My UX career started in visual design in the beauty industry. Being on small internal creative teams gave me the opportunity to create systems that increased efficiency. It was something I genuinely enjoyed.

I then took Human Centered Design through the University of Illinois in a corporate upskilling program. The first assignment was to observe an experience, good or bad. It happened to coincide with jury duty. I stood in line waiting to enter the courthouse, and I thought about what I would do for the assignment. When I finally got inside the building, I realized the line moved so slowly because people were not taking off their watches and belts. The security guard was asking everyone to read the sign before walking though the metal detector. Except that “the” sign was surrounded by several other sign, making it easy to miss. I decided this was the experience I was meant to write about for the project.

That was when I realized almost everything is a user experience, online and offline. It changed the way I viewed everything and gave me the mindset that most experiences are often opportunities for improvement.

In addition to a pixel perfectionist, I am a Chicago suburb native, cat mom, composting enthusiast, and Swiftie.