Where I've Made a Difference​

User Experience Designer/HCD Team Lead - Data Corporation of America (DCCA)*

October 2021 to Present
Columbia, Md             

Current DCCA Project

UX/UI design for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMCS) projects to modernize internal CMCS internal applications to replace an outdated, complex data-driven system.

 

• HCD team lead (as of 4/2024): Liaise and communicate with CMS leadership and stakeholders, advocate for UX design principles, relay communications back to HCD team; manage HCD team backlog for research, service design, content strategy and UX/UI design

• Conceptualize UI/UX design via sketches, wireframes or prototypes to share design ideas

• Design interactive prototypes in Figma using component library & established design patterns

• Continually advocate for the users via interviews and testing; iterate designs based on their feedback

• Collaborate with cross-organizational Agile teams (product leads, owners, stakeholders, analysts, developers)

• Assist with planning and facilitating user interviews and discovery, analyzing data to determine findings

• Produce artifacts using data derived from research to inform stakeholders and guide the team (findings, recommendations, journey maps, personas, etc) using Figma, Figjam, Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop, and Miro

• Design using a library of established patterns in Jira Storybook library and create new patterns as needed

• Leading an effort to expand the Jira StoryBook component library into a more robust Design System

​​​

Previous DCCA Project

Human-centered design research lead for project to modernize Medicare Part B Average Sales Price (ASP), an enterprise-level application used by drug manufacturers to submit drug data and sales to CMS

• Led discovery sessions with CMS product owner and internal users to determine needs & pain points, etc.

• Planned and facilitated usability testing with drug manufacturers; assisted with beta testing

• Analyzed all research data to determine findings and recommendations using Dovetail, Figjam, PowerPoint and Miro

• Communicated findings and recommendations to DCCA project manager, CMS product owner, stakeholders, Agile team and

​

User Experience Specialist - Northrop Grumman*

October 2015 to October 2021  

Baltimore, Md                   

• Collaborated with stakeholders, users and Agile teams to elicit business processes, business goals, and needs

• UX design of enterprise systems to meet agency and employee needs for Social Security Administration (SSA)

• Collaborated with stakeholders, users and Agile teams to elicit business processes, business goals, and needs

• Conducted contextual inquiries and discovery interviews with users to determine needs and pain points

• Analyzed research data; created artifacts as needed (journey mapping, card sorting, affinity diagramming)

• Brainstormed and prepared conceptual models and wireframes; created interactive prototypes in Axure

• Planned and conducted usability testing; prepared recommendations based on testing outcomes

• Coached junior designers and mentored new team members

• Lead Designer for modernization of Earnings Queries system which received an Honors Award from the SSA Deputy Commissioner, Systems for recognition of outstanding teamwork in creating, streamlining and transforming the modernized summary and detailed earnings web screens for over 40,000 front line employees to support claims.

• Volunteer and communications co-chair of the Baltimore Northrop Grumman Women's International Network

 

Web Designer & Business Analyst - Fidelity & Guaranty Life

November 2005 to October 2015

Baltimore, Md 

• Web Design/Front-End Developer Responsibilities

  • Built conceptual models, mock-ups, wireframes and prototypes from requirements

  • Design and aesthetics of web pages and applications using web and design knowledge

  • Responsible for website front-end development and updates using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript

• Business Analyst Responsibilities


  •   Collaborated with stakeholders and users to determine business goals, user needs, and requirements


  • Defined solutions using research, stakeholder discussions, needs analysis, personas, user stories and use cases

  • Created wireframes and mock-ups as needed using requirements 
 
 

 

          Some Kudos!

• Defined use cases for redesign of an agent portal homepage: created wireframes for multiple use cases; captured requirements; created guidelines for visual appearance and branding. The use cases identified functionality that developers may have missed, which would have caused delays in the project launch. 


• Collaborated with stakeholders to define requirements and content for an Investors microsite; transformed requirements into prototypes; worked with outside vendors and in-house developers to implement functionality in time for a site launch within 3-months.

                  

Web Designer/Creative Director/Co-Owner - New Village Media 

October 1996 to November 2005
Columbia, Md 

• Designer and team lead for small web design firm for mostly non-profit clients and organizations

• Worked with clients to determine needs, create information architecture, site flows, and design mock-ups


• Designed and developed websites in HTML/CSS, etc., from determined requirements and client needs

• Lead designer for Disaster News Network for Village Life, a sister nonprofit organization to NVM

• Produced and edited podcasts; designed print materials such as brochures and letterhead

​

Production Manager & Graphic Designer -

Communications Office of Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church (UMC)

May 1991 to October 1996

Baltimore, Md

• Layout and design of a bi-monthly, newspaper, a full-color magazine, brochures, and journals for the national business
  office of the UMC

• Served as interim editor for several months 


​

*Federal contractor positions for which an active Position of Trust clearance is or was required