Experience

Lead and mentor a team of UX designers, fostering a collaborative environment encouraging creativity, innovation, and growth.

Oversee the user experience design efforts across all scrum teams, ensuring a cohesive and intuitive experience across products and platforms.

Maintaining and evolving the VHL Central Design System, implementing it consistently to drive visual and functional consistency across the organization.

Partnering closely with product managers, engineers, and key stakeholders to translate user needs into impactful and scalable design solutions.

Conducting user research and usability testing to inform design decisions and validate solutions. Consistently advocate for UX best practices and accessibility standards, championing a user-first mindset throughout the company.

UX Design Manager,
Vista Higher Learning

March 2025-Present
Boston, MA

Lead for UX Design and UX Research. Responsible for creating and designing compelling interactive experiences for the VHL Central platform. Managing and executing all design stages of the design process, from inception through final implementation (including idea creation, visual design and interaction design). Delivering wireframes, design comps and workflow/interaction diagrams to cross-functional teams consisting of engineering, product management, editorial, technical production, marketing, and others. Effectively collaborating and communicating with developers, and other key internal stakeholders, through all phases of the design process.

Frequently conducting user research and user testing of current and future designs to uncover real user needs. Presenting results of work to other designers, cross-functional colleagues, and stakeholders. Collecting information from customers, partners and customer-facing team members to ensure that solutions meet or exceed customer needs.

Contributing to the overall vision and UX Strategy in collaboration with stakeholders and other designers.

Senior UX Designer,
Vista Higher Learning

April 2023-March 2025
Boston, MA

Lead designer creating designs and wireframes using Figma for the SchoolTool Student Management System. Responsible for creating style guidelines and supporting three engineering teams working on improvements to this New York State focused platform. Provided the teams with high fidelity, interactive mockups using Figma for the desktop and native mobile iOS and Android applications. I also provide guidance on front-end updates using HTML and CSS. Responsible for conducting unbiased user interviews, design validation sessions, and collecting product feedback through surveys and focus groups.

Senior UX Designer, Mindex

July 2021-April 2023
Rochester, NY

Product Manager, Mongoose

October 2020–July 2021
Buffalo, NY

Product Manager for Cadence texting platform, a cloud-based, SaaS product. Coordinated and led growth as Mongoose shifted into a product-led company. Responsible for discovering and defining strategic product initiatives, pricing restructuring, and engineering work based on market and competitor analysis. Lead two engineering teams comprised of front-end and back-end engineers, and UX designers, including defining the schedule and scope of work (Azure DevOps). Worked with PMM to launch multiple feature releases, and initiatives to increase feature adoption. Responsible for user research, monitoring and soliciting user feedback, analyzing product analytics (Mixpanel), usability testing with early adopters, and defining the Cadence roadmap (Trello). Worked with Support to improve documentation (HelpScout), and handled internal team training relating to product updates.

User Experience Specialist, Mongoose

April 2018–October 2020
Buffalo, NY

Created designs and wireframes using Sketch for the Cadence texting platform, higher ed’s premier texting platform with a user base of over 600 institutions and 12k active users. I worked on product updates for the desktop, cloud-based application, as well as the native iOS and Android app. Conducted user research and usability testing. Worked with marketing to create assets for current and prospective clients, including building and maintaining the HubSpot CRM-based, public website. Built and maintained the in-product training within Cadence using Appcues, while working with Client Success team to improve client onboarding. Launched Drift bot within Cadence.

Adjunct Professor, Hilbert College

January 2020–December 2020
Buffalo, NY

Developed course curriculum, and instructed web design and development, and graphic design courses for junior and senior-level students.

UX Designer, Crowley Webb/Praxis

January 2015–March 2018
Buffalo, NY

Performed UX/UI design for websites and web applications. Provided front-end web development (HTML, CSS, PHP, JS), banner ad development, and e-mail marketing services. Lead user testing using UserZoom (Validately) platform. This work was done for a variety of clients ranging from financial and legal services (M&T Bank, Phillips Lytle LLP) to pharmaceutical companies focusing on patient recruitment for clinical trials.

Interactive Designer, Manzella Marketing Group

July 2011–January 2015
Buffalo, NY

Responsible for wireframing and designing websites, UI, and digital advertisements, and front-end development for custom WordPress templates. Responsible for performing Search Engine Optimization, as well as content population and plugin customization.