Warm, direct, and a little irreverent - with receipts

Director of User Experience with 7+ years leading design strategy, research, content design, and cross-functional delivery across enterprise SaaS. I build teams that thrive, systems that scale, and products people actually want to use.

Hi, I'm Amber.

I lead UX organizations that pair structure with empathy. My work focuses on aligning design with product roadmaps, integrating customer research and content design, and building DesignOps foundations so teams deliver consistently without burning out.

I’ve led and partnered across companies like Logility (Enterprise Supply Chain SaaS), Paychex (HR/Payroll SaaS), Deluxe (financial services SaaS), The Home Depot, IBM Watson Media, and Turner Sports/NBA Digital.

At-a-glance

Led 20+ designers across SaaS, HR tech, and fintech.
Raised UX maturity from 1 → 3 (NN scale) at Logility in 1 year.
Built and expanded 3 design systems across organizations.
85% retention leading a distributed org at Paychex.

Credentials & Tools

Collaboration

Cross-functional facilitation, roadmap workshops, and hands-on pairing with Product and Engineering.

Delivery

Agile/Lean methods, discovery to delivery loops, and design system governance.

Toolbox

Design, research, and content design tools appropriate for enterprise SaaS, and still flexible to team standards.

How I lead (principles)

People first, always

Hire deliberately, mentor intentionally, and create clear growth paths. Healthy teams ship better products.

Systems over heroics

DesignOps, shared patterns, and governance keep quality high and delivery fast.

Evidence beats performance

Customer research and usage data inform roadmaps, component priorities, and trade-offs.

Translate for the room

Make design legible to Product, Engineering, and Executives so decisions move forward.

User Guide of Me

For Collaborators & Teams, with thanks and apologies to Julie Zhou.

How I define success

We ship products that make customers’ lives better.
We build a team culture we’re proud of.

How I communicate

I want the best idea to win, not the best debater. Call a time‑out any time.
Internally, I’m casual (yes, I speak in GIFs). Externally, I expect clean, error‑free writing.

What gains my trust

Honesty about hard things, and showing up prepared.
Kindness and inclusion — with teammates and customers.
Sticking with the discomfort long enough to learn from it.

What might annoy you

I clear the path so others can do great work — I’m not the right leader if you want to be told exactly what to do.
I use humor to defuse stress, which can read as flippant in high‑stakes moments. Nudge me if it lands wrong.

Growth edges

I’m a natural starter and can push hard for outcomes — I’m intentional about celebrating progress along the way.
Impatient with slow change, I channel that into clear, incremental plans.

Outside of work

Atlanta‑based; Navy‑brat roots up and down both coasts.
Human jukebox and long‑time Dragon Con volunteer (geeky music track).
Polymath tendencies — harmless obsessions welcome.