Core Values
How I Work
Understanding my natural talents
I'm a firm believer that the best work happens when you understand your natural strengths and lean into them. My CliftonStrengths assessment revealed why I'm naturally drawn to complex UX challenges that involve diverse stakeholders and meaningful impact.
My top 5 strengths and how they show up in my work:
- 🌟 Positivity – I bring contagious enthusiasm to challenging projects and help teams see possibilities even in complex situations. As one colleague put it: "When you're in a room, the mood always changes... it's just better."
- 🔧 Arranger – I excel at coordinating complex projects with multiple stakeholders, figuring out how all the pieces fit together for maximum impact. Think "special ops" for UX challenges.
- 🌐 Connectedness – I naturally see how everything links together, which helps me understand the bigger picture of how user research connects to business goals and community impact.
- 🎯 Belief – I'm driven by purpose over profit. My work has to matter – whether that's strengthening democracy through campaign & advocacy tools or improving workflows for our servicemembers and military families.
- 🤝 Includer – I instinctively ensure all voices are heard, especially those typically left out. This makes me effective at research with diverse user groups and building consensus among stakeholders.
The Midwest advantage
I've often joked that another reason I'm good at this work is that I'm from the Midwest - When I enter a new situation I can immediately sense when the vibe is off. It's the ability to read between the lines and pick up on what's really happening beneath the surface. As writer Paul Kix put it about our region's secret: "we live on a heightened plane of consciousness that few can comprehend. To be from here is, quite simply, to read a room better than f*cking anyone." It's a skill that serves UX researchers well.
These aren't just personality traits – they're the foundation of how I approach user research, team collaboration, and community engagement. They explain why I thrive in environments where UX research meets real human impact.
Design Philosophy
Go Where the Work Is
Show up and experience the problem firsthand. From military bases in Iraq to nonprofit offices to campaign headquarters - you can't design solutions from a conference room.
Design With Users
Meet people where they are, listen to their actual needs, and understand their goals. The best solutions emerge through collaboration with the people who actually use them.
Show, Don't Tell
Rapidly demonstrate and deliver capabilities. Prototypes, wireframes, and working code speak louder than presentations and promises.
Clarity Through Detail
"To clarify add detail. Clutter and overload are not an attribute of information. They are failures of design..." - Edward Tufte
Embrace Creative Challenge
"That's the disease you have to fight in any creative field... ease of use" - Jack White. Push beyond the obvious solution.
Personal Growth & Leadership
Be Brave and Speak The Truth
Tell the truth about systems, capabilities, and processes - even when it's hard to hear. Honest assessment leads to better outcomes.
Allow Events to Change You
"Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them." - From Bruce Mau's "Incomplete Manifesto"
Build Colleaguery
Foster that spirit of mutual support, joy, and shared purpose that makes teams thrive. Create environments where people are drawn together and everything feels lighter.
Community & Democracy
Active Citizenship
"Citizenship – a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of our democracy; the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another, and to future generations." - Barack Obama
Inclusive Voices
Sustainable solutions come from including community voices from the start - not just the loudest ones. Break down barriers that prevent authentic participation.
Ripples of Hope
Create positive change that spreads outward. Small actions in local contexts can build toward larger systemic improvements.
Generational Stewardship
"The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value." - Theodore Roosevelt
Life Philosophy
Connect With Nature
"Go forth under the open sky, and list to nature's teachings." - William Cullen Bryant
Resilient Perspective
"In such hard times I heard the gentle but strong whisper of the Sequoia gigantea: 'Hear me, you poor man. I've stood here more than three thousand years in rain, snow, storm, and even mountain fire still keeping my thankful attitude strongly with nature-do not cry, do not spend your time and energy worrying. You have children following. Keep up your unity; come with me.'" - Chiura Obata
"Get to the Choppa" - Dutch
Listen to Dutch.