My journey into product design leadership

My career journey has woven together storytelling, business, design, and technology. Starting as a motion and graphic designer in film and video, I built a creative foundation that would propel me into UX and product design.

My leadership journey began at IBM, where I brought my design skills to the emerging field of web design as a creative leader and customer experience strategist. During this time, I earned a Master of Science in Communication from the Illinois Institute of Technology to build on my skillset. As one of the founding creative directors and customer experience specialists in IBM's Chicago studio, I helped build their digital design practice, which evolved into IBM Digital and IBM Design.

Despite this initial success, I grappled with imposter syndrome due to my lack of a formal design degree. To address this, I was fortunate enough to pursue a Master of Design Methods from the Institute of Design. This boosted my confidence and eventually enabled me to give back to the design community as an adjunct professor at the design school and the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Ready to apply my new skills as a systems thinker and design advocate, I joined Microsoft to work on Expression Studio Suite, a competitor to Adobe Creative Suite tailored for UX designers. There, I built the design ecosystem for that community and helped customers leverage Microsoft's design tools and platforms. This role also provided valuable experience in business development, collaborating with Silicon Valley startups and companies across consumer and enterprise domains. It further honed my storytelling skills, enabling me to create presentations and events for groups like Microsoft, SXSW, IxDA, SCAD, SAIC, Kellogg, HBR, TedX, and Service Design Week.

Feeling a need to reconnect with my design roots, I transitioned to lead Truth Labs, a Chicago-based design studio focused on emerging technologies and consumer experiences. I expanded the company's enterprise practice, doubled its revenues, and continued collaborations with companies like Microsoft and Facebook.

Most recently, I served as the head of design at CDK Global, an automotive technology company. This role immersed me in the world of automotive software design and technology, presenting new challenges at the intersection of these industries while allowing me to elevate the impact of the design discipline at the executive level.

Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working with beloved brands, innovative startups, and everything in between. This journey of creativity, innovation, and leadership continues to motivate me every day.