agendas, skill sets, and experiences put heads together and make progress – no matter how large or small – that moves our work closer to being what our user needs.

Building relationships, making our teams stronger and more collaborative is hugely rewarding, and so I spend much time focusing on that. When people can let their guard down, push each other to be better, go through tense and hard situations, and come out of it smiling and chuckling at each others’ jokes, well, those times make me super happy.

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How do you deal with an unhappy client, partner or stakeholder?

Almost every position will require some kind of problem solving ability. Nothing ever goes right all the time! When faced with such situations, I prioritize active listening and empathy. By truly understanding their concerns, I can create a comprehensive picture of their experience. Communicating this understanding helps shift the focus from the problem itself to finding a resolution path that addresses their needs effectively.

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What is a process change that's led to successful outcomes?

I've had great success implementing dual-track sprints where design team is working ahead on concepts or strategy at the same time as developer production/delivery work. Developers are encouraged to get involved in early concepting, ensuring that the proposed functionality considers feasible features – they've been known to put forth great improvements! Designers like the method of thinking fast (working ahead) to thinking slow (small details for production). The biggest challenge to overcome in this method are bottlenecks. It takes a lot of coordination and big-picture planning.

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What tools have you guided your team toward?

It seems that every couple of months new tools or software come out to aid, improve or completely replace the current suite, amiright? Here’s a list of what I’ve supported in the last few years:

Suite of Tools: Figma • Protopie • Miro • Atlassian suite (Jira, Confluence, Trello) • Adobe Creative Suite • Notion

The Rule of 3s: While not a tool, I always call a halt to examine when something is repeated 3 times. For instance:

• 3 convos going on about a subject? [Let’s huddle and figure is out.]

• 3 times of recreating the wheel? [We need a process.]

• 3 times of “where is this documentation?” [It’s not in the right place so let’s look at structuring this.]

Agile Principles & Framework: I have received formal training in agile principles and proactively pursued self-learning to expand my knowledge. My experience encompasses working with both Kanban and Scrum frameworks, enabling me to adeptly tailor processes to suit the unique needs of the team.