About

Growing Up on the Farm

I grew up on a small u-pick farm in central Illinois.

Every summer revolved around:

• Strawberries (mmmm the sweet smell of the ripe strawberry patch)
• Blueberries
• Red raspberries
• Early mornings
• Constant problem-solving
• Figuring things out as a family

There was always work happening behind the scenes:

• Organizing systems
• Helping customers
• Improving workflows
• Fixing things quickly when they broke

Looking back, I think that environment shaped how I approach design today. I became fascinated by the invisible parts of experiences - the things people may never notice when they work well, but absolutely feel when they don't.

At the same time, I was always creative. I loved art from a young age, studied graphic design in college, and became a self-taught photographer along the way. What started as visual creativity slowly evolved into a deeper curiosity about how people interact with systems, information, and each other.

Building Better Experiences for More People

Working at the University of Illinois, I always knew digital experiences needed to be accessible and meet WCAG standards, but early on, I mostly saw accessibility as a requirement rather than something I deeply understood.

That changed during my time at the university.

I had the opportunity to work on projects alongside some incredible disability advocates and accessibility leaders at the university. The University of Illinois has long been recognized as a leader in accessibility and disability inclusion, and being surrounded by people who genuinely cared about creating equitable experiences completely changed how I thought about design.

Something clicked for me.

Accessibility stopped feeling like a checklist and started feeling like a much bigger design responsibility:

• Reducing friction
• Creating clarity
• Supporting independence
• Designing for real human experiences

I became fascinated by how thoughtful design decisions could dramatically impact someone's ability to navigate, understand, and participate fully in digital experiences.

That curiosity turned into a deep passion, and I dove in head first.

I earned my CPACC certification and eventually began leading accessibility initiatives at scale - building training programs, governance models, QA systems, workflows, and operational standards across enterprise UX organizations.

Today, accessibility remains a major part of my work, but I see it as part of a broader philosophy around inclusive design, communication, and systems thinking. What I enjoy most is helping teams move beyond compliance and toward building experiences that genuinely work better for more people.