Design Management & Leadership

Bridging vision and execution. Work that aligns people, process, and business to drive innovation.

I see design management as the connective tissue between creativity and execution. In my work, I have set up workflows to better infuse design practices across agencies, using soft skills to build the conditions for design to thrive within complex systems. My goal is to always have design be strategically integrated and sustainably delivered.

Tricks of the Trade

I often approach my design management work using the classic the double diamond framework, but often will need to adapt it for environments where design maturity is still evolving. Sometimes I’ll meet clients midstream, reframing the problem before circling back to discovery, or re-imagine the workflow to happen in short iterative loops instead of clean phases. To help ground the work, I always begin by understanding the stakeholder landscape (internal and external), working to define constraints (time/resources), and zooming out to understand the broader ecosystem at play.

Initial breakdown of project themes.

Developing deliverables within constaints.

Building an ecosystem map from research.

Selected Projects & Clients

Patient Journey Map from interviews

Defense Healthcare | Patient Experience

Working within the Defense Health Agency’s National Capital Region, this small team sought to improve patient experience when interacting with front desk staff across eight military hospitals. This project used a full-cycle human-centered design framework identify underlying factors of influence across all clinical facilities, define the variables of successful front desks, and ultimately solidify successful approaches to patient engagement across the largest military healthcare market in the world.

Over a four-month span in 2021, a colleague and I spoke with over 109 staff from 44 different departments across seven military treatment facilities (MTFs).

After delivering a full Landscape Analysis of front desk clinics throughout the NCR Market, I spearheaded the transition from human-centered insights into product requirements that would make meaningful change. Research findings the groundwork for the creation of the Patient Guidebook with clinicians and military health SMEs, a digital PDF that was launched and shared with over 300,000 active duty service members in the National Capital Region.

 

Initial scoping conversations (+digital translation)

Live chat current state blueprint

Veterans Administration | Live Chat Systems

Over the course of six months, I led a cross-functional team of UX researchers, machine learning specialists, and developers to evaluate and improve the live chat experience for Veterans within the VA digital ecosytem.

My role centered on holistic design management—balancing user needs, technical realities, and operational workflows to ensure we built the right solution for the right people. I partnered with the VA CTO office to scope design opportunities, carry out research and synthesis, and guided the development of a feasibility report focused on both Veteran-facing experiences and agent-side usability.

In the end, the team was able to translate complex research and technical findings into clear, actionable recommendations. This included delivering a final report that combined user insights, technical evaluations, and design guidance to support decision-making. Our work laid the foundation for a seamless transfer from chatbot to live agent, ensuring the experience met Veteran expectations while functioning within VA’s technical ecosystem.

 

An initial concept of the History of the Arabic Alphabet

The final version of he History of the Arabic Alphabet

Qatar Foundation International | Infographics

As a design manager on this initiative, I led the development of a scalable content workflow for over a year that positioned QFI as a global thought leader through visual storytelling. I worked across departments (and time zones) to establishing a monthly infographic series that could highlight key elements of Arabic language and Arab culture. At the time of development, the most successful social media posts were graphics the organization shared. This project focused on creating organic content that would position QFI as a digital leader in viral content.

We built a repeatable 45-day sprint model—30 days dedicated to research and ideation, followed by two weeks of iterative design—ensuring a steady pipeline of vetted infographic concepts. Each visual was grounded in academic research and shaped through stakeholder input, balancing creative ambition with brand and pedagogical goals.

The resulting infographics were translated into three languages, shared widely across social media, and even printed as posters for classrooms around the world.

The infographic landing page was the most visited page on QFI.org during its launch month. On Facebook, the infographic significantly outperformed all other posts from the same period, with a 427% increase in reach and a 1,245% boost in engaged users.

 
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