University of Michigan
Design Lead & Program Management
At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, I served as the Design Lead for the Innovation Studio, Office of Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship at the School of Public Health and as the Program Manager for the UX Design Clinic (UXDC) at the School of Information.
Innovation Studio, School of Public Health
The Innovation Studio was an internship program housed within the University of Michigan School of Public Health designed to engage students and faculty in taking the immense knowledge housed within the university (faculty research) and find innovative ways to transfer them into practice (use that knowledge to improve public health in the real world).
We used human-centered design and creative problem-solving methods to identify and design desirable, viable, and feasible paths forward. I was recruited by the director of Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship to bring a designer’s perspective and experience to foster a collaborative and creative safe space—a true studio.
I helped to structure the program, created and led workshops on human-centered design methods and design research, led studio rituals (such as daily stand-ups, weekly project meetings, and 1x1 meetings), and interviewed, hired, and mentored multidisciplinary design teams.
Project teams included at least one experience designer, design researcher, and business designer.
Some projects that ran through the Studio:
How might we use data that calculates which foods add or deduct from a person’s healthy life span to improve the health of individuals and the larger community?
How might predictive modeling in clinical decision-making overcome trust and policy obstacles?
How might natural language processing assist in expanding and improving the practice of motivational interviewing (a compassionate, empathetic, and evidence-based way of communicating with patients to drive lasting behavior change)?
UX Design Clinic, School of Information
The UX Design Clinic provided the opportunity for students to act as UX and UI design consultants working on real-world projects of local clients. Students worked collaboratively in teams throughout a semester and were responsible for nurturing creative team dynamics, communicating with clients, and managing the progress of projects while learning and receiving guidance from mentors and team members with more or unique experiences.
I created the syllabus that defines the format, learning objectives, deliverables, and evaluation criteria; coached student designers as they navigated the design process, interfaced with clients, and worked in multidisciplinary teams; and recruited professional designers and design researchers to act as mentors and lead workshops/talks.
Some projects that ran through the UXDC:
Sage & Grace - a web app that guides grieving loved ones through the complicated, emotionally charged, and financially opaque process of planning a funeral
Cart - a mobile web app that allows transportation-limited individuals to order rides to and from well‐stocked supermarkets at a subsidized cost without the use of a credit card
Odeum Learning - a digital platform that houses educational, gamified lessons that provides teachers an intuitive way to curate lessons, track student engagement, and monitor outcomes
Supervisor, Colleague & Designer Feedback
“You are at your best when you are pushing all of us to dig deeper and produce the best product and to be our own best selves. I don’t have just one specific example but many—every time you challenge someone to improve on something it is delivered in a way where we all want to step up and make you proud.”
“…As the leader in DC (Design Clinic), you really brought the program to another level. The most important is your passion and listening to our voice…”
“I appreciated your feedback and willingness (always!) to answer all of my questions and address my concerns.
I appreciate how you ‘knew’ when to step in and provide guidance and when to let us just figure it out on our own.”
“You are an awesome mentor! —One of the best I’ve ever met. Thank you for your support and hope I can still bug you or hang out in the future!”
“You are at your best when you are empowered to be a leader, decision-maker and a collaborator. You are my role model for how to lead with kindness and how to lead by example. Every project we worked on together, I am energized because I know I am learning so much from you, both personally and professionally. ”
“...you are an encourager. Your calm, quiet nature brings the stress level down in any room.”
“The stories you’ve shared have had a profound impact in shaping my summer and I will think of you often as I continue my path to become a more experienced and empathetic designer. Your sense of patience and empathy is admirable and I want to thank you for being such a great mentor…”
“...you are the calm energy in any room. I am constantly impressed by and in awe of your ability to distill a lot of wayward conversations into a concrete problem to help and move a group towards resolution…
…your presence has 100% enabled me to be at my best, and I can think of several people who would say the same. Your supportive listening ear and sage advice are an incredible solace…I can’t tell you the number of times I have felt stuck on something…and talking to you for even a brief five minutes helped clear my head and chart a new path…”
“…You have demonstrated to me that you don’t have to be extra loud or animated to share an opinion with confidence and importance. As a young professional introverted woman in a male dominated field I appreciate the subtly with which you share your insights that doesn’t diminish your voice…”
“...your active listening skills are beyond stellar. You reflect back what you heard and provide additional information and ideas to help the person you are talking to expand their point of view and consider multiple ways of moving forward.”
“…Every single conversation that I’ve had with you, you’ve always been engaged, asked questions, and really made me leave the conversation with so much more inspiration…”
“…you took the time to walk me through the design process, helping me understand and think about problems in a way that I never would have otherwise learned…”
“Thanks so much for your patience + support of the LGC team. It meant so much to have you behind us as we made the project a success!”