Recent work
I’ve spent the better part of 25 years designing for high-stakes, high-complexity environments where there’s no room for error. The last six of them have been in the federal digital services ecosystem across the VA, IRS and CMS.
I design and lead with care—building human-centered teams & systems that scale across time zones & emerging tech.
AI at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
VA AI Pilots
My role: UX Design Lead on the AI Pilot team.
Problem: Clinical staff working within VA's legacy infrastructure lack efficient ways to synthesize complex patient data, creating bottlenecks in veterans' benefits decisions at the moments that matter most.
Solution: I was brought in to lead a design turnaround, partnering with research, engineering, and data scientists to deliver a conversational AI tool for clinical staff and VA’s first MCP server connecting to a legacy VistaA EHR system. This work set direction for VA’s broader AI strategy.
"...Amazing to see the way the team was able to change direction and end the year delivering a tool that is on the cutting edge of genAI practices today, and hasn’t been done at VA yet." – Government Partner
Shipped: A generative AI tool, "VA GPT," was used by nearly 100,000 staff as of September 2025, saving each an estimated two to three hours per week.
Designing with AI: Read what I learned designing AI systems for Veterans, and the role I played in shaping how Coforma thinks about AI.
Problem: Clinical staff working within VA's legacy infrastructure lack efficient ways to synthesize complex patient data, creating bottlenecks in veterans' benefits decisions at the moments that matter most.
Solution: I was brought in to lead a design turnaround, partnering with research, engineering, and data scientists to deliver a conversational AI tool for clinical staff and VA’s first MCP server connecting to a legacy VistaA EHR system. This work set direction for VA’s broader AI strategy.
"...Amazing to see the way the team was able to change direction and end the year delivering a tool that is on the cutting edge of genAI practices today, and hasn’t been done at VA yet." – Government Partner
Shipped: A generative AI tool, "VA GPT," was used by nearly 100,000 staff as of September 2025, saving each an estimated two to three hours per week.
Designing with AI: Read what I learned designing AI systems for Veterans, and the role I played in shaping how Coforma thinks about AI.
B2B at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Maturing a multi-brand Design System
My role: UX Design Lead on the CMS Design System team.
Problem: The CMS design system was created to provide a cohesive experience across Healthcare.gov, Medicare.gov, and CMS.gov, brands that contained usability, accessibility, and design inconsistencies across product teams.
Solution: I collaborated closely with the lead engineer to review pull requests and deliver annotated Figma files that communicated design intent. We iterated on the CMS Design System components and addressed reported issues, such as resolving a cross-platform select dropdown list defect. These efforts resulted in the creation of accessible responsive components that significantly enhanced product maturity across our B2C product teams.
Millions of people rely on CMS digital services each month, powered by the design system I helped mature. Internet archive of White House Fact Sheet.
Shipped: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Design System
Problem: The CMS design system was created to provide a cohesive experience across Healthcare.gov, Medicare.gov, and CMS.gov, brands that contained usability, accessibility, and design inconsistencies across product teams.
Solution: I collaborated closely with the lead engineer to review pull requests and deliver annotated Figma files that communicated design intent. We iterated on the CMS Design System components and addressed reported issues, such as resolving a cross-platform select dropdown list defect. These efforts resulted in the creation of accessible responsive components that significantly enhanced product maturity across our B2C product teams.
Millions of people rely on CMS digital services each month, powered by the design system I helped mature. Internet archive of White House Fact Sheet.
Shipped: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Design System
Zero-to-one at Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Paper-to-digital Modernization
My role: UX Design Lead on the ITIN modernization team.
Problem: The IRS faces challenges due to its reliance on paper-based processes, which create significant inefficiencies for internal teams, impose a heavy cognitive load, and add costs for American taxpayers.
Goal: Design a 0→1 low-code solution to reduce paper dependency, streamline processes, and lower cognitive load for IRS teams and taxpayers.
I collaborated with cross-functional teammates and IRS stakeholders to research, test assumptions, and deliver a fully digitized, end-to-end intake workflow that advances the agency’s paper-to-digital modernization mission.
Federal NDA:
This project is subject to a Federal NDA with a security level of secret; no further details can be shared in this public format.
Public sources: ITIN-digitalization-contract | Govtribe.com | Treasury.gov
Problem: The IRS faces challenges due to its reliance on paper-based processes, which create significant inefficiencies for internal teams, impose a heavy cognitive load, and add costs for American taxpayers.
Goal: Design a 0→1 low-code solution to reduce paper dependency, streamline processes, and lower cognitive load for IRS teams and taxpayers.
I collaborated with cross-functional teammates and IRS stakeholders to research, test assumptions, and deliver a fully digitized, end-to-end intake workflow that advances the agency’s paper-to-digital modernization mission.
Federal NDA:
This project is subject to a Federal NDA with a security level of secret; no further details can be shared in this public format.
Public sources: ITIN-digitalization-contract | Govtribe.com | Treasury.gov
B2B at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
MVP Enterprise Developer Platform
My role: Senior UX Designer on the Developer Experience team
Problem: The VA faced a challenge in addressing a void within its organization, which resulted in duplicative efforts. This issue stemmed from the lack of a centralized approach to sharing digital services across siloed teams.
Solution: I designed a tightly time-boxed zero-to-MVP internal developer platform to set the stage for continued Digital Transformation at the VA. Ongoing authorization allows VA to ship secure, authorized software 80% faster, placing VA as a frontrunner in the federal civilian agency space.
