Hi, I'm glad you're here.

I'm a Senior Design Researcher consulting cross-sector at IBM iX in Austin, TX. 🤠

Research is part of the creative process! I love thinking of new ways to engage teams in user research. I use a mixed methods approach to gather the right insights to inform business and design decisions.

I've brought a human-centered design approach to help solve some large-scale client challenges across industries.

Life Journey

Here's a tiny glimpse into the chronological milestones of how I got into my current career path and the things I like now. Life outcomes are the result of a nonlinear journey and self-discovery is a slow and incremental process. Enjoy the short and sweet summary of my story.

The Beginning

I grew up in a smaller town in the piney woods of East Texas. I'm an older sister, I take the role a bit too seriously and I think that probably says a lot about my personality. Always an introvert, I spent a lot of time daydreaming about the future and different realities. I knew from an early age that I wanted to experience living in a larger city.

College Years

I studied public health in my undergrad and took classes in epidemiology, social work, and sociology at UT Austin. Despite all the different courses I took in college, I had no idea what I wanted to do after college. I felt slightly more unsure about what I wanted in life than when I had started school.

Frequent Flyer Era

After college, I worked as an IT consultant and consulted on the design and implementation of hospital software. I traveled from coast to coast to hospitals all over the nation. My interactions with hundreds of clinical and administrative end users ignited my passion for improving technology. I worked in the emergency department setting where simplicity in design was key to improving and saving the lives of patients.
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Systems and services that are designed in a thoughtful, seamless, and simple way can better the lives of individuals and populations. I’ve seen it firsthand.

The Career Pivot

My favorite part of being an IT consultant was speaking with hospital employees and thinking of creative ways to solve their problems. I wanted to contribute to positive changes in the development of technology.

I made my career pivot by completing the General Assembly UX Design Bootcamp. I'm grateful to be a Design Researcher and feel lucky to have found and gotten into such a weird and interesting career.  

Now

While my career journey has been uncertain at times one thing about me that's always been constant is that I'm a natural introvert. While I love to spend time alone I gather my inspiration from connecting with everyone around me. My friends, family, and colleagues inspire me. I recharge through hiking, swimming, yoga, and art.

My life will probably change drastically career-wise in a few years and I'm open to changes. My focus now is on learning new skills, continuing education, exploring new places, making connections, and working on side projects.

My Story

My path into design research has been a meandering journey. In college, I studied sociology, social work, and public health. I helped research the impact of the social determinants of health on bilingual immigrant communities. I enjoyed the work but needed some time to consider what my next step in my career journey.

After college, I worked as an IT consultant at Cerner. I consulted on the design and implementation of hospital software. I traveled from coast to coast to hospitals all over the nation. My interactions with hundreds of clinical and administrative end users ignited my passion for improving technology. I worked in the emergency department setting where simplicity in design was key to improving and saving the lives of patients.

Systems and services that are designed in a thoughtful, seamless, and simple way can better the lives of individuals and populations. I’ve seen it firsthand.

My favorite part of being an IT consultant was speaking with hospital employees and thinking of creative ways to solve their problems. I wanted to contribute to positive changes in the development of technology.

I made my career pivot by completing the General Assembly UX Design Bootcamp. I landed my first UX Research role working at WellSky, a B2B clinical and financials software company. I spent time growing the company's research practice as a newbie to the field.

In 2021, I joined IBM. Since joining IBM I've worked on numerous projects, from healthcare offering development, supply chain logistics, child welfare, employee experience, and brand strategy. My passion remains in health and human services but I'm happy to dabble across industries and serve as a research guide on teams.

I'm grateful to be a Design Researcher and feel lucky to work at the intersection of technology and psychology.
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While my career journey has been uncertain at times one thing about me that's always been constant is that I'm a natural introvert. I love to spend time alone but I gather my inspiration from collaborating and connecting with everyone around me. My friends, family, and colleagues inspire me. I recharge through hiking, yoga, and art.

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