Guiding product teams and stakeholders to improve the experience for critical USPTO products serving USPTO’s internal and external customers. Using key human centered design (HCD) best practices to collaborate and engage with stakeholders to determine the most reasonable approaches to take to understand and address customer needs.GUIDE & MENTOR- Defined and led product team in use of customer-centric methods for redesign of USPTO’s intranet. We used qualitative and quantitative data to inform evidence-based decisions and collaborative methods to make sure stakeholders were engaged and considered.- Introduced CX and HCD best practices to reduce risk and support deep understanding of our customers and their needs as critical components as we rethink how USPTO customers find the information they need and learn about USPTO’s services. - Frequently offered review of analysis and design artifacts of team members, providing feedback and recommendations – always looking for opportunities to provide coaching, while balancing this with knowledge that “better can be the enemy of good enough.”ADVOCATE OF BEST PRACTICES- To support CX and EX activities at USPTO, provides templates and guidance for bias-free personas, journey mapping, reporting, and continuous improvement methods. - As a strong advocate of effective data systems, supported analysis and acquisition of USPTO’s CXM and CRM tools. Offered context and recommendations for feature priorities. Participated in vendor interviews, as well as planning for rollout.- Continually tracks and analyzes USPTO’s incoming customer and employee feedback sources and provides synthesized data to support informed decision-making across our organization. - Utilizing survey data, focus groups, design thinking sessions, customer interviews, and workshops via collaborative methods meant to encourage other team members to observe and conduct their own research initiatives.

As Bixal’s CX advisor (reporting to the CEO), provided strategic guidance and CX planning to senior leadership across many federal agencies, including SSA, SBA, HHS, CMS, DOC, Department of Education, Department of State, USDA, and USCIS. Developed workshops and moderated cross-agency panels to surface challenges and unify agencies around solutions.STRATEGIC ADVISOR- Developed and shared CX templates and toolkits across multiple federal agencies. These outlined strategic processes and methodologies to pave the way for incremental adoption of CX metrics and practices. - Provided guidance to Bixal’s teams as they conducted research and prioritized actionable project plans.- Developed workshops and moderated cross-agency panels to surface challenges and unify agencies around solutions.- Establishing analytics and performance tracking models, aligning information from multiple sources into actionable insights.COACH & MENTOR- Advising and mentoring product teams to ensure end user needs are identified and addressed – and that analytics are established to track continuous improvement.- Mentoring and training staff members and leadership to align CX initiatives with legislative directives

Hands-on management of experience analysis for VA Community Care while additionally developing Halfaker’s CX practice. Leading a talented Human Centered Design team to deliver enterprise-level assessments depicting design recommendations as well as continuous improvements needed across a diverse range of products and systems.HCD PROGRAM MANAGER – VA & DOD- Determining and directing appropriate schedules, tools and processes needed for the HCD team to support Community Care program objectives. - Developing and managing continuous improvement methodologies needed to provide measurable improvement recommendations to Community Care stakeholders and leadership. - Engagement with VA business and IT leadership, aimed at deeper understanding of issues as well as at collaborative identification and remediation of potential experience issues. - Hands-on management and modification of contract requirements and subcontractor teams and relationships.CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE PRACTICE LEAD- Directing Halfaker’s customer experience program, providing an informal forum for learning, discussion and adoption of best practices in CX, UX, UCD, HCD, digital strategy, as well as collection & analysis of user feedback. - Conducting learning sessions across product teams, supporting implementation of CX and HCD best practices within an agile scrum environment.

Leading teams in supporting federal agencies in addressing accessibility risks and objectives Developing strong trust relationships through effective project management -- including timely delivery of outcomes, consistent management of expectations and clear reporting of delivered value. PROJECT MANAGEMENT – DLA, USAID, DHS- Directing engagements with federal agencies by overseeing and facilitating successful digital initiatives focusing on inclusive customer experience and accessibility programs. - Ongoing responsibility for account management and reporting for multi-million dollar program-level budgets. - Bringing together a cross-sector of participants to solve complex technical and strategic issues on a daily basis. - Planning and coordinating operational governance, including standards, success metrics and reporting methods.ACCESSIBILITY CHAMPION & SOLUTION ARCHITECT – HHS, SSA, GSA, VA, CDC- Directing blended teams (agency, vendor and subcontractors) for successful integration of enterprise-wide accessibility testing tools meeting complex security requirements (ATO, STIG, DISA) - Designing iterative learning programs to increase knowledge of accessibility standards and compliance processes

Understanding and meeting the needs of federal agencies—from digital strategy to governance, analytics, continuous improvement, business consulting, branding, implementation of collaboration tools and process standardization. Development of repeatable processes and tools to deliver measurably improved online experiences.PROGRAM MANAGEMENT & STRATEGY- Collaborated closely with client and project team to provide strategic guidance leading Accenture’s teams to understand and adopt CX / HCD / UX methodologies. - Leading efforts that included technology selection, audience analysis, taxonomy, content governance, wireframes, branding, visual design, requirements and standards. - Developed operating model frameworks to support client’s transition to and integration with emerging digital technologies. Solutions included workflow diagrams, resource outline, technology needs and change management guidance. - Developed and implemented methodologies for analytics-based continuous improvement lifecycles, including content, information architecture, metadata, common taxonomy and interaction patterns. - Proactive development of presentation materials demonstrating innovative omni-channel solutions including journey maps and synchronized cross-platform experiences.

