Published inUX Collective·Mar 2, 2020Member-only5 strategies learned from volunteering that can be applied to product designI have served in the Peace Corps twice. The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the United States government. Its official mission is to provide social and economic development abroad through technical assistance while promoting mutual understanding between Americans and populations served. I was assigned to live and…Peace Corps7 min readPeace Corps7 min read
Published inUX Collective·Jul 31, 2019Member-onlySuccessful card design in 3 steps: UX, UI, and FrameworkIntroduction I’ve worked on various ed-tech products over a few years in my current position as a product user experience designer. We’ve updated the designs to existing codebases, and we’ve architected new interfaces from the ground up. In user experience design solutions should revolve around your user's needs, stakeholder’s priorities, and…UX8 min readUX8 min read
May 3, 2019Visiting my Peace Corps country 5 years later reminded me why I joined in the first place.Just last week I had a coffee with a current student who wants to join the Peace Corps after she graduates, and she asked: “What made you want to join the Peace Corps?” …Peace Corps8 min readPeace Corps8 min read
Aug 23, 2018A reflection of my twenties: Each harmonious and polarizing yearTomorrow I’ll complete my thirtieth trip around the sun, setting off the birth year that I’ve been socialized to dread since turning twenty-five. My coworkers tell me they would love to be this young again. My students tell me they can’t imagine being this old. It’s all downhill from here…Twenties14 min readTwenties14 min read
Aug 22, 20184 things I learned while working as a web design and development consultant in the South PacificI’m currently sitting in a cafe in Krabi, Thailand listening to an acoustic version of a really popular 1990's song, drinking coffee with condensed milk in it and periodically swatting mosquitos away from my screen. I’m taking the long way home, physically circling the globe, back to the States after…Web Design6 min readWeb Design6 min read
Published inVolunteering in Vanuatu·Jul 26, 2016Professional and intercultural development in the Peace Corps Response program.Reposted by the Peace Corps here. I just completed my 4-month assignment in the Peace Corps Response Program in Port Vila, Vanuatu. I took a leave of absence from my job, packed up everything I own into a storage unit and headed out to a country I had never been…Peace Corps8 min readPeace Corps8 min read
Published inVolunteering in Vanuatu·May 26, 2016Introducing UX, UI and interaction design at an ICT Camp for Girls in VanuatuBeing in the right place at the right time has never been as applicable as when describing how I got involved with being able to teach at the SMARTSistas ICT Camp for Girls. This camp is an initiative that has been in the works since 2014, from a former volunteer…Peace Corps5 min readPeace Corps5 min read
Published inVolunteering in Vanuatu·May 3, 2016Kava — Part 2 of 2Before coming to Vanuatu I did as much research as possible on the culture, the climate, what type of food I would be eating, etc. The elusive “kava culture” kept popping up as something extremely unique to Vanuatu and of course, sparked my interest. With a stroke of luck, there…Kava4 min readKava4 min read
Published inVolunteering in Vanuatu·Apr 28, 2016Dear Momma, you died on a Monday and I went back to Vanuatu on a Friday.Dear Momma, I knew when I took my second Peace Corps assignment in Vanuatu that it could possibly be the last time that I saw you alive. …Peace Corps13 min readPeace Corps13 min read
Published inVolunteering in Vanuatu·Apr 18, 2016Benefits of design thinking for ICT4DOn the walk to my first day of work in Vanuatu I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. When I went to meet my future coworkers, no one was in the office. I had been assigned to work in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development as a web design…Design Thinking6 min readDesign Thinking6 min read
