Warm, direct, and a little irreverent - with receipts

Director of User Experience with 7+ years leading design strategy and cross-functional delivery across enterprise SaaS — including building the operational infrastructure that keeps humans responsible for outcomes in AI-first organizations.

Hi, I'm Amber.

I’ve spent my career building the thing behind the thing. The teams, systems, and practices that let great design actually happen at scale. I came up through product management, which means I’ve always spoken fluent business before I ever spoke fluent design. That combination makes me genuinely useful in rooms where UX is still fighting for a seat at the table.

When I’m not building governance frameworks or arguing for humans in AI-first roadmap conversations, I run the filk music track at Dragon Con and write epic fantasy novels. I contain multitudes, to paraphrase Whitman. Hire accordingly.

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.

Question the output, protect the person

AI accelerates everything. My job is making sure speed doesn't outrun accountability.

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.

What People Say

Amber is a passionate UX leader who understands the true scope of a user experience team. She is a fantastic advocate for her reports and always makes room for UX to have a seat at the table.
Sherry Rodriguez

She is a true manager of people and helps to build them up into sustainable and beneficial practices.
Jon Daiello

I always felt that she truly cared about our process and was willing to reach out to her immediate and extended network to find the best talent in a timely fashion.
Steve Feinberg