Mission Statement
Experienced UX designer, strategist, advocate, and leader with a focus on collaboration, problem-solving, and creative thinking. Specializing in providing innovative user-centered design culled from usability test-driven results and meticulous research and discovery. Values, effort, and purpose-driven leader that helps inspire the creativity of each team member, and pushes to turn weaknesses into strengths. A patient listener, teacher, and mentor. Visit my LinkedIn for work history, recommendations and more.
About Me
Experienced UX Designer, Strategist, Advocate, & Creative Leader
A Quick(ish) History
In Minneapolis, I joined my first agency,"Internet Five", in 1996 with a heavy focus on web design. We created what may have been the first CMS system in 1997 called "SMPLsite". The agency was purchased in 1998 by another firm that was tied to the local music scene, with aspirations of becoming a resource for new medias. The combined companies became "Digital Edison".In 2000, Digital Edison was purchased by Implex Systems, a growing hosting company looking to expand their offerings to also include design and video. At this time, I moved on to help start a design firm that focused on non-profits called "Red Rhino Group". Along with that, I had started my own self-employed venture, an LLC called "Ultra Fine Design". The internet bubble had burst, but print and other media design thrived, I designed posters, billboards, media kits, and product packaging with a growing interest in Marketing.
Following my new Marketing interests, I joined "Master Coating Technologies", a durable, and scuff-resistant paint company. I worked alongside the Marketing Director in creating new branding and collateral sales material. After a short time, I was promoted to Director, and lead all new campaign initiatives.
A few years later, Implex Systems, now Implex.net reached out to me and asked me if I'd be willing to come back and join my old team. I did, right as the Flash website and banner ad phenomenon began. People laugh now, but as an interactive designer, this was a great time. Flash was my first introduction to Human Centered Design, and I became pretty enthralled with the new opportunities for creative thinking this new avenue provided.
Fast forward a few years, and a move to Chicago. The smartphone has become pretty popular, and app usage is soaring. Banking apps did something I never thought would be possible with secure user data, and I felt the medical field was the next forefront. I jumped into a start-up named "Pinpoint Health" hoping to digitize patient data and have it available in every patient / user's pocket. Seemed lofty at the time, but we surpassed that goal with ease, and turned our focus on patient experience. With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) taking effect, the power of the patient grew, and medical companies, hospitals and service facilities were forced to be more transparent and have a closer eye on extended patient care, and not focus on each phase of care individually. With that, the company changed focus to patient care, and changed their name to "PinpointCare" and promised to simplify coordinated care for more than the companies affected by ACA, but the patients seeking care. PinpointCare created software to help patients affected with chronic diseases like asthma and diabetes. We also created a coordinated care platform to track a patient through numerous steps of care across medical care services; surgery, home health, physical therapy, and more. to thwart remission or regression. The company sold portions of their softwares off to companies seeking to expand on our foundations, and I moved on to Accretive Health.
At Accretive Health (now R1 RCM) I was hired to lead the new patient engagement offering in it's infancy. This platform was similar to the asthma control initiative from my previous position, and had plans to create points of contact with patients with incentives and human-to-human communication easing the process of personalized health care - the data we collected helped too.
Following in my previous ventures I took an opportunity with bswift - who at the time was newly purchased by Aetna - to work on a one-of-a-kind benefits administration software with a focus on simplifying the difficulties of finding the right plan offerings for employees and their families. Educating users on the quickly changing benefits offerings in a high-deductible, ACA world. A huge reason I joined Aetna was it's cast array of user types I've never had the opportunity work with all at the same time. From birth to Medicare - we personified them all, and created incredible journeys through our system for all of them.
Around the time that CVS Health purchased Aetna, we've been all-in focusing on AI. We had already created and then reinvented an award-winning decision support element, and we left the door open for a partnering AI that would understand the data provided by each user, and help guide them in picking the best benefits based on their family, location, medications, etc. and even interject itself into life events to help, say, invest more of their new raise in their 401k or help decide just how much to put in their FSA or HSA accounts. All without being intrusive or overbearing. Alongside that initiative, we are working on the Voice User Interface (VUI) that may drive an Alexa-like benefits and health experience.
Had you asked me in 1996, when I first entered the design field, that this is where the world of technology was going to take me 20 years into the 21st century, I wouldn't have believe it, and just as I am today, I'd be excited for all the opportunities to think creatively without bounds.