Recient work
With a focus on inclusive design, I champion accessible and equitable experiences. Guiding teams with empathy, we design human-centered solutions that are thoughtful, considerate and work for everyone in mind.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Paper-to-digital Modernization
Role: UX Design lead on the ITIN modernization team.
Problem: The IRS faces challenges due to its reliance on paper-based processes, which create significant inefficiencies for internal teams, impose a heavy cognitive load, and add costs for American taxpayers.
Goal: Design a 0→1 low-code solution to reduce paper dependency, streamline processes, and lower cognitive load for IRS teams and taxpayers.
Partner with cross-functional teammates and IRS stakeholders to research, test assumptions, and deliver a fully digitized end-to-end intake workflow advancing the agency’s paper-to-digital modernization mission.
Federal NDA:
This project is subject to a Federal NDA with a security level of secret; no further details can be shared in this public format.
Public sources: ITIN-digitalization-contract | Govtribe.com | Treasury.gov
Problem: The IRS faces challenges due to its reliance on paper-based processes, which create significant inefficiencies for internal teams, impose a heavy cognitive load, and add costs for American taxpayers.
Goal: Design a 0→1 low-code solution to reduce paper dependency, streamline processes, and lower cognitive load for IRS teams and taxpayers.
Partner with cross-functional teammates and IRS stakeholders to research, test assumptions, and deliver a fully digitized end-to-end intake workflow advancing the agency’s paper-to-digital modernization mission.
Federal NDA:
This project is subject to a Federal NDA with a security level of secret; no further details can be shared in this public format.
Public sources: ITIN-digitalization-contract | Govtribe.com | Treasury.gov
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services / Design System
Maturing a multi-brand Design System
Role: UX Design lead on the CMS Design System team.
Problem: The CMS design system was created to provide a cohesive experience across Healthcare.gov, Medicare.gov, and CMS.gov, brands that contained usability, accessibility, and design inconsistencies across product teams.
Solution: I focused on delivering accessible, responsive digital experiences that prioritized user needs, advancing the CMS Design System to better support B2C product teams and drive product maturity.
Millions of people rely on CMS digital services each month, powered by the design system I helped mature. Internet archive of White House Fact Sheet.
Shipped: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Design System
Problem: The CMS design system was created to provide a cohesive experience across Healthcare.gov, Medicare.gov, and CMS.gov, brands that contained usability, accessibility, and design inconsistencies across product teams.
Solution: I focused on delivering accessible, responsive digital experiences that prioritized user needs, advancing the CMS Design System to better support B2C product teams and drive product maturity.
Millions of people rely on CMS digital services each month, powered by the design system I helped mature. Internet archive of White House Fact Sheet.
Shipped: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Design System
VA / Developer platform
MVP Organization Developer Expierience
Problem: The VA faced a challenge in addressing a void within its organization, which resulted in duplicative efforts. This issue stemmed from the lack of a centralized approach to sharing digital services across siloed teams.
Solution: I designed a tightly time-boxed Zero to MVP internal developer platform to set the stage for continued Digital Transformation at the VA. Ongoing authorization allows VA to ship secure, authorized software 80% faster, placing VA as a frontrunner in the federal civilian agency space.
The product design was based on Spotify's open-source platform, Backstage.io, where I co-branded the Material UI Design System using a design token approach ported from the VA Design System.
The VA Lighthouse Developer Experience program champions operational excellence.
Shipped: code.va.gov (VA Citrix Access Gateway required)
Solution: I designed a tightly time-boxed Zero to MVP internal developer platform to set the stage for continued Digital Transformation at the VA. Ongoing authorization allows VA to ship secure, authorized software 80% faster, placing VA as a frontrunner in the federal civilian agency space.
The product design was based on Spotify's open-source platform, Backstage.io, where I co-branded the Material UI Design System using a design token approach ported from the VA Design System.
The VA Lighthouse Developer Experience program champions operational excellence.
Shipped: code.va.gov (VA Citrix Access Gateway required)
VA / Developer Experience API PLATFORM
Maturing a Developer Experience Platform
Role: Senior UX designer serving as a super individual contributor, supporting several teams across a 115+ person platform.
