A Lifelong Pursuit of Design

The poet David Whyte once observed that we can fall in love with a vocation as unexpectedly as we fall in love with another person. As a child, Whyte became captivated by Jacques Cousteau’s adventures aboard the Calypso, imagining himself exploring the vast horizons of the ocean. For me, the internet was my Calypso—the moment I realized I could build online experiences accessible to anyone in the world, I knew I’d discovered my life’s work. Like Whyte, I unknowingly embarked on a lifelong pursuit, transitioning from building websites to shaping digital products at global scale.

Early in my career, my passion and reliability led to unexpected opportunities designing for Autodesk, The Ford Foundation, and The Smithsonian. Without formal graphic design training, I leaned on my fine arts education—rooted in Bauhaus principles, minimalism, and restraint—to craft intuitive digital experiences. While others embraced glossy, trendy aesthetics, I focused on timeless visual clarity, informed by a deep understanding of balance and proportion.

From Practitioner to Educator

My design work opened doors I hadn’t anticipated, including teaching web design at California College of the Arts (CCA). I soon found myself alongside some of the Bay Area’s most influential designers. At first, I grappled with imposter syndrome—lacking the formal design education many colleagues possessed. However, I quickly realized my digitally native approach intrigued my peers just as much as their traditional graphic methodologies fascinated me.

Working with distinguished designers like Jon Sueda, Lucille Tenazas and others from CCA, I learned visual design through direct mentorship, client collaboration and hands-on experience. Despite their distinct styles, I noticed that many of my peers had refined their craft in prestigious graduate programs like CalArts, Yale, and RISD. Their conceptual depth and refined visual languages clearly reflected this classical training, rooted deeply in traditional media.

I deeply admired the rigor of their practices, but I also knew a conventional graphic design MFA wouldn’t align with my digitally focused ambitions. When I discovered the new Interaction Design MFA program at the School of Visual Arts—founded by Steven Heller and Liz Danzico—I recognized a perfect fit. Unlike traditional programs, the SVA curriculum was built explicitly around emerging digital design practices. I joined the program’s second graduating class, learning directly from the likes of Jason Santa Maria, Nicholas Felton, and Eric Ries—pioneers I had long admired from afar.

Design as a Multidisciplinary Practice

SVA became the foundation for my professional practice, reinforcing my belief that great designers are adaptable, multidisciplinary, and comfortable navigating diverse constraints. My fine arts background continues to inform my approach to visual composition, storytelling, and human-centered design, allowing me to lead teams through complex challenges with both creativity and rigor.

Throughout my career, I’ve intentionally moved across agency, startup, and in-house roles, cultivating a diverse toolkit suited to product innovation at scale. At Etsy, I combined strategic leadership with hands-on craft, leading design transformations that significantly increased conversion, influenced product strategy, and improved experiences for millions of global users.

Beyond the screen, craft remains a defining passion—I restore vintage Japanese motorcycles and design and handcraft leather goods sold in my own Etsy shop. This tangible practice reinforces my belief that great digital design, like physical craft, requires attention to detail, mastery of tools, and respect for materials and processes.