About Maria

I’ve always loved making things work better. I started my career in footwear product development because I wanted to make shoes less awful. I am grateful to my product development years for the experience and the invaluable skills I learned:

• Juggling many fast-moving projects
• Conducting user testing, synthesizing, applying, and conveying the insights
• Effectively collaborating with teams across continents, time zones, language and cultural barriers

A few years later I discovered web design and then the art and science of user experience design. I was drawn to the culture of knowledge sharing, quick iteration, and constant growth, which I missed in the footwear industry. I’ve been hooked ever since. I love making something measurably better for people, sometimes in a matter of minutes. There is no better feeling than watching users interact with a prototype, discovering a problem, coming up with a solution, and implementing it – all before the next user test 15 minutes later.

After several years of learning on the job, I completed the DesignLab UX Bootcamp program in 2020 to give me a solid foundation for further learning.

When I am not nerding out about task flows, I am making ridiculous quantities of food, swing dancing, growing coffee trees in my Queens apartment, and hanging out with dogs.