I've been practicing my design craft for over 25 years in the software industry, first as a UI Engineer and more recently as a Product Designer with a myriad of titles in between.  I'm always seeking new opportunities to learn, grow, and mentor. I did not always have the empathy gene, but I've developed it over time. 

I consider myself a pragmatic designer who weighs many factors into my approach to design. My background in Software Engineering gives me a deep affinity toward developers and technical users.    

Currently, I work at Grafana Labs, as a Staff Product Designer and Design Lead supporting the next generation of applications that allow users to query our databases without having to learn a querying language. Our users are software engineers supporting their highly distributed web applications. Today's engineers take on more and more responsibilities. Not only do they build the software, but they also test and actively support it in deployment. We need to give them tools that help them make decisions and resolve issues quickly. 

As a Principle UX Specialist at Mathworks, I helped development teams kick off design efforts for many of the specialized applications built on the MATLAB and Simulink architectures.  We enabled teams to build first-class experiences by providing guidelines, standards, and common libraries through the Purula design system. MathWorks tools are built for engineers doing some mind-boggling crazy engineering.  It's always inspiring to see people using the tools I helped design to simulate wind farms, harness solar power, travel through space, grow artificial organs, and make vehicles and planes we travel in every day much safer. 

My prior job titles included Software Engineer, Software Architect, and Manager. I have re-tooled myself over my career and adapt well to change, always looking for new and challenging roles. 

I believe empathy and introspection have been key in all my roles.  As a designer, I take a human-centered approach to all aspects of my work. Customers and end users aren't my only users. The stakeholders who fund us, the developers who make my designs come to life, and the supporting roles are all my users.  

My superpower is leading design efforts across diverse groups and working side-by-side with development teams to bring everyone along—I excel at facilitating design workshops, unblocking teams, and driving decisions forward, knowing that great UX comes from strong teamwork and good ideas can come from anywhere. You're never perfect on the first try.

On a side note, my dream job would be in AX (Animalia Experience). I have an affinity toward all creatures great and small. There have been many inspiring and admirable people who have made AX a profession; among them,  are Temple Grandin, Irene Pepperberg, Jane Goodall, and James Herriot.