Craft, code and the classroom

My story

I started as a photographer and illustrator, became a front-end developer, and taught web, game and visual design at the college level. Then I moved into UX and design leadership at one of the largest U.S. health insurers, where I've worked since 2016.

That path is why I lead the way I do. I can sit with a designer on typography, with an engineer on a component API, and with a business partner on what a page needs to accomplish, and help all three land on the same decision.

Today I lead a team of senior designers and a project manager, own a Storybook component library, and spend much of my time on one question: how should design teams work now that AI can write the code?

The path

1. Design leadershipLeading designers for 5+ years: design systems, AI workflows, team operations
2. UX designer & engineerHealth insurance shopping experiences, accessibility (WCAG AA), front-end architecture
3. Consultant & contractorUX and front-end work for insurance, healthcare, software and e-commerce clients
4. ProfessorTaught web design, game design and visual communication at the college level
5. Photographer, illustrator & web designerFreelance since 2001

Education

• M.S., Media Arts & Science (2005)
• BFA, Motion Pictures

Tools I work in

Figma, Code Connect, Storybook, React, design tokens, Claude Code and MCP integrations, Asana, accessibility testing, and a lot of HTML and CSS.