designer • technologist • learner-centered educator • mentor • creative practitioner • maker

 

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I offer a unique blend of creative, technological and global business savvy. I am a “can-do” person/ leader/team player who is intrinsically motivated, enthusiastic, and optimistic. Each stop along the winding road of my journey has allowed me to navigate change, contribute my experience and learn. My superpower is grit.

As a professor in the higher education space, I focus on student-centered learning. Charged with bringing the design program at Newman University into the 21st century, I leveraged my user-centric industry experience to create courses that integrate technology to support design collaborations between instructor, learner, and media. The courses utilize blended learning, including in-person classroom activities, student presentations, online video, structured independent study time and collaboration over Slack. Students are encouraged to discover their passions, share them with each other, and teach each other what they have learned. The redesign of the curriculum has been an iterative, human-centered process that started with an MVP, which I continue to refine, benefiting from any failures and input from the students.

Additionally I collaborate with my colleagues in the School of Arts and Humanities to re-imagine education, bringing both the student and the future of work to the forefront. We formed a team to facilitate design thinking workshops that reimagine teaching from the students’ perspective. Our work has focused on building learning objectives for new curriculum and developing interdisciplinary, collaborative courses and internships to solve real-life problems in the community. Newman University supports WIN (Women’s Initiative Network) a community program to help domestic abuse survivors escape the cycle of financial dependence on their abusers. Our course will help these women tell their stories. Although the reimagination project is completely unfunded, we continue to forge our way forward through weekly get-togethers and mini-workshops that incorporate mindfulness and design thinking processes.

My industry experience includes over 10 years in media and entertainment as a lead artist/technical director in feature film, user interface/experience designer, art director/writer for an e-book and online instruction, and a product manager. To be successful wearing these different hats, I had to immerse myself in the ambiguity of the cutting edge, learn quickly and cultivate strong communication and interpersonal skills. I am continuously learning by participating in online courses, AIGA leadership workshops, and the Eyeo Festival. I pride myself on making the most out of feedback–positive or negative–­­and influencing and inspiring my colleagues to take ownership of the changes we face and be their most successful selves.

My artworks are visual analogues to music that comprise code, sensed data, fiber optics, programmable LEDs, gesso, and precious metals; this work seamlessly integrates design and technology, with the goal of eliciting a communicative exchange between viewers and art. My earlier work was exhibited at the Student Union Gallery, UMass Amherst; inaugural SIGGRAPH art show, Dallas, Texas; the Library of Congress, Washington DC; and in numerous university galleries. In 2016 my real-time, performative drawings became part of concerts offered by Wichita State University’s Impulse Percussion Group. In 2017 my one-person show, ‘resonate with stillness, experience light’ took the form of a dialog between the viewer and the interactive artworks at the Steckline Gallery, Wichita, KS.

I believe in giving back. I serve on the board of AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) Wichita Chapter as treasurer and on the board of directors of the Art and Design Advocates at Wichita State University. Additional volunteer work includes Director of Women Who Code Wichita Network, where I lead study groups to empower women with skills in Python and R, Git Hub, and Processing (Java and JavaScript). I was a Program Director of MakeICT Maker Academy, a STEAM initiative at Wichita’s Makerspace.