Khanversations — Garrett and Todd
A conversation about archery, beer miles, and career transitions
Tell us a little about yourself and your role at Khan Academy
Garrett: I’m a designer on our District and Classroom teams. I’m working on tools to help teachers and school district administrators better understand their students, so they can make decisions that ultimately improve student outcomes. I’ve been at Khan Academy for six months, and I’m so excited to be part of a team that’s shaping the future of education.
Todd: I’m Khan Academy’s user research lead. I help our product teams stay closely connected to the students, teachers, and district administrators who use Khan Academy, so we can make decisions informed by our users’ needs, behaviors, and mental models.
How did you get into design?
Garrett: I took a drafting class in high school and it was true love. It was the first time I used a pencil and paper to create something that felt really meaningful and creative.
I graduated from college with a degree in architecture and started my career working at architecture firms focused on commercial and higher education projects. I became fascinated with how the design of physical spaces could impact people’s lives, especially considering we spend the majority of our time at home or at work. Those early years also served as an introduction to the Adobe Suite, 3D modeling, and working on interdisciplinary teams.
While architecture was fulfilling in many ways, it unfortunately was a bit of a grind professionally, and I needed to find a more sustainable career path. Through a few conversations with friends working at startups, I learned about the world of digital design… and the rest is history!
Todd: As a kid, I was always interested in media production for education: Sesame Street, PBS Kids, interactive exhibits at The Smithsonian. That was my jam. In undergrad, I studied mass media with a focus on TV and multimedia production so I could do that kind of work.
After college, I decided to focus on the education side of that story. I went to West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer, where I taught media production to recent high school graduates. We were trying to help them build a specialized skillset that would differentiate them from their peers and enable them to make a huge impact. My students worked on projects that raised awareness of environmental conservation and gender equity issues.
During that time I also saw lots of people using technology that wasn’t designed for them. I got really interested in human factors and the psychology behind design and enrolled in a graduate program to learn more. After graduate school, I ended up working in user experience consulting — that’s where I got my start in UX.
What’s something you’ve made that you’re proud of?
Todd: This is a bit goofy, but this past winter I organized a Holiday Beer Mile. If you don’t know what that is, look it up — it’ll make you smile and probably throw up at the same time. It was great because it brought together people from different parts of my life, to compete in something that no one should really put their body through. It was shared bonding through shared suffering. And of course, we were celebrating the holiday season, which is my favorite time of year. It’s silly and unnecessarily painful, but I believe: if you don’t laugh at the world from time to time, then what’s the point?
I’m also really proud of a book I designed and printed that shows the best of my early photography work.
Garrett: I needed a product design portfolio to apply for my first job, so I did what many young designers do and included a passion project. It was an app that allowed kayakers and anglers to monitor the changing conditions of rivers. A year later, after getting some experience, I partnered with a colleague and we actually shipped the app — it’s called Flows. It was the first time something of mine was truly out in the wild, getting used by people and making an impact. Sadly, I don’t think you can find it in the app store anymore. But it had a good ride!
What’s something that brings you joy outside of work?
Garrett: I spend a majority of my free time outdoors. Fly fishing has been part of my life for a long time, and I love that it takes me to remote and beautiful places. I often describe the challenge of catching fish as solving a puzzle that changes every 30 minutes.
I’ve also just started learning about archery, and it’s been incredibly fun! I’m still learning the fundamentals, but I enjoy the focus it requires, and the therapeutic effect that comes from shooting arrows.
Todd: In 2018 I started learning piano. I’ve always been interested in having a stronger musical vocabulary and skillset, but it’s eluded me for years. I really enjoy it, because (while I’m not good and it’s painfully slow going) I can see that I’ve made a lot of progress in the past year and a half. It’s given me a new way to appreciate the hard work that goes into learning and perfecting a craft: that feeling of accomplishment you get being a total beginner again and having to work your way up. I’m currently working on the Jurassic Park theme song, which is also one of my favorite movies of all time, and should not be confused with Jurassic World, which is one of my least favorite movies of all time.
Khanversations are a series of dialogues between designers at Khan Academy as a way of getting to know one another.
P.S. We’re hiring, if you’re interested, check out our job listings!
Links to the series
👉🏽 Here’s May-Li’s introduction to the series, including a list of all the countries that were involved in our formation.
👉🏽 Elizabeth and Vivek talk about sneakers, fashion, capitalism, how they got into design (they even share some vintage work) and MORE. These two have incredible taste BTW I always want to know where they look.
👉🏽 Louis and Erica on rearranging the furniture, skeuomorphic icons, working in the federal government and more.
👉🏽 Cassey and Jacob on how neuropsychology, being an executive assistant, and not wanting to draw Mickey Mouse 1000 times could lead to a career in design.
👉🏽 Taty and Kitt on impact, college access, and Harry Potter.
👉🏽 Sanyukta and Warren on futurism, weirdness, and side-projects.
