My practice

Vision & Innovation.

I bring design, strategy, and storytelling together to explore what could come next and give it a form people can build on.

My process, shared through a lecture

Designed to Influence

Much of my vision and innovation work is confidential. What I can share is how I practice it: the ways I explore possibilities, work through uncertainty, and make ideas tangible with others.

Designed to Influence brings that practice together in a form I can share. I developed the lecture for my return to the University of Wisconsin–Stout as its 2025 Cabot Executive in Residence, using stories, visual metaphors, and motion to give shape to the thinking behind my work.

Watch the full lecture

Lecture writing and delivery · Presentation design · Original creative content

Create concrete clarity. A 34-second moment from the delivered lecture, showing how making an idea visible changes the conversation.

Read the excerpt transcript

The conversation moves from something like, “It should feel more modern,” to something like, “This curve needs a wider radius.” Or from, “This should lift people up when they use it,” to, “The copy should say, ‘You did it!’ And confetti should fall from the sky for five seconds.”

People can actually argue now, right? They can align, or, “Is this the right thing? Is this not the right thing?” Because we have real things in front of us. Because they know they’re talking about the same thing.

How I work

Six lessons.
The way I practice innovation.

These six lessons shape how I practice innovation. I return to them as I explore an opportunity, build a shared vision, and work with others to move an idea forward.

Innovate at the intersections

I look for possibilities where disciplines and experiences meet. I bring different perspectives into the work, make room for people to challenge one another’s thinking, and build on the connections that emerge.

Build your way out of ambiguity

When the direction is unclear, I start with what I know: the resources, strengths, questions, and assumptions in front of me. I make and test things, challenge those assumptions, and use what I learn to find the next step.

Play to innovate

I make room for play early in the process. Trying things together, being willing to look a little foolish, and building on an unfinished thought helps me and the people I work with explore before we judge.

Motivate through vision

I use design and storytelling to make a possible future vivid enough for others to imagine. I work toward a shared sense of where we’re going and why, with room for people to bring their own expertise to how we get there.

Create concrete clarity

I turn an idea into something we can see, question, and improve together. A sketch, prototype, or acted-out experience gets the picture out of my head and gives us a concrete starting point for the conversation.

Design for people

I keep returning to the people the work is meant to help. I ask what we want to make better in their experience, then use that purpose to guide the tools, process, and decisions along the way.

Designed to Influence brings these parts of my practice together, shaped by experience and the people and ideas I’ve learned from.