I'm a Design Director based in San Francisco who specializes in brand design and building teams.

What I do

I consider myself a generalist, who focuses on brand design and design management. And though I've spent my most recent years in leadership positions, I've still been able to keep my hands on graphic design, filmmaking, web design, photography, identity design, illustration, and product design. You can think of me as a jack of all trades and a master of some.

As a design leader, I've assembled and managed strong, diverse in-house design teams that work to understand, build, communicate, and grow brands. My teams invest in increasing the design knowledge of organizations by facilitating workshops on Design Thinking, advising teams where design methodology is rarely applied, and collaborating with leadership to develop better experiences for employees.

Some notable accomplishments:

• Led major rebrands for Sharethrough, BuildingConnected, and Netlify, and created several brand identities for startups, large event series, and volunteer initiatives
• Initiated team efforts in strengthening employer brands by redesigning onboarding processes and leading company culture program creation
• Designed workflows across teams and built brand management systems with in-house created asset libraries, which include photography, iconography, illustrations, and video
• Launched lectures and workshops dedicated to strengthening design awareness and encouraging employees to integrate design techniques into their day-to-day
• Directed and art directed digital, print, event, and OOH campaigns

How I lead

About five years ago, I was presented the opportunity to manage a design team and I was hesitant to accept the role. I hesitated because I had this false notion that introverts weren't cut out to be managers. This pushed me to study general management and get the training I needed. I took the leap and below are three lessons I've learned that shape the way I manage.

1. Being an introvert didn't hinder my ability to be a good manager. In fact, in a lot of cases, this personality trait that I perceived to be a flaw, actually helped me listen, observe, understand, and empathize where each team member was coming from and where they needed to go. It seems simple and obvious, but listening to your team is the most impactful thing you can do.
2. People need managers who help them carve paths influenced by their specific needs, style of communication, and aspirations. Managers do their best when they understand the differences between coaching, mentoring, and directing; and when to employ these techniques to inspire growth and independence, improve performance, and mitigate stress tuned to the individual.
3. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that org charts are poorly designed. Now-a-days, these charts are made in a way that deny a manger's fundamental purpose, which is to support the team. You see these pyramid diagrams everywhere that illustrate a structure where leaders sit at the top, but this is one of those cases where we've tried to fix something that wasn't broken. In fact, that thing was just about perfect.

The first modern org chart was a diagram of the New York and Erie Railroad, designed by major general, Daniel McCallum in 1855. When examining the chart, you'll notice an organic tree-like visualization where leadership is represented by the tree's roots. The reports on the sprawling branches are — in this metaphor — being nourished by their managers. Consequently, the entire organization grows and bears fruit.

This is how I see management. We should recognize that organizations are living, breathing, and fluid because they're made up of beings who are exactly that. Companies, teams, and employees don't flourish under charts that tell you who's boss; they thrive on their leaders' abilities to encourage and cultivate growth.