Principal / Director – Design Thinking Strategist at Design Thinking & Innovation (DT&I) (2017-01 – Present)
- Lead research-driven innovation initiatives, applying design thinking and HCD methodologies to solve complex civic and enterprise challenges.
- Conduct qualitative research (interviews, ethnographic studies, workshops) and quantitative analysis (surveys, behavioral insights) to inform design strategies.
- Designed and facilitated design sprints and research workshops for diverse stakeholder groups (10–70+ participants), generating validated solution concepts.
- Synthesized research insights into clear opportunity areas, user journeys, and strategic design recommendations.
- Led "Design for Houston" initiatives in collaboration with City of Houston departments, translating research into real-world solutions and venture concepts.
- Created compelling research presentations, visual frameworks, and storytelling artifacts to communicate findings to leadership and stakeholders.
- Built and scaled a 2,500+ member innovation community, fostering collaboration across design, technology, and business disciplines.
- Regularly explored and introduced emerging trends in AI, design, and digital transformation, guiding community understanding and adoption.
Innovation and Strategy Consultant – Program Management. UX Research at Innovation and Strategy Consultant (2012-01 – Present)
Clients: CenterPoint Energy, United Airlines, BP, Aflac, MD Anderson, Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Conducted end-to-end UX research to inform enterprise product and platform strategies.
- Led customer discovery, user research, and journey mapping to uncover unmet needs and improve user experiences for the enterprises in health care, health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid domain.
- Partnered with cross-functional teams to translate research into design strategies, product roadmaps, and experience improvements.
- Applied AI-driven insights and analytics to enhance personalization and decision-making frameworks.
- Delivered executive presentations and workshops, translating complex research insights into actionable business decisions.
- Facilitated rapid prototyping and iterative testing, validating solutions with users before implementation.
- Contributed to AI and data governance strategies, ensuring ethical and user-centric technology adoption.
Senior Technical Program Manager (Platform Delivery) at Microsoft (2006-01 – 2012-12)
- Led employee-focused (EX) product delivery across enterprise applications, integrating user needs into technical solutions.
- Collaborated with design, engineering, and business teams to improve enhance and improve process efficiency and technical capability.
- Supported data-focused decision-making received from enterprise tools, testing, and analytics.
- Managed large-scale releases and ensured alignment between employee needs and technical architecture.
