ABOUT
"Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person's life."
~ Jackie Chan
My Journey Into UX
Caring about others is the thread that weaves my life story together.
Caring through TOUCH
My mom spent the first 8 months of her life in an orphanage in Greece where she received very little touch. This had a detrimental affect on her development. It also inspired me to spend most of my adult life as a massage therapist helping others heal through nurturing and compassionate touch.
Caring through TEACHING
After massage school, I began teaching a variety of healing modalities. I loved designing the curriculum to meet the needs of my students and to help inspire and empower them to continue learning and growing.
Caring through PSYCHOLOGY
After a few years of teaching, I moved to Boulder, CO to study psychology at Naropa University. I have had a lifelong passion for understanding people's experience, including how they think, feel, and behave.
Caring through PARENTING
A couple years into my bachelor's degree, I decided to put my education on hold to spend more time with my non-neurotypical son who required special attention and care. Attending to his needs has given me greater compassion and sensitivity and has been the greatest joy in my life. Years later, when it was time for him to go to college, I went back to school with him and finished my degree with a new major.
Caring through LEADERSHIP
As a Lead Massage Therapist, I managed a team of 27 people. My leadership style focused on balancing the needs of the business with the needs of the customers and employees by coming up with win-win solutions.
Caring through UX
From the first moment I discovered UX design in 2019, I fell in love. I couldn't believe it was a job that people got paid to do because it was something I just did naturally. I'm always thinking about other people's needs and how to design things to be beneficial for everyone. I was ready for a career change, so I started graduate school immediately, and I've been studying and practicing UX ever since.
Relevant UX Education and Experience
(For more information, you can also view my complete history.)
Product Design
UX Design
User Research
Information Architecture
Interaction Design
Usability Testing
Accessibility
Universal Design
UI Design
EDUCATION
2021
Master of Science in User Experience Design
Kent State University, 4.0 GPA
2019
Intro to User Interface Design Certificate
CareerFoundry
2017
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (minor) and Religious Studies (major)
Naropa University, 3.8 GPA
EXPERIENCE
CURRENT
User Experience Designer
Case Western Reserve University
2021
User Experience Designer and Researcher
Boulder Hypnosis Works
2020
User Experience Designer
Boundary Supply, Inc.
Things I Love To Do Outside Of Work
What Other People Say About Me
"Jessica is a living vessel of wisdom. Over the years, I have valued her intuition, nurturance, guidance, kindness, and intelligence. Her professional offerings are an act of service of the highest order.
~ Rafia Rebeck
"When you work with Jessica, expect to be seen in a place of truth and understanding. If you are looking for someone who can softly and clearly guide you, she is the one."
~ Emily Bossert
"Jessica is one of the most genuine, intelligent, hard working, and authentic people I know. She has such compassion and truly has a gift for helping people."
~ Jen Carter
Are We a Good Match?
If you are a company that...
-
Truly cares about your employees, customers, and end users.
-
Focuses on people and the entire system to solve the right problems (i.e. values Human-Centered Design principles).
-
Has a growth mindset and iterative design process.
-
Strives for win-win solutions.
-
Values work-life balance.
And, you want someone on your team who...
-
Is values and mission driven, but also practical and works hard to make those ideals a reality.
-
Has a good balance of the hard skills such as technical expertise and the even harder skills such as communication and emotional intelligence (sometimes referred to as "soft skills").
-
Is extremely detail-oriented and produces high-quality work.
-
Loves working collaboratively as well as independently.
-
Is infinitely curious and committed to lifelong learning.
-
Cares deeply about making people's lives better (including her co-workers).