About

My journey from designer to design leader: 

As a designer, I loved diving into the craft—solving problems, creating seamless interactions, and designing thoughtful user experiences. But over time, I realized that my passion extended beyond the work itself. I found immense satisfaction in building environments where others could thrive, amplifying the impact of design through collaboration and mentorship.

Growing Into Leadership:

It started organically—colleagues would ask for my feedback, whether on designs, workflows, or career challenges. I too would ask others for advice when certain manager appeared to not have our best interest at heart or how to handle certain issue at hand. I naturally stepped into a guiding role, helping others hone their skills and find clarity in their work. 

These moments made me see leadership not as a departure from design but as an evolution of it. I wasn’t just creating experiences for users; I was now shaping experiences for teams, building systems that made their work smoother, more effective, and more fulfilling. I really enjoyed the process part and making sure everyone had what they needed to be successful in their role that led to an organic servant style leadership approach. 

Over the years, I realized Design Leadership is rooted in these three area:

1. Design Operations
   Early on, I saw the importance of creating efficient, scalable systems. By building design frameworks, communication structures, and repeatable processes, I ensured teams could focus on what they do best—innovating and solving user problems—while spending less time navigating unnecessary complexities.
2. Strategy
   Transitioning into leadership deepened my understanding of how design fits into larger business goals. I focused on connecting creative work to measurable outcomes, advocating for user needs at the executive level, and ensuring that design remained a strategic driver of innovation.
3. Execution
   My foundation as a designer keeps me grounded in the practical realities of execution. I strive to equip teams with the tools, resources, and clarity they need to bring ideas to life, focusing on quality and impact while fostering collaboration.

As I’ve progressed from designer to design leader, I’ve learned that true leadership lies in empowering others to reach their potential while aligning design efforts with broader goals. By building efficient systems, advocating for user-centered strategies, and ensuring high-quality execution, I’ve created environments where creativity thrives and teams can collaborate effectively. 

My journey has taught me that leadership is about creating the conditions for success, both for individuals and the organization. Ultimately, design is about solving problems, but leadership is about creating the space for others to innovate, grow, and make a lasting impact. You learn just as much from bad leaders as good ones to shape your own philosophy… and I’ve had some toxic pedigree ones. 

My Grandfather taught me about trust, honor, integrity and how learning shorthand in high school afforded him the skills to became the personal secretary to one of our great leaders during WW II (Admiral Nimitz). He received a scholarship to Northwestern University for his service and changed our name to Douglas from our Jewish heritage and wartime prejudices.

He emphasized the importance of education, service and technology. Growing up, I would recall the many trips to NW Evanston Campus where he would share stories about the war, his time at college, giving back, and how the Navy helped start our family with the tools needed in life and beyond – Trust, Honor, Service & Education.

My Mom raised me as a single parent since I was 1.5 years old and instilled a strong work ethic along with an uncanny ability to put others first without reservation. One of her favorite lessons she told growing up took place in my family’s pediatrician office. 

My mom was with my older brother when the Doctor had to excused himself to take an urgent call and stepped out of the room. Upon his return, he told my mom that this little girl he worked with but parents had to give them up. This amazing individual ended up adopting her as his own. My mom too was adopted and would tell this story often as a way of saying to us to have compassion and heart in everything you do as if it was your own. 

When you lead with heart and compassion it transcends generations and borders. Dr Emanuel ended up raising an amazing family that not only helped shape technology and growth in Chicago but also for two terms under Obama.  – Heart, Compassion & Ownership.

My Father's legacy includes one of the largest cleanups and revitalization of an illegal dump site in Chicago to an oppressed area and transformed it into an industrial park with his business partner. This endeavor provided numerous jobs (from manufacturing to the Skinny Pop factory) along side Chicago officials and great Mayor Richard Daley, instilling you don’t outsource jobs at the expense of your own people instead you create them in your own backyard as the current administration is doing! 

The strong desire to take care of another human regardless of race or economic class instilled a core belief that is ingrained to my professional life about people and resourcing. I've seen this happen too many times where executives say they can get X for cheap overseas and speak down to their own people behind closed doors as if they are better than them. Being a leader at a company goes way beyond the dollar to succeed –  it’s about your customer and your people.  Equality & Job Creation, Transformation, & Leave No Trace.

