Challenge

Domestic violence survivors increasingly rely on online civil protection order portals during moments of crisis. Yet these systems were largely designed for legal professionals, not for people navigating trauma without legal representation. Courts lacked evidence-based guidance for creating digital experiences that were safe, understandable, and accessible for survivors.

Leadership

As a Lead Researcher on a multi-year U.S. Department of Justice–funded initiative with the National Center for State Courts, I led the human-centered research strategy across multiple state court systems. I partnered with judges, court administrators, domestic violence advocates, technology vendors, and survivor-serving organizations to identify systemic barriers and translate findings into practical national guidance.

Beyond directing the research, I facilitated usability research and design workshops, aligned diverse stakeholders around shared priorities, and helped bridge policy, technology, and user needs into actionable recommendations.

Approach

• Multi-state discovery research

• UX evaluations of existing portals

• Trauma-informed design framework

• Co-design workshops

• Journey mapping

• Service blueprinting

• Cross-jurisdiction synthesis

Impact

• Developed the first national human-centered design guidance for survivor-facing civil protection order portals.

• Informed technology modernization efforts across multiple state court systems.

• Created practical recommendations balancing user needs with legal, policy, and operational constraints.

• Advanced national conversations around trauma-informed public-sector technology design.

Demonstrates

• National strategy

• Trauma-informed design

• Cross-jurisdiction collaboration

• Executive facilitation

• Design standards

Challenge

Utah launched one of the country's first state-run online dispute resolution (ODR) platforms to help small claims defendants, many self-represented and facing debt collection actions, resolve cases without going to court. But early data showed the platform wasn't working as intended: only a third of eligible defendants were registering, and the state lacked evidence on why the tool wasn't reaching the people it was built for.

Leadership
As Lead Researcher on this Pew Charitable Trusts-funded engagement between Innovation for Justice and the Utah Administrative Office of the Courts, I designed and led a multi-phase usability evaluation of the state's ODR platform ahead of its statewide launch. I worked directly with court administrators to align the research on the questions that mattered most to a public rollout, and translated usability findings into a prioritized set of platform and legal-document recommendations the state could act on before scaling.

Approach

• Stakeholder interviews with potential platform users and defendants

• Baseline observation-based usability testing

• Redesigned prototype development

• Second-round usability testing to validate improvements

• Review of associated legal documents (affidavits, summons)

• Recommendations for low-income and self-represented user populations

Impact

• Identified critical usability barriers contributing to low defendant participation in a statewide ODR rollout.

• Delivered a tested, redesigned prototype validated across two rounds of usability research.

• Recommendations including simplified URLs and QR codes on court forms were formally adopted by the Utah State Courts.

• Findings extended beyond the platform itself, shaping how legal notices and forms were redesigned to improve comprehension.

• Contributed to national conversations on ODR usability, cited in the ABA Journal, Law360, and the National Center for State Courts.

Demonstrates

• Evidence-based platform strategy

• Access-to-justice design

• Government partnership

• Usability research leadership

• Translating research into adopted policy

Challenge

Each year, millions of Americans apply for Social Security Disability Insurance, a program that supports 10.5 million disabled people and their families. Nationally, roughly two-thirds of initial applications are denied, and in Alaska, appeals fare even worse. Alaska Legal Services Corporation had built Benefactor, a digital tool meant to help case managers and community navigators guide applicants through the process, but needed evidence on whether it was actually reducing the barriers applicants faced.

Leadership

As Lead Researcher on this engagement between Innovation for Justice and Alaska Legal Services Corporation, I led the human-centered research strategy behind Benefactor's UX evaluation and product roadmap. I worked directly with navigators and case managers to understand where the disability application process broke down, and translated those findings into a phased roadmap spanning immediate usability fixes, mid-term feature development, and longer-term product and market strategy, balancing user needs against legal complexity, funding constraints, and long-term sustainability for a nonprofit legal services organization.

Approach

• Stakeholder interviews with navigators, case managers, and applicants

• Observation-based usability testing of core application tasks

• Two-phase research and reporting structure

• Human-centered roadmap development across near-, mid-, and long-term horizons

• Market and value-proposition research to inform product launch strategy

Impact

• Delivered a human-centered roadmap guiding Benefactor's product development, legal empowerment goals, and market growth.

• Identified pain points limiting navigators' ability to submit complete, accurate applications on the first attempt.

• Shaped a phased set of recommendations, from immediate design fixes to longer-term features like collaboration tools and a public-facing version for individual applicants.

• Contributed to a project recognized with the Best in Digital Health Award at Bench to Bedside, Utah's leading health care innovation competition.

Demonstrates

• Product strategy and roadmapping

• Nonprofit and legal services partnership

• Applicant-centered design

• Research-to-market translation

• Multi-horizon prioritization

Challenge

Michigan's child support system was designed around legal and administrative processes rather than the lived experiences of the families it served. Parents described the system as confusing, fragmented, and difficult to navigate, while caseworkers struggled to balance policy requirements with the realities facing families experiencing financial instability.

Improving the experience required more than redesigning a digital touchpoint, it required understanding how policies, workflows, technology, and human interactions shaped the end-to-end service experience.

Leadership

As Lead Service Designer, I directed the discovery phase of a statewide service design initiative to better understand how families experienced Michigan's child support system and identify opportunities for systemic improvement.

I partnered with state agency leadership, frontline caseworkers, legal experts, and families to uncover barriers across the service ecosystem. Through stakeholder interviews, participatory workshops, and systems mapping, I facilitated conversations that helped diverse stakeholders develop a shared understanding of the challenges and align around opportunities for change.

Rather than focusing solely on technology, I led a holistic assessment of the policies, operational processes, communication channels, and digital systems that shaped the client experience, translating research findings into a strategic roadmap for a more family-centered service model. I also worked closely with agency leadership to ensure the research informed long-term organizational change by embedding community voices into future decision-making.

Approach

• Led statewide service design discovery

• Conducted stakeholder interviews with parents, caseworkers, and administrators

• Facilitated participatory design workshops

• Developed end-to-end journey maps documenting the family experience

• Synthesized research into prioritized opportunity areas and strategic recommendations

Impact

• Identified systemic opportunities to improve communication, service delivery, and coordination across agencies.

• Produced a strategic UX Discovery Report that informed future modernization efforts and organizational decision-making.

• The research directly informed the creation of the Child Support Community Advisory Council and a Fathers' Advisory Group, establishing permanent mechanisms for incorporating lived experience into program governance and continuous service improvement.

• Helped shift organizational conversations from improving individual touchpoints to redesigning the broader service ecosystem around family needs.

Demonstrates

• Service Design Strategy

• Systems Thinking

• Government Service Modernization

• Executive Facilitation

• Community Co-Design

• Organizational Change & Governance