Inspire Collaborative Change.
A people-focused approach is essential to innovation. I enjoy working with cross-functional teams, building partnerships, and creating opportunities for shared success. At multiple organizations, I have brought transformational change at the individual, team and organizational level.
“Your leadership of this initiative has been inspirational!”
Founder, IDEXX
Client: University of New England
Serving as an internal innovation consultant to units across the university, I have helped grow a culture of innovation and shared understanding of human-centered design. As a mentor and leader, I have demonstrated how to apply human-centered design techniques to diverse challenges, from integrating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) across functions to increasing admissions. Using tools like Figma and the business model canvas, I have helped students develop their entrepreneurial ideas and compete successfully in competitions. With faculty – I have taught design thinking labs, and created custom workshops – helping to shift mindsets and inspire positive change.
Client: National Museum of Natural History
As a consultant to the Smithsonian, my task was not only to create more engaging visitor experiences, but to refine a process that everyone could participate in, from scientists to exhibit designers, educators, students and volunteers. Applying principles of design thinking, we remapped an activity design process that put the visitor in the center and emphasized ideation. Diverse teams engaged in highly creative brainstorming sessions and participated in iterative design sprints. As one employee said, “Before, this process was like Sasquatch. Everyone knew it existed but nobody was exactly sure what it was.” In the new process, people came together to test in teams, and no one was permitted to fall in love with their first idea. The development cycle sped up, and staff morale improved. One of my last projects was to educate people about global pandemics!
Client: KID Museum
KID Museum delivers engaging maker learning experiences for kids, families, and educators in the greater DC area, and FutureFest is the event that introduces thousands of families to the brand. Working with limited resources and a tight timeline, I had to engage everyone in the organization in planning and executing the event. Using human-centered design techniques, I held creative brainstorming sessions to give diverse teams a voice in the vision, and then managed the production process – creating a 5000 sq ft ‘KID city’ that could be stood up and taken down in less than a day. We welcomed thousands of people to a one-of-a-kind, interactive experience and the entire organization shared in the success of the project.
Client: Verizon
Working for Verizon (formerly MCI Telecommunications), I led a software development team in the production of the industry’s first consolidated services invoice. I collaborated with Marketing on the requirements, and then worked with a vendor and led an internal development team to integrate new software into the billing process. When the software generated files too large for our production system – I managed the team through a crisis management process that required immediate software changes in a 36-hour sprint. I received multiple monthly, quarterly and annual awards for project management.