While studying industrial design at the University of Illinois, I landed a couple UX internships and I loved the mix of design, business, art, technology, and collaborating with engineers. I worked at John Deere for a few years before leaving for Agrible, an ag tech startup. A year later we were acquired by Nutrien and I spent nearly three years integrating our technology into the larger enterprise.

I shifted gears and started working for a health and fitness startup, Flats or Spikes. Around that time, I began consulting and had a blast working with companies like Sunbasket, Vineify, and WriterDuet to build their design systems.

Now I’m back with John Deere as a UX design lead. I get to work on projects relating to autonomous and electric vehicles and lots of fun stuff.

Experience

UX Lead at John Deere

Aug 2022 – Present Leads design, research, and strategy for a set of digital solutions to help agriculture and construction managers effectively monitor and manage their fleet.

Freelance UX Designer

Jan 2022 – Present Works with clients to build their design system, define their MVP, and validate new product features with customers across a number of industries.

Lead Designer at Flats or Spikes

Mar 2021 – May 2022 Designed mobile app and marketing materials for an early stage startup focused on creating continual improvement for distance runners and coaches. Collaborated with product and engineering to design simple solutions to complex problems, tested prototypes with customers, and created visual designs.

Principal UX Designer & UX Manager at Nutrien Ag Solutions

Jan 2020 – Mar 2021 Created tools to help growers understand their carbon footprint by collaborating with research, engineering, and data science teams. Facilitated workshops with business stakeholders to plan product roadmaps. Validated designs by conducting exploratory, concept, and usability testing with customers. Defined processes for the UX team, contributed to our design system, and provided career guidance to direct reports.

Senior UX Designer at Nutrien Ag Solutions

Aug 2018 – Dec 2019 Designed solutions to help farmers maximize productivity through ecommerce and advanced analytics. Discovered unmet needs and whiteboard possible solutions with stakeholders. Created final visual designs, prototypes, detailed specifications, and works with developers to bring high-quality experiences to life.

Creative Director at Agrible

Aug 2017 – Aug 2018 Created a design system for Agrible.com, a service which helps growers and multinational food companies make sustainable choices. Ensuring usable and beautiful interfaces across Agrible’s analytical and data-heavy services. Collaborated across the company to ensure our product fulfills the needs of our customers.

UX Designer at John Deere

Oct 2013 – Aug 2017 Maintained visual standards for mobile apps at John Deere, on-boarded new designers, and was central to the rollout of several apps: designing everything from wireframe to final App Store marketing materials. Collaborated with research and engineering in topics such as harvest logistics, embedded vehicle displays, and the gamification of lawn mower performance and maintenance.

Design Advisor at Neutral Design Studio

June 2014 – August 2018 Founding designer of the studio making handmade bicycle accessories. Discovered client needs and designed mobile apps and logos for local entrepreneurs. Provided interior design feedback for sister companies BrewLab and Neutral Cycle.

User Experience Designer at AlzCare Labs

March 2015 – May 2015 | San Francisco, CA Designed wireframes for an emergency beacon app for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Created high-fidelity mockups while adhering to strict hardware-software integration and accessibility requirements. Sketched an modeled prototypes of future hardware.

Industrial Designer at Subsistence Marketplaces

August 2013 – May 2014 Designed a sustainable water filter to improve the health of families in developing countries. Conducted research in India and Tanzania with business experts and environmental engineers. Created manufacturing and health-education plans to ensure the product could be integrated with the culture of our users.

User Experience Designer at Cazoodle

September 2012 – December 2013 Brought design-thinking into a technical startup as the lead web designer by hiring and training a design team. Created wireframes and high-fidelity designs to shape the design language of Cazoodle’s consumer-facing search engines, Place of Mine (apartments) and Grant Forward (research funding).

Graphic Designer at MOGL Loyalty Services

June 2012 – August 2012 | San Diego, CA Designed banners and flyers for promotional events by building and modifying templates. Matched the branding, colors, and aesthetics for each target business holding special events through our partnership. Evaluated the copywriting and content of posters for accuracy.

Education

Industrial Design at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana

August 2010 – May 2014 | Bachelors of Fine Arts | GPA 3.52 Practiced sketching, prototyping, and search techniques. Received the Caruso Significant Design Award and the Excellence in Sustainable Management and Technology Award for projects regarding mobile connectivity and unclean drinking water in developing nations.

Visual Arts Workshop at Coventry University

July 2012 | Creative Directions: International Perspectives for Visual Arts Explored interdisciplinary practices by exercising the fundamentals of fashion, painting, sculpture, industrial design, screen printing, graphic design, and videography occupations.