I’m a Product Design Leader rooted in the belief that compelling products are made through a convergence of storytelling, user experience, listening, business goals, and evolving based on customer wants and needs. Having the ability to leverage design expertise, customer data, and feedback to build meaningful products through consistent iteration is a key driver in my design practice. 

Through my two decade+ career I’ve had the opportunity to experience success, failure, and everything in between. Out of this comes tried and true design processes I’ve honed over the years that enable efficiency across the teams I work with. 

Cultivating curiosity with a healthy dose of empathy is how I stay grounded in creating products that align with both customer and business needs. I never pass up an opportunity to speak with customers, I’ve learned to listen for patterns and turn them into opportunities. I love partnering with strong data science partners who I see as key in fine-tuning the customer experience. 

I believe Steve Jobs said it best, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like, design is how it works”. In my work, beautiful design is a given and the craft of designing for meaning and function drives everything. I thrive in highly collaborative multi-disciplinary teams by serving as a design expert and evangelist amongst developers, PMs, brand and marketing partners. Nurturing cross-functional relationships throughout an organization and folding those layers of expertise into product are critical to executing on the promise of customer-centric product design, my work is rooted in this practice. 

I’m also passionate about leading product design teams and supporting designers in unlocking the possibilities along their career paths. I find great joy in teaching and enabling people to discover and refine their talents to help them get to the highest level of their craft. 

I’ve worked with some of the most recognizable Fortune 500 companies, Nike, Starbucks, Levi’s, and have also been the first design hire at start-ups. I’ve seen it all, an IPO, acquisitions, executive shake-ups, and companies dissolving, I believe successful navigation through all these situations comes through building and maintaining honest and open relationships. Trust is the foundation of a strong culture.

I’m lucky to call the Outer Sunset in San Francisco home where I live with my writer/surfer husband and soccer dynamo son. When I’m not working you’ll find me at the beach, which has always been a source of inspiration for me. Saltwater washing away any challenges I might be facing, replacing them with moments of being fully present as I glide down waves on a surfboard. Whenever I need a creative infusion, a few minutes at the beach always does the trick.