Experience
Department Chair & Professor of English & Humanities • Cascadia College • Sept 2010-Present
• Designed end-to-end generative and evaluative research to understand problems such as declining enrollment; hybrid class-hesitant students; and equity gaps in time-to-degree completion
• Developed surveys and analyzed data for iterative Writing Program assessment to improve and align the experiences of >1500 students and faculty each year
• Managed and evaluated educational technology pilot programs for faculty
• Led 10+ ideation workshops for cross-functional teams to help build empathy with user pain points
• Motivated stakeholder buy-in, managed relations, and presented to Executives
• Led 5+ DEI-centered workshops on accessibility and inclusive design practices to 100+ faculty
• Created differentiated content for users with a range of literacies, language proficiencies, and experiences
• Taught courses such as Design Research Methods; Technology, Culture, and Inclusion; Technical Communication; Discourse Analysis; and Research Writing: Literature Reviews
UX Content & Research • Student Engagement • Cascadia College • Mar 2022-April 2022
• Successfully pitched prioritizing qualitative user research to the Executive Team to understand the sharp decline in student enrollment and spike in shopping cart abandonment for the last two years
• Designed study plan, moderated remote focus group to capture user attitudes about brand/product values
• Currently analyzing transcripts and recordings
• Insights and recommendations will complement plan for mixed-methods triangulation
UX Lead, Guided Pathways Equity Gap Framework • Cascadia College • Washington • Feb 2020-Jun 2021
• Designed generative and evaluative research plan, including concept testing an interactive degree map, open and closed card sorts for IA and lexicon, focus groups, and cognitive walkthroughs with early-stage prototypes, which resulted in a finalized tool and will serve >1000 users in year one
• Developed communication strategies for VP to increase initiative buy-in from three distinct user groups
• Designed a study to test user-friendly language for public-facing content, which resulted in final copy
• Identified insights and delivered recommendations and next steps to >250 stakeholders
UX Researcher (Contract) • Seattle Children’s Hospital Celiac Program Advisory Board • Jan 2021-Apr 2021
• Led end-to-end evaluative research to develop website for newly diagnosed children with Celiac Disease and their families, which is now used in weekly clinical rounds in GI department
• Used RITE and cognitive walkthrough for IA and discoverability, parent-child interviews to capture motivation for interaction, and content audits to capture attitudes about content, tone, and voice
UX Researcher (Graduate Student) • Providence Hospital/Swedish Health Website • Jan 2018-Mar 2018
• Co-designed and led usability study with super-users for a new consumer health site using think-aloud protocol, cognitive walkthrough, Likert Scale and semantic differential ratings, and Microsoft desirability toolkit
Interim Assoc. Dean of STEM, Technical Programs, & Social Sciences • Cascadia College • Jun 2013-Sept 2014
• Strategized with VP and Board to manage partnerships with high schools, colleges, and community organizations, especially projects which worked to increase women & people of color in STEM pipelines
• Managed 100+ faculty and laboratory techs, teams on satellite campuses, and associated budgets
• Partnered with industry and interdisciplinary teams to co-design new science bachelor’s degrees in design charettes
Research Fellow & Instructor • Louisiana State University • Aug 2003-Jun 2010
• Maintained research agenda about the use of technology by US-based activist groups, delivered numerous conference presentations and publications, and organized conferences, workshops, panels, and communities of practice while writing curriculum and designing learning experiences for >3000 students
Education
Graduate Certificate in User Centered Design
Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering
University of Washington, 2019
Certificate in Advanced Research Techniques
Cooper Design Firm (DesignIt)
San Francisco, 2016
PhD, English: Rhetoric, Writing, & Cultural Studies
Doctoral Certificate, Women’s & Gender Studies
Doctoral Minor, Communication Studies
Doctoral Minor, Educational Instruction, Assessment, & Evaluation
Louisiana State University, 2010
BA, English Literature & Creative Writing (Double Major)
Minor, French & Francophone Studies
Louisiana State University, 2003
Expertise
Qualitative Research Methods
Content Strategy, Writing, & Editing
Facilitating Ideation & Adaptation
Intersectional DEI & Inclusive Design-Centered Analysis
Analogical Thinking & Rapid Synthesis
Learning Experience Design
Cross-functional Team Management
Moderation, Facilitation, & Leading
Stakeholder Alignment & Buy-in
Engagement
Board Member • 2019-Present
Seattle Children’s Hospital Celiac Program Advisory Board
Community Volunteer • 2012-Present
Shoreline Schools, Food Lifeline, JDRF, Urban Craft Uprising
Equity & Inclusion Co-Chair • 2020-2021
Kellogg Middle School
Coach • 2013-2020
Seattle Youth Soccer Association
Co-Founder & Board Member • 2007-2010
Baton Rouge Progressive Network Radio 96.9
Extras
I’ve written about technology use by political outsiders, subverting genres of advertising, and gendered behaviors in response to institutional attitudes.