Resume

SUMMARY

A creative and collaborative leader with 18 years of experience in Higher Education, leading diverse teams and lean innovation projects. I’m committed to designing impactful solutions to support company objectives and strategic vision. I thrive on engaging with talented individuals and leading diverse teams that resolve problems and transform experiences for learners. My approach is rooted in understanding user needs and applying best practices in user-centered design methodologies to develop simple, effective solutions that resonate with targeted audiences.

Design Thinking / User Experience (UX)

Prototyping, UI Design, Incubation Design, User Testing, User Research, Persona Development

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY -San Diego, CA

Director, Innovation Hub | December 2021 - June 2024

Led a team dedicated to identifying, evaluating, and cultivating sustainable innovation capabilities for the University. By employing a data-informed approach, the role leverages critical thinking and problem-solving skills to develop solutions for various challenges National University faces, whether in academics, operations, services, or support.

• Collaborative Project Management: Partner with stakeholders to define project outcomes, align with institutional goals, establish metrics, and build consensus on the project team structure. Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to integrate diverse perspectives and expertise into the project.

• Design Thinking Advocate: Promote and build stakeholders' awareness of design and divergent thinking. Create environments that foster curiosity, experimentation, reflection, and prototyping through the design thinking process, enabling solution development.

• User-Centered Solution Design: Champion the design of solutions with the end-user in mind. Employ empathy to deeply understand user experiences and stakeholder perspectives, ensuring that solutions are relevant, effective, and user-friendly.

• Change Management: Apply structured change management processes to support the adoption of new solutions and initiatives. Collaborate with internal and external groups to develop change management plans that facilitate stakeholder engagement and successful implementation.

• Incubations: Facilitate designing and testing minimum viable prototypes (M.V.P.), focusing on assessment and design thinking best practices. Deliver solutions that resonate with targeted audiences and address their specific needs.

• Cross-functional leadership: Lead cross-functional teams by leveraging diverse skills and knowledge to drive project success. Foster a collaborative environment where team members from various departments can contribute their unique insights and expertise.

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NATIONAL UNIVERSITY -La Jolla, CA

Director, Projects & Integrations | June 2018 - November 2021

• Team Management: Lead in-house, custom development team to incorporate technical, business, and user requirements into solution designs. 

• Solution Design: Lead and support aspects of design production, focusing on UI design and user experience best practices to deliver innovative solutions using a rapid and iterative design approach. 

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with internal stakeholders, including Faculty, Instructional Designers, and support staff, to prepare for solution integrations within impacted courses or across multiple University programs. Tasks included project management, technical documentation, and communication plan development.

• LMS Administration: Manage two multitenant LMS environments. Responsible for system integrations (3rd-party and internal), creating and managing organizational structure, custom user roles and permissions, and internal, tier 2 administrative support for faculty and staff.

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National University -La Jolla, CA

Director, eLearning Services | July 2011 - June 2018

• Leadership: As a member of the Management Team, led client support and provided administrative oversight of the LMS, including change management, internal communication, integrations, maintenance, and testing.

• Continuous Improvement: Led operational improvements concerning processes and policies to support the organization’s mission. Develop and implement long-term strategies relating to client support, technology development, and project management.

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Spectrum Pacific Learning Company -An Affiliate of National University -La Jolla, CA

Sr. Operations Manager | January 2009 - July 2011

• Team Leadership: Led day-to-day operations for Project Management and Design & Development, Training, and Client Services teams. 

• Administrative Tasks: Responsible for strategic planning, budget management, personnel management, company customer satisfaction metrics, and overall project quality.

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Spectrum Pacific Learning Company -An Affiliate of National University -La Jolla, CA

Course Developer II | December 2005 - December 2008

• Course Development: Provide course design and development support for internal and external clients and collaborate with the project Management team to gather requirements and meet project milestones. 

• Quality Assurance (QA): Ensure assigned course reviews adhere to current best practices for course design and integrated 3rd-party technology.

CERTIFICATES

Stanford Online | Stanford, CA | June 2024 -The Power of Stories to Fuel Innovation

Stanford Online | Stanford, CA | January 2023 -Creativity and Design Thinking

Google | Mountainview, CA | July 2021 -Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design Course Certificate

University of California, San Diego Extension | La Jolla, CA | June 2020 -User Experience (UX) Design

General Assembly | New York, NY | June 2017 -User Experience (UX) Circuit

A PDF version of my full resume can be downloaded below.