Work
				18F (U.S. General Services Administration)
				Senior User Experience Designer // June 2020 – April 2025 
				
					- UX Design, research, and strategy on cross-functional teams across eleven projects for nine federal agency partners 
- Designed workflows and prototypes for IRS Direct File, which helped 140,000 taxpayers file for free in 2024 
- Led UX strategy, research, and front-end prototyping to improve the experience of applying for U.S. Forest Service Special Use Permits 
- Interviewed over 100 judges, clerks, and technical staff at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, ultimately recommending an agile path forward on their internal docketing system 
- Co-led the Research Guild for 18 months, facilitating a collaborative and educational space for colleagues to learn about new methods and develop their skills 
NASA Ames
				User Experience Designer // June 2015 – May 2020 
				
					- Led design and research on DEx, a tool for SLS engineers, saving them 15 days per review 
- Co-led the creation our team's first design system
- Led an effort to improve the accessibility of NASA’s Mission Assurance System 
- User research, usability testing, information architecture, and interface design supporting human spaceflight missions 
Underwriters Laboratories
				User Experience Designer // May 2014 – May 2015 
				
					- Research, usability testing, and interaction design for product safety tracking tools 
- Led the creation of a new user experience design practice at a 100+ year old corporation 
Fino Consulting
				User Experience Designer // August 2013 – May 2014 
				
					- Design and research for mobile applications in energy pricing and education 
- Championed user-centered design methods at a small, engineering-focused consultancy 
Education
				Carnegie Mellon University
				Master of Human-Computer Interaction // August 2013 
				University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
				Bachelor of Arts in Sociology // May 2012
			
			
				Awards
				Innovation of the Year
				IRS Direct File // FedScoop 50 // 2024
				
CX Award
				IRS Direct File // GSA // 2024
				
			
			
			Speaking
			BayCHI
				How Data Drives Design at NASA // November 2018
				There's a lot of paperwork to go to space! Building tools to help the folks "behind the scenes" at NASA takes a deep understanding of their complex worlds. I joined two of my colleagues, Kristle McCracken and Liz Wagstaff, to discuss how we used qualitative data to support NASA's Space Launch System program and how we introduced a new set of stakeholders to user-centered design.
				I also gave versions of this talk at Code for America Summit in San Jose, and at Justinmind.
			
			
				Skills
				
					Disciplines
					
						- User research 
- Usability testing 
- UX strategy 
- Interface design 
- Prototyping 
- Service design 
- Accessibility 
- Client relations 
- Design systems 
- Information architecture 
- Workshop facilitation 
- Project management 
 
				
					Methods
					
						- Card sorting 
- Click-through prototyping 
- Competitive analysis 
- Contextual interviews 
- Heuristic evaluation 
- Storyboards 
- Think-aloud testing 
- Wireframes 
 
				
					Software
					
						- Figma
- Sketch
- HTML/CSS/Sass
- GitHub
- Airtable
- Adobe Suite
- Affinity Suite
- MURAL