Problem: The challenge was to evolve a beta API service into a comprehensive developer-focused ecosystem, enabling consumers to build tools that better serve Veterans.
Solution: I advanced the platform from beta to version 2.0 by redesigning the onboarding path, support, and API collection, creating a scalable, developer-focused API ecosystem.
The VA Lighthouse Developer Experience program drives operational excellence, modernizing VA technology to enhance user experiences with secure digital tools. ~ VA’s Office of Information & Technology
Shipped: VA Developer platform
Problem: The challenge was to evolve a beta API service into a comprehensive developer-focused ecosystem, enabling consumers to build tools that better serve Veterans.
Solution: I advanced the platform from beta to version 2.0 by redesigning the onboarding path, support, and API collection, creating a scalable, developer-focused API ecosystem.
The VA Lighthouse Developer Experience program drives operational excellence, modernizing VA technology to enhance user experiences with secure digital tools. ~ VA’s Office of Information & Technology
Shipped: VA Developer platform
Eastern Washington University / Website Redesign
User-centered full site redesign
Role: UX Design Engineer
Problem: It had been nearly a decade since the last time the website had undergone any change, and honestly, it looked like it.
I hate that a new tab opens every time you click a link. It drives me crazy. I also think the look of the website is a little... Not very exciting.
—Student feedback.
Solution: I integrated user-centered UX design methods to inform the redesign of ewu.edu driven by the needs of prospective students.
Full writeup about the University website redesign on Medium
Shipped: ewu.edu
Problem: It had been nearly a decade since the last time the website had undergone any change, and honestly, it looked like it.
I hate that a new tab opens every time you click a link. It drives me crazy. I also think the look of the website is a little... Not very exciting.
—Student feedback.
Solution: I integrated user-centered UX design methods to inform the redesign of ewu.edu driven by the needs of prospective students.
Full writeup about the University website redesign on Medium
Shipped: ewu.edu
2nd Watch / Design System
Establish an Enterprise Design System
Role: Consultant, Design System SME
Problem: A lack of standards for implementing design across the next-gen 2ndWatch SaaS suite led to a fragmented, disconnected experience. Misaligned components and varying implementation approaches created technical debt and increased complexity.
Solution: I designed a UI kit that defines distance, shape, interactions, and component patterns to establish an enterprise design system for 2nd Watches' second-generation product line.
Shipped: 2nd Watch: Now, Ollion provides cloud-native professional services and ongoing managed cloud services to organizations
Problem: A lack of standards for implementing design across the next-gen 2ndWatch SaaS suite led to a fragmented, disconnected experience. Misaligned components and varying implementation approaches created technical debt and increased complexity.
Solution: I designed a UI kit that defines distance, shape, interactions, and component patterns to establish an enterprise design system for 2nd Watches' second-generation product line.
Shipped: 2nd Watch: Now, Ollion provides cloud-native professional services and ongoing managed cloud services to organizations
Other brands I've worked with
- RoastHouse CoffeeManaged secure infrastructure for an ExpressionEngine platform.
- 2ndWatchCreated a design system to support the second-generation product line.
- UnconferenceApplied a brand refresh for the unconference consulting group.
- City of SpokaneDesigned the web interface for the municipal website and associated departments.
- Brooklyn Deli & LoungeDelivered a fully responsive digital restaurant storefront.
- Eastern Washington UniversityIntegrated user-centered design methods to inform the redesign of the ewu.edu university website.
- Strands off BroadwayDeveloped a branded web experience for a local salon client.
- Department of Veterans AffairsMatured the developer experience across multiple platforms.
- Linda Kozora PTDesigned a digital presence featuring services and appointments.
- UxiliaryProvided web consultant services.
- IRSDesigned a 0→1 digital workflow replacing a high-touch manual process.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesUX Design lead on the CMS design system team.
What I do
As a design leader with over 25 years of experience, I lead and deliver user-centered, accessible products within complex government and enterprise systems, driving 0→1 product development, modernizing legacy platforms, and responsibly integrating AI into production environments.
I operate at the intersection of design and engineering, partnering with cross-functional teams to prototype rapidly, design developer-facing tools, and scale cohesive design systems that enable distributed teams and evolving technologies to ship with clarity and confidence.