Standardized digital strategy principles, user experience models and marketing experience to communicate, implement, measure and manage an effective improvement lifecycle across corporate and Federal digital channels. Established a unique fusion of customer experience best practices and emerging optimization models, resulting in repeatable, measurable, goal-driven improvements. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGER– USPS - Provided thought leadership to influence customer experience planning, communication and collaboration. - Hands-on analysis and enhancement of all facets of the customer experience, leading to measured improvement. - Provided SME knowledge to support tool selection. Initiated and integrated a new “voice of the customer” system. DATA ANALYSIS LEAD – USPS - Developed and analyzed metrics reports, surveys, customer feedback and customer behavior patterns. Identifying key metrics, improving technical implementations and driving key change management updates to establish a customer-centric, goal-oriented, measurable approach to conversion. - Provided quality reviews and leading improvement of reporting models, resulting in communication of clear, actionable metrics.

Led project teams across phases of the digital solutioning process, ensuring that work addressed key research questions and remained grounded in project/client objectives. Determined the structure, plan and user experience of projects, leading the translation of business and user experience needs into functional definitions and interface requirements. Initiated team training and cross-discipline collaboration.PROJECT MANAGEMENT – LOCKHEED MARTIN, NATIONAL AQUARIUM, KENNEDY CENTER MOBILE- Planned and managed the delivery of multiple, large concurrent client engagements. Developed project schedules, status reports and projections. Managed client expectations around budget, scope and schedule. - Analyzed user, market and technology requirements. Facilitated requirements gathering and definition sessions. Performed strategic analyses and conducted best practice audits. Provided strategic counsel to executive level clients. - Managed, contributed to and led cross-functional delivery teams. Coordinated with resource manager to ensure team member availability and commitment. SOLUTION ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN – HEALTH SOUTH, PBS, AARP, NATIONAL AQUARIUM- Determined the structure, plan and user experience for projects, leading the translation of experience research to design. - Led analysis and ensured that results addressed key research questions and remained grounded in project and client objectives. - Created and evolved relevant models of experience, constructed around a meaningful user-centered story line. - Developed wireframe models as well as interactive prototype representations of concepts. Oversaw user validation activities. Audited and developed content constructs.

As a champion for CX / UX thinking, met challenges to raise the bar in an evolving corporate environment. Established training systems, developed standards, surveyed users and investigated tools needed to support improvement within established cross-functional teams. Collaborated with executive team, corporate marketing and product management to define and prioritize corporate product goals. Provided project management direction (prioritization, estimation and requirements outlines), as well as resource leadership.USER EXPERIENCE- Developed digital experience advocate program to align legacy resources to UX best practices. Provided training and certification, as well as development of an extensive SharePoint knowledge base. - Directed CX methodologies, incorporating best practices and common tools. These included persona, user research, information architecture, task flows, wireframes, prototypes, user validation, visual design and triage of user feedback. PROCESS IMPROVEMENT- Introduced training—both contracted and in-house—leading to heightened awareness, increased participation and improved processes within SDLC workflows. In-house training covered best practices and workflow processes, persona development, BPMN and as-is task flow diagrams, common controls and behaviors, user validation, quality metrics, standardization and user feedback. - Led efforts to improve visualization of data in products through appropriate business intelligence metrics, user needs analysis, technical controls and consistent standards for dashboard systems.

As the Digital Strategy Program Manager, led a matrixed team of business analysts, usability and human factors specialists, designers, front-end developers and technical writers to support multiple contract efforts for National Cancer Institute, HHS, NIH, Centers for Disease Control and commercial clients. Led the strategic direction for requirements analysis, creative processes and team assignment. Managed projects from vision statement to scheduling, implementation, testing and user acceptance. Immersed in operations activities, from vendor selection and contract management to extending subcontractor relationships and business reporting.EXPERIENCE DESIGN PROGRAM DIRECTOR – HHS, CDC, LABORATORIES- Initiated and led effort to redesign user experience for National Cancer Institute (NCICB) applications, leading to increased user adoption and customer satisfaction. - Proactively instigated and directed development of user interface standards for National Cancer Institute web applications. Coordinated representatives from multiple consulting organizations to gain buy-in and support of style standards, system templates and branding guidelines. - Directed awareness of Section 508 Accessibility requirements. Recognized as expert, on a corporate level, for analysis, technical solutions, contractual language and training related to this critical Federal guideline. PRODUCT & PROJECT MANAGEMENT – CDC, NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE, FBI, NYSP- Managed multiple projects, including initiation, analysis, requirements definition, scope, scheduling, resource planning, team building. - Directed customer relations, change management, monthly and quarterly financial reports, contract tracking. - Managed user interface design efforts for R&D projects, including visualization of streaming data (SVG) efforts and concept prototypes representing potential business capabilities for emerging technologies.