His work also impacted the neighboring state of Wisconsin where he led the development of the Northwest Military Academy alongside business partner and former LA Raider ended up being an impactful part of my journey looking back. I would frequently spend time at the NWMA in Lake Geneva, WS during my teenage years taught me many unexpected lessons about business. One lesson that stands out is when institutions go through tough financial hardships like the academy did there are opportunities to sell assets (they sold half the land to start), find private or public funding, forge partnerships to offset costs, or merge with other institution to keep your vision alive to serve those in need and keep your vision alive. Sometimes the best lessons are ones form the most unexpected sources – not bad for a 6’7 Pro Bowl Lineman who the raiders brought in to toughen up the team – Business Acumen, Partnerships, Mergers, & Strength.

My Cousin’s passion for classic Mustangs led him to industry legend Jay Leno, who featured him on Jay Leno’s Garage.Mr Leno is truly as great of person as he appears on TV. He even sent his own people to fix his windshield after the episode aired – truly amazing human! He also gained the support of Ford who invited the family to Detroit to spend time with him ensuring our next generation mobility leaders will not just study history to repeat it but preserve and rewrite it! He is now at McPherson College to chase his dreams with support from his amazing family and some of the leaders above – Mentorship, Passions, & Leadership.

As humans, we try to balance the good (+) and the bad (-) to shape who are today but we absolutely all have our flaws – we are human. I am forever grateful for the direction during my teenage years and all the lessons (+/-) I’ve learned that guided me in life. Sometimes we don’t understand the lesson in the moment but if you take time to reflect and make an effort to learn and grow, we grow stronger. 

Those that led by heart and passion will lead you to the finish line. Those out for themselves will only lead to outcomes for themselves. Those that are empatheticusually create change… not environments that need to change.

I grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago. My childhood revolved around anything that moved: racing BMX bikes, skiing, boating, three wheelers, and motorcycles. 

Weekends with my dad were eventful to say the least. Together, we built remote-control cars, planes from scratch. These moments sparked my love for hands-on problem-solving and creative thinking and understanding hard work by doing. 

Traditional classrooms presented a challenge for me. My learning style didn’t align with rigid educational systems, and I spent time in special education classes. Instead of feeling discouraged, these experiences shaped my perspective, teaching me how  people learn and process information differently. I became deeply aware of the unique ways individuals engage with the world around them. Teachers who embraced out-of-the-box thinkers introduced me to stories of icons like Albert Einstein and Richard Branson (later in life), who overcame their own educational hurdles by leaning into their strengths. I learned that success isn’t about fitting into a system—it’s about creating your own path and journey. Thank you Harrison Ford!

This understanding became the foundation of my passion for design. I developed a fascination with systems: (1) how they work, (2) how people interact with them, and (3) how they can be improved to meet diverse needs. Design offered a way to channel my creativity and empathy into building experiences that empower others.

In high school, I explored architecture through a University of Illinois program, where I discovered how design influences human behavior and connection. Captivated by this intersection of form and function, I pursued architecture at the University of Kansas. However, the program’s highly theoretical approach didn’t align with my learning style. After a period of reflection and self-discovery in Colorado—where I indulged my passion for skiing and discovered digital design and transferred to Columbia College in Chicago.

At Columbia, everything clicked. The school’s hands-on, project-based approach to digital design allowed me to thrive. The emphasis on storytelling, collaboration, and problem-solving aligned perfectly with my strengths. During this time, I also worked at a brewery in Lincolnshire, Illinois and went from server to manager to put myself through college. I graduated in the top 1% of my class and launched my design career in Chicago and later moved to Seattle where I discovered my true passion for product design at Microsoft crafting inclusive, user-centered experiences that align to people needs. I was fortunate to be guided by some great folks at Microsoft (Mike Krusinski) and never looked back. 

My experiences throughout life didn’t just shape my career—they defined my values. I believe that design should celebrate human diversity, adapt to different needs, and empower people to engage with systems in ways that feel natural to them. One of my favorite moments occurs during research when we usually says, “We’re not testing you; we’re testing the system.” It’s a simple yet powerful reminder that poorly designed systems—not users—are often the root of frustration. Good design shifts blame away from individuals and toward solving systemic issues and makes me think of my early childhood education living in a cog but unlike those, geared towards the masses, I get to create stuff that is tailored to the individual. 

Key Learnings: 

1. Empathy is foundational: Understanding diverse perspectives is essential to creating better systems and experiences.
2. Learning is personal: There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to growth, and design should reflect this diversity.
3. Success is about alignment: When you find an environment that fits your strengths, you thrive.
4. Challenges build resilience: Obstacles can fuel creativity and lead to unexpected growth.
5. Design shapes lives: Great systems adapt to people, not the other way around.