Working directly with engineers, I co-branded Spotify's open-source Backstage.io platform by adapting the VA Design System's design tokens into Material UI — translating visual decisions into structured JSON and ensuring they were consumable by the development team.
The VA Lighthouse Developer Experience program champions operational excellence.
Shipped: code.va.gov (Internal to VA, Citrix Access Gateway required)
Problem: The VA faced a challenge in addressing a void within its organization, which resulted in duplicative efforts. This issue stemmed from the lack of a centralized approach to sharing digital services across siloed teams.
Solution: I designed a tightly time-boxed zero-to-MVP internal developer platform to set the stage for continued Digital Transformation at the VA. Ongoing authorization allows VA to ship secure, authorized software 80% faster, placing VA as a frontrunner in the federal civilian agency space.
Working directly with engineers, I co-branded Spotify's open-source Backstage.io platform by adapting the VA Design System's design tokens into Material UI — translating visual decisions into structured JSON and ensuring they were consumable by the development team.
The VA Lighthouse Developer Experience program champions operational excellence.
Shipped: code.va.gov (Internal to VA, Citrix Access Gateway required)
B2B at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Maturing a Developer Experience Platform
My role: Senior UX designer serving as a super individual contributor, supporting several teams across a 115+ person platform.
Problem: The challenge was to evolve a beta API service into a comprehensive developer-focused ecosystem, enabling consumers to build tools that better serve Veterans.
Solution: I advanced the platform from beta to version 2.0 by redesigning the onboarding path, support, and API collection, creating a scalable, developer-focused API ecosystem.
The VA Lighthouse Developer Experience program drives operational excellence, modernizing VA technology to enhance user experiences with secure digital tools. ~ VA’s Office of Information & Technology
Shipped: VA Developer platform
Problem: The challenge was to evolve a beta API service into a comprehensive developer-focused ecosystem, enabling consumers to build tools that better serve Veterans.
Solution: I advanced the platform from beta to version 2.0 by redesigning the onboarding path, support, and API collection, creating a scalable, developer-focused API ecosystem.
The VA Lighthouse Developer Experience program drives operational excellence, modernizing VA technology to enhance user experiences with secure digital tools. ~ VA’s Office of Information & Technology
Shipped: VA Developer platform
B2C at Eastern Washington University (EWU)
User-centered full site redesign
My role: UX Developer
Problem: It had been nearly a decade since the last time the website had undergone any change, and honestly, it looked like it.
I hate that a new tab opens every time you click a link. It drives me crazy. I also think the look of the website is a little... Not very exciting.
—Student feedback.
Solution: I integrated user-centered UX design methods to inform the redesign of ewu.edu driven by the needs of prospective students.
Full write-up about the University website redesign on Medium
Shipped: ewu.edu
Problem: It had been nearly a decade since the last time the website had undergone any change, and honestly, it looked like it.
I hate that a new tab opens every time you click a link. It drives me crazy. I also think the look of the website is a little... Not very exciting.
—Student feedback.
Solution: I integrated user-centered UX design methods to inform the redesign of ewu.edu driven by the needs of prospective students.
Full write-up about the University website redesign on Medium
Shipped: ewu.edu
2nd Watch
Establish an Enterprise Design System
My Role: Consultant, Design System SME
Problem: A lack of standards for implementing design across the next-gen 2ndWatch SaaS suite led to a fragmented, disconnected experience. Misaligned components and varying implementation approaches created technical debt and increased complexity.
Solution: I designed a UI kit that defines distance, shape, interactions, and component patterns to establish an enterprise design system for 2nd Watches' second-generation product line.
Shipped: 2nd Watch: Now, Ollion provides cloud-native professional services and ongoing managed cloud services to organizations
Problem: A lack of standards for implementing design across the next-gen 2ndWatch SaaS suite led to a fragmented, disconnected experience. Misaligned components and varying implementation approaches created technical debt and increased complexity.
Solution: I designed a UI kit that defines distance, shape, interactions, and component patterns to establish an enterprise design system for 2nd Watches' second-generation product line.
Shipped: 2nd Watch: Now, Ollion provides cloud-native professional services and ongoing managed cloud services to organizations
Other brands I've worked with
- RoastHouse CoffeeManaged secure infrastructure for an ExpressionEngine platform.
- 2ndWatchCreated a design system to support the second-generation product line.
- UnconferenceApplied a brand refresh for the unconference consulting group.
- City of SpokaneDesigned the web interface for the municipal website and associated departments.
- Brooklyn Deli & LoungeDelivered a fully responsive digital restaurant storefront.
- Eastern Washington UniversityIntegrated user-centered design methods to inform the redesign of the ewu.edu university website.
- Strands off BroadwayDeveloped a branded web experience for a local salon client.
- Department of Veterans AffairsMatured the developer experience across multiple platforms.
- Linda Kozora PTDesigned a digital presence featuring services and appointments.
- UxiliaryProvided web consultant services.
- IRSDesigned a 0→1 digital workflow replacing a high-touch manual process.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesUX Design lead on the CMS design system team.
What I do
As a design leader with over 25 years of experience, I lead and deliver user-centered, accessible products within complex government and enterprise systems, driving 0→1 product builds, modernizing legacy platforms, and integrating AI into production environments.
I operate at the intersection of design and engineering, partnering with cross-functional teams to scale and specialize in maturing design systems.