What was your previous (or current other) career, training or background?
I have an aerospace engineering degree and interned at NASA, so sometimes joke I’m a blonde rocket scientist. Early in my career, while working as a software developer, I was exposed to user experience design. As my interest morphed into a passion, I sought roles at firms that saw the value of synthesizing business, design, and technology services—a craft that’s now called product management. During my 25-year career (at startups and companies like Google, Starbucks, and frog), I’ve led and grown amazing product and/or technology teams around the world and delivered hundreds of cutting-edge solutions.
What change are you seeking to create through this initiative?
The world so far has been designed to benefit a select few. Smith Assembly’s purpose is to co-create inclusive, equitable, and sustainable design practices that enable many more people to thrive.
What does the concept of ‘the greater good’ mean to you?
For me, it’s caring about others (including the planet) as much as you care about yourself. It’s about being willing to invest additional time, energy, and/or money to align your actions and words with your values, plus unlearning/learning and centering other folks’ experience and knowledge along the way. I believe ‘the greater good’ is woven out of connection, inclusion, equity, sustainability, and love.
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