Hey, I’m Michelle
I believe in the power of design to make positive impact, and I’m energized by rallying teams to solve complex human needs. Celebrated for driving collaboration in challenging and expansive environments as well as talent for leading in new, innovative, and ambiguous spaces. I excel in creative leadership roles, combining strategic vision, executive influence, and an inspirational, collaborative style to drive teams toward powerful results.
✔ 14+ years of design experience
✔ Managed teams of 2–12 people
✔ Directed design, research & content
✔ Exceeded business goals up to 35%
✔ Increased team satisfaction by 9 pts
✔ Won UHC’s Mindset Award
✔ Solutions impacted 50M+ people
✔ Delivered for $1B+ portfolios
✔ IDEO AI x Design Thinking attendee
My Approach
Collaborative
My leadership style is collaborative by default. I involve my team in decision-making and I’m known for my ability to lead others through effective cross-functional collaboration to solve complex design problems. I’ve also co-led a collaboration committee and spearheaded new initiatives that enhance broader connection, collaboration and creative excellence across large and complex design teams.
Empathetic
I lead with empathy for my team and those who I serve every day. My style allows me to effectively build high-trust teams who feel safe to openly collaborate and learn together. Having empathy for the humans we design products for is essential to making a positive difference in the lives of those we serve and also ensures the long-term business success of the products we build.
Inspirational
Being able to rally people to work together toward a common vision is crucial when building an engaged, high-performing team focused on continuously improving how we solve the right problems in the right ways. I’m a strong conceptual thinker and have been called a ‘hype woman,’ always trying to bring others along with me on the larger vision.
Effective
I break down silos and effectively bring together all creative disciplines from across different teams made up of globally diverse, remote talent at all stages of development. I’ve built up multiple new and early-stage teams, worked on 0 to 1 initiatives, and designed for every channel. The constant? I consistently lead solutions that outperform original targets, sometimes as much as 35%.
Featured Work
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Pioneering AI solutions led to increased trust and 50% engagement in just 3 weeks
I built a cross-functional team and led the design of the first generative AI features for the #1 medical app in the Apple App Store, impacting millions of consumers.
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Personalized onboarding redesign led to increased satisfaction and 47% paperless opt-ins
I led a multi-disciplinary team that redesigned the onboarding flow for the United Healthcare mobile app and web portal.
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Self-service health and wellness advocacy earned 6.1/7 SEQ usability score, rated as easy and delightful to use
I designed Advocacy solutions for Optum’s $1.9B Population Health Solutions suite of products focused on health and wellness engagement for millions of people.
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Mobile app redesign and new design system for e-commerce healthcare app leading to 4.7/5 app store rating
I led visual design and created a new design system for the Optum Rx prescription medication mobile app redesign.
Awards & Recognitions
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I was nominated and won the United Healthcare Consumer Product Mindset Award in 2024. This award is given to those who show a new approach to looking at things and doing things differently. The Mindset Award is given to those who not only have a positive attitude but also focuses on growth and development while staying inventive to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
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I was nominated for the Make IT Happen Award in 2018. This award is given to those who make significant contributions in technology in Optum.
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I won an ADDY award for packaging design in 2013 from the American Advertising Federation.
Volunteering
American Advertising Federation
Student portfolio reviews
Pro-bono graphic design services
GirlOnward, 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Pro-bono graphic design services