About

I help people and organizations wow their target audiences with great experiences. As a user experience (UX) designer, my skills are broad, but my specialties are: 

• planning/conducting/communicating research

• developing UX and/or content strategy

• incorporating trauma-informed and inclusive practices into projects

I’ve led digital projects for both tiny startups and huge organizations. I've helped Lenovo, Bloomberg News, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Teamworks, Duke University, and many others.

I currently work for the Digital Service at the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare. Working for the government is surprisingly interesting and meaningful. I also offer trauma-informed training and design services in collaboration with a trauma expert. Note: If you want to learn about entering the field of UX, watch this interview where I explain my journey. If you have further questions after watching the video, then please contact me.

TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE in DESIGN

After winning an Aquent Design for Good grant in 2017, I explored what a trauma-informed website looks like. This continues to be a passion project for me for so many reasons! Some resources to help you be more trauma-informed are here. I’m currently pursuing a Doctor of Design at NC State University researching the intersection of trauma and tech so we can develop trauma-informed technology.

ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS

• Repairing the Harm of Digital Design Using a Trauma-informed Approach - January 2024

• Reimagining Social Work’s Digital Future: The Critical Role of Interdisciplinary Tech Partnerships - April 2023

Professional Service

We have a lot of work to improve the tech industry. Here’s what I’m up to lately:

• Co-Founder and Organizer, Trauma-Informed Design Discussion Group (monthly calls) 2021 - present

• Member, Triangle UXPA 2012 - present

• Volunteer, UX Y’all Conference 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024

• Co-Founder, Co-organizer Ladies that UX, Durham 2014 - 2018

You can check out my profile on LinkedIn to learn more and see what others say about me.

Speaking / Teaching

Here are upcoming and most recent public events:

2024

• LinkedIn Course coming Summer 2024

• Trauma-Informed Design, Design Forge Conference, March

2023

• Trauma-informed Websites, Action Collaborative to Prevent Sexual Harassment, October

• Inclusive Human Centered Design, Grace Hopper Conference, September

• DIY User Experience Research, Raleigh-Durham Startup Week, April

• Becoming Trauma-informed Workshop, Advancing Research Conference, April

• Using Human-Centered Design in Creating Behavioral Health Websites, Agents of Change Conference, March

2022

• Best Practices: Creating a Great User Experience For Your Small Business Website, Durham Tech Community College, November

• Minnesota UXPA World Usability Day, November

• CMS CCSQ World Usability Day, November

• Best Practices: Developing Content for Your Small Business Website, Durham Tech Community College, October

• Trauma-Informed Design, Inclusive Design 24 Conference, September

• Trauma-Informed Design Panel, Ethical Design Network, September

• Trauma-Informed Research and Design, Michigan State, March

• Trauma-Informed Design, NTEN Conference, March

• Trauma-Informed Design, UX New Zealand Conference, February

• UX Writing Course, Society for Technical Communication, January

2021

• Rosenfeld Media Civic Design Conference, December

• Usability & Design, UNC-Chapel Hill, Fall

• Trauma-Informed Design, Triangle UXPA, April

• Nonprofit Website Design: UX Essentials Online Course, March

• UX Writing Course, Society for Technical Communication, March

• UX of Visuals, SportsMEDIA Technology, February