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I grew up in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. My passions were learning above and beyond my grade-level, performing in any show I could, and volunteering for my community. I didn't know what design was until after I decided to become a professional performer. Where arts didn't feel far enough in social impact (nor paid enough), I needed to find a path forward. I researched and found an interest in design.
I stumbled upon RED Academy, a new industry-focused design and technology school--which was yet to be operational. I joined the first cohort of the full-time, professional UX design program. The program was project based, with 2 real client projects. Unlike many of peers, I had no graphic design background. I had a long way to go to produce aesthetically pleasing work.
After graduation, RED Academy hired me as a teaching assistant for the part-time UX program as I looked for a role. The lead instructor for that class ended up cancelling last minute. I had to fill in for them until we found a replacement. It was terrifying to be so new and have to teach others! But RED saw my dedication, and strong ability to perform under the less-than-ideal circumstances. I quickly moved into a full-time role and took on managing the part-time UX program and the Community Partner Program. Over the next two years I would advance into a UX instructor in the professional programs and take on the role of Program Manager. I designed the Community Partner Program that stands today, and managed over 50 student projects. In true start-up fashion I also participated in operational design, marketing, and sales initiatives. Oh an managed the student experience too, with a tiny curriculum of my own for the school-wide Monday morning meeting--Townhall. #Startuplife
I incubated Teal Strategies in the SFU Radius Fellowship Program. I wanted to build a design practice centred around ethical, sustainable design--that could grow into a design network. My inspiration was the social innovation community in Vancouver, and Teal Organizations, a concept from Fredrick Laloux's Reinventing Organizations. As I launched, I would work with social entrepreneurs to make their businesses humanity-centric, focusing on inclusive, iterative business and service design.
Social innovation turns civic. I was accepted into the Code for Canada Fellowship program where teams made up of three Fellows, (1 UX designer, 1 developer, 1 product manager) embed into government to support digital capacity building. I was embedded into Transport Canada to work with the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (drones) Task Force. I lead my team in discovery, product strategy and design. We co-designed with our government partners to support their learning and development in digital best practices. Together we won the Government of Canada's CIO Community Award for "embracing the digital mindset."
After the Fellowship, Transport Canada hired me to develop their design centre of excellence. I continue the change work of my Fellowship project and have worked with many amazing individuals!
I tweet my work, seriously, @me.
Let's grab a coffee.