About

Clients

Before coming to Microsoft, I worked with clients from a wide variety of verticals, including: Adobe, Amazon, Attachmate, Catalina Marketing, Expedia, GNC, KPMG, Pearson Publishing, Safeco Insurance, UW Medicine, and West Marine. I have also worked with partners like Razorfish, Wunderman, Merkle, and Ideosity.

Platforms

I have worked with many major CMS, PIM, KMS, intranet, and taxonomy management solutions. I’ve found that regardless of the platform, the keys to success remain keeping the business and user goals in mind, facilitating communication between technical and business stakeholders, and making decisions based on evidence.

Positions

Microsoft, Director of Information Architecture

September 2023 - Present

• I lead end-to-end site experience for the Microsoft Learn platform, ensuring the site is accessible, performant, usable, and useful.
• Manage a team of product managers, information architects, taxonomists, and program managers to

Microsoft, Principal IA Manager

March 2020 - September 2023

• Lead a team of information architects and taxonomists to ensure architectural quality across the Microsoft Learn platform.

Microsoft, Senior Information Architect

September 2017 - March 2020

• Created a metadata/taxonomy strategy from scratch, to enable more complex user-focused features that had previously been blocked for years. Sourced a platform to manage that metadata and educated the wider organization about its capabilities.
• Introduced the concept of a content model, and gained organization buy in to lead a cross-disciplinary team to conceptualize and implement a brand-new content model.
• Helped reconceptualize a persistent navigation model for the 65 million page, 500+ product documentation site.
• Designed an architectural approach, the content model, and all taxonomies for Microsoft Learn, which has remained durable even as the business scope of the platform has increased and the amount of content has grown by a factor of 20.

Microsoft, Information Architect

May 2017 - September 2017

• Designed and socialized comprehensive information architecture approach for Azure.com, evaluated the current experience, diagnosed difficulties, and synthesized preexisting research to inform recommendations.
• Created short- and long-term recommendations for persistent and contextual navigation, content modeling, metadata and taxonomy design, and governance.

Factor, Senior Information Architect

May 2014 - May 2017

• Managed a team on large-scale projects for clients like Adobe, AWS, and Safeco, leading research, documenting journeys, creating prototypes, and communicating requirements.
• Helped one e-commerce client immediately have their largest sales day ever, by developing UX/IA strategy and plan. Another client called their strategy work “profound.”
• Caused initially-skeptical stakeholders to become evangelists for UX by collaborating with developers, demonstrating UX’s potential to make development time more efficient.
• Overhauled internal design processes to be profitable and user-focused by seeking out, evaluating, and applying new techniques from the field and teaching colleagues.

Factor, Experience Designer

April 2012 – May 2014

• Rose rapidly from assisting to designing processes and collaborating with clients.
• Presented prototypes to developers and collaborated closely with them on solution design documents, coming to user-friendly solutions with minimal development time.
• Designed and executed user research that helped build the case for and win $1.1 million in projects focusing on strategy and design for a learn and support experience.

Independent Web & UX Designer

June 2005 – June 2012

• Designed solutions and built websites using a variety of modern web frameworks and technologies for libraries, design portfolios, blogs, and small businesses.

University of Washington, Templeton Radiology Library Intern

October 2010 – May 2012

• Taught doctors to use research tools and identified gaps the library could address.
• Implemented tools, using open-source products and technologies, to fill gaps.

Education

University of Washington, Seattle, WA

MLIS in Library & Information Science. Coursework included advanced XML, theory and design of information retrieval systems, current issues in bioinformatics, and information behavior.

Reed College, Portland, OR

BA in English Language and Literature. Thesis focused on digital humanities techniques, including original research cross-referencing historical texts with digital map tools.

Additional Information

• Effective facilitator, including experience leading Kaizen activities.
• Expert knowledge of HTML5, XML, CSS/SCSS/SASS, Bootstrap, Axure, Omnigraffle, and Photoshop. Working proficiency in many other languages, programs, and frameworks.
• Experienced working in a variety of PM frameworks, including Scrum, Agile, and Kanban.
• Frequent speaker at national IA and UX conferences, including the IA Summit, ConveyUX, Taxonomy Boot Camp, as well as local meetups and international conferences like EuroIA and WIAD Switzerland.
• Enthusiastic teacher, guest lecturer at classes in UW’s MCDM program and iSchool, SVC, as well as universities and educational programs around the country.