Hands-on UX Design
Owning the interaction model, information architecture, content structure, and accessible behavior, then partnering with engineering to ship it.
UX Design • Experience Strategy • Cross-functional Leadership
I Build the Systems and Teams Behind Better Digital Experiences
I'm a hands-on UX designer and experience strategist. I bring structure to complex problems, shape the experience, and help teams make better decisions at scale.
I lead through clarity, practical support, and shared ways of working.
Selected Work
These four pieces show the range of the work: hands-on design, enterprise prioritization, repeatable quality, and team capability.
ACES Program Explorer
Designed and shipped program discovery that absorbed catalog growth
I owned the interaction model and responsive UX, then directed two engineers through implementation across nine departments. The catalog grew from 16 to 43 certificates without a redesign.
Associate Experience Portfolio Strategy
Gave leaders a way to prioritize risk across ~80 touchpoints
I built the inventory, assessment, and risk model, then interviewed five directors to shape baseline and funded support.
Design Quality Operating Model
Turned a one-specialist queue into a quality decision system
A risk-matched review path, shared severity language, and training loop helped 16 designers catch and prevent recurring accessibility issues.
Accessibility Champions Program
Built local accessibility capability for a growing design organization
A two-year program trained 16 designers, developed 3–5 peer champions, and gave teams a clear path for harder questions.
How I Lead
Cross-functional Leadership
Aligning product, engineering, business, and leadership across reporting lines. In ACES, that meant bringing nine departments to one discovery model.
People Leadership
Building capability through coaching, training, governance, and clear escalation paths. The same approach supports work as an individual contributor, a cross-functional lead, or a people manager. The Champions program trained 16 designers and developed 3–5 peer champions.
Accessibility & Quality
Making accessibility part of the decisions, standards, and review systems that help teams deliver better work.
Improving the Systems Behind the Work
The biggest challenges organizations face are rarely caused by a lack of talent.
More often, teams struggle because knowledge is hard to find, processes are inconsistent, and accessibility gets addressed too late. My work is building the systems, guidance, and prioritization that help teams move faster and make better decisions. That work includes governance and review frameworks, capability-building training, and accessibility treated as a built-in quality standard instead of a last step.
The best systems often feel invisible when they work well.
That is the kind of work I love building.
About Melissa
I started in graphic design, where I learned how thoughtful communication and visual clarity shape people's experiences.
Over time my work expanded beyond designing interfaces into leading the systems behind them. Today I help organizations strengthen design quality, improve collaboration, build team capability, and create more sustainable ways of working. Accessibility is a major strength in that work, but it isn't the whole story. Whether I'm building training, governance frameworks, or operational processes, I'm motivated by the same goal: helping people do their best work and creating better experiences for the people they serve.
Resume
View experience, leadership work, certifications, and professional background.