Here’s some background about who I am, my path, and what I’m looking for.
I live in Bellingham, Washington - a creative college town located about as far north as you can get in the U.S. before crossing the Canadian border. I love the wide variety of nature that’s available here and the contrast between the dramatic dark winters and beautiful summers.
🏠 Where I live
My greatest interests include art, animals, children, and alternative healing modalities.
In the Northwest, I’ve enjoyed mentoring teens at Animals as Natural Therapy, taking care of the animals at Helping Hands Horse Rescue, and supporting the preschool classes at Gabriel’s Art Kids.
In 2022, I completed a 2-year program in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, a modality that has taught me about trauma, the nervous system, connection, and how to be present with others in a way that empowers them to heal themselves.
I’ve always dabbled in art-making, and the idea of seeing my work up on a wall someday remained a daydream. Though this summer, while taking a career break from design at Zapier and having more time on my hands, I had my first art show at Lettered Streets Coffeehouse in Bellingham. Featuring a collection of paintings that I intentionally created in a childlike manner, I wanted to explore overcoming perfectionism by simply creating freely without pre-planning or pressure.
I also enjoy writing in the form of journaling, creative writing, and poetry.
👀 What I’m interested in
One of my greatest values in life is belonging. I faced some challenges from a young age, being born with physical differences, hearing impairment, and undergoing medical interventions that made me feel separate from other kids.
Continually overcoming these challenges has helped me understand trauma and is uniquely shaping me to be an empathetic advocate for others who have also experienced difficulty in their lives of any kind. I believe that no matter the label behind the difference or difficulty, what heals is feeling seen, accepted, and valued for your journey and who you are.
Sounds simple, though humans often do a poor job at this, as seen in some of the ways pain manifests in the world and how we relate to ourselves and others. I hope that in the work I do next and in the presence I carry day-to-day, I play a role in empowering myself and others to make a shift away from separation and closer to belonging.
❤️ What I value
📍Education: 2011-2015
I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2015, where I studied Systems Science and Engineering. Though I am technically competent and could thrive in the presence of engineering minds, the side of me that was empathetic and artistic at times questioned whether I was in the right place, and I considered changing majors (many times!) to nursing, architecture, or digital media design. I stayed with Systems Engineering in the end, and supplemented my technical classes with creative classes in photography, drawing, product design, and human factors. My education grounded me in being challenged academically and learning to apply a systems thinking approach to problem solving across a variety of subjects, which created a solid foundation from which to grow into the successful designer that I am today.
📍Accenture: 2015-2017
After graduating from college, I worked at Accenture U.S. for 2 years as a Digital Consultant, where I transitioned into design and landed my first official design agency projects at Fjord Seattle designing a telecom e-commerce experience as a spinoff of a T-Mobile project, then at Fjord New York city designing an insurance quoting portal for Chubb.
📍Fjord London: 2017-2019
Those first professional design experiences helped me land a full-time design role at Fjord London, where I worked for another 2+ years on a range of projects spanning a variety of industries, many of them research-heavy, visionary, and conceptual, and some of them delivery-oriented. I was surrounded by full teams of talented designers and leaders who helped me learn important tools, design processes, and methodologies, as well as how to tell impactful stories that move people and clients into action to initiate change and innovation.
🌻 Career break: 2019
When I felt ready to leave the U.K., I took a career break to travel in Thailand and Indonesia. I took time to reflect, recharged, met interesting people that helped me grow, and completed a yoga teacher training.
📍Zapier: 2020-2023
I returned to the US and became a product designer at Zapier, a tech startup whose mission is to make automation accessible to everyone. This was my first in-house role, and over 3 years, I served as design lead for Zapier’s Chrome Extension, Transfer, and Tables Import products. I worked in an EPD trio and got to see every product I designed through to the point where they were live products being used by thousands of users with documented measures for success. I learned from Zapier’s “build fast” approach, as well as their highly structured ways of working. I also learned the difference between a design-led and a product-led company, and some pros and cons behind each approach. It was a very different experience from my time in the agency setting that challenged me, made me a more well-rounded designer, and helped me clarify who I am and what I’m looking for next.
🌻Career break: Summer 2023
Since leaving Zapier in May 2023, I’ve been on another career break, recharging, trying new things, and reflecting on where I’ve been and what’s next. I started a part-time craniosacral therapy business, had my first art show, learned about how it feels to be with uncertainty, and spent time prioritizing my health and wellness.
📈 My professional path
I’ve outlined some principles that are important to me as I move into my next role.
1️⃣ I am using design to empower people and create meaningful change in their lives.
2️⃣ I feel connected with my teammates. We have shared values and feel excited about the vision we are creating, and we enjoy getting to know each other personally and having fun along the way.
3️⃣ My team takes the time to dig into the “why” behind the “what” as a means of unpacking a complex problem, and slowing down the pace to ask critical questions is encouraged.
4️⃣ The design culture is strong, or the team is eager to have me demonstrate what that could look like, and I feel heard and valued for my contributions. The full design process is carried out in the way that we work (we don’t build something without putting a sketch in front of our end user and getting their raw reaction, and we don’t cut corners for the sake of cost or convenience if doing so doesn’t serve our goal and end user).
5️⃣ The work environment demonstrates a healthy balance between structure and flexibility. We clarify plans yet aren’t afraid to pivot when necessary.
6️⃣ Both “vision” and “action” are valued on the team. We dream big and see our ideas through to becoming reality.
7️⃣ Teammates are encouraged to care for their health and wellbeing, share their passions, and create a life that is balanced between work and play.
8️⃣ I can be myself at work, and others can too!
9️⃣ I am seen for my capacities beyond individual contributor design and have space to move into a leadership role, and I am empowered to grow into my potential.
🔟 I can be a spokesperson and advocate for inclusion and belonging.
🌠 What I’m looking for next
My strengths include my versatility, sensitive nature, communication, thoughtfulness, and vision.
Versatility: I can easily switch between logic and creativity. I can collaborate with anyone, whether that be a highly technical engineer or a visual artist, and I can communicate complexity both through logical, professional writing or through creative visuals.
Sensitivity: I can easily put myself in others’ shoes and understand their challenges. I create a safe space for people to be authentic. As a designer, being empathetic helps me connect with people so that they feel comfortable enough with me to share openly about their experience and co-create solutions that address their needs.
Communication: I am a gifted communicator in written, spoken, and visual forms, I know how to tell stories in a way that can make people feel something and move into action, and I believe my ability to communicate will serve me well as I move into a leadership position.
Thoughtfulness: I ask questions that no one else in the room is asking, and these are often questions that get to the “why” behind the what and help reframe a problem in a much-needed way. I’m not afraid to speak up and call a pause if I feel my team’s course is misdirected. I put a lot of time and effort into the quality of my work.
Vision: I am a continually flowing stream of ideas, and I believe no idea is too big to consider. That being said, I continue to learn some lessons on this one. “Magic does not happen without structure” is a mantra I often repeat to myself, because sometimes you have to start somewhere which often means starting small. That being said, I still believe anything is possible and that a prerequisite to great success is having clear vision and passion.