executive director of UX + creative
amy
cullen
INTRO
My goal? To make the complex feel simple and intuitive. This spans across all of my specialities: ux, design, frontend dev, coaching, people management and growth. Collaboration is at the heart of my process. I develop successful strategies in ambiguous, dynamic, and evolving fast paced companies. I have a track record of transforming products, teams and scaling businesses to support growth.
With extensive expertise in UX design, impactful leadership, project management, and cross-functional collaboration, I consistently deliver outstanding results that drive growth. Natural ability to collaborate with cross functional teams like development, ux, design, PM, QA, marketing teams to turn findings into actionable product solutions and utilize UX and business strategy to create unique experiences and features across products. Leverage my extensive UX, design, frontend development, coaching, project management, and process optimization to drive business growth and lead high performance teams.
Project highlights
2022-23 Website user research, brand expansion, redefine target markets, implement a/b testing and analytics - uX research, brand expansion, ux DESIGN, direction of team for front-facing website, researcher and design management
Creed Interactive
Worked directly with a quick moving team to project manage the website design and development for a study on a medication that was hoped to be effective against COVID summer 2020. Fast moving, and limited information and we had a site up in super quick time and I was able to gather what the website needed to manage for both people interested in joining the study and scientists being able to get access to data gathered. I laid out, designed, directed a team of developers and was able to iterate it quickly when feedback was offered day by day.
2020 Website for Covid medication study - UX DESIGN, technical product management for front-facing website, developer management, & HTML/CSS rapid iteration
United Healthcare Research & Development
Worked directly with a quick moving team to project manage the website design and development for a study on a medication that was hoped to be effective against COVID summer 2020. Fast moving, and limited information and we had a site up in super quick time and I was able to gather what the website needed to manage for both people interested in joining the study and scientists being able to get access to data gathered. I laid out, designed, directed a team of developers and was able to iterate it quickly when feedback was offered day by day.
2020 coaching dashboard - UX DESIGN, product management/ownership, & managing techs for rapid iterations
United Healthcare Research & Development
Successfully delivered a working dashboard in 2 weeks (start to launch) for a very tight turnaround of concept to working product. The success was due in part to my ability to both manage the product as well as wireframe the portal so that translation to the developers was clear from the start. We continued to rapidly integrate this for full public consumption in 2020. It is now a key component for a spun off company called Level2 for UHGRD.
2018 FULL SITE REVAMP FROM GROUND UP - LEAD UX DESIGN & SENIOR DEVELOPER GUIDE ON THE PROJECT
Carlson School of Management
Advise and give feedback on visual design pitched by agency hired. Research competitors to provide insight to UX Designer. Mentor and support coworkers as we work through the designs and user needs.
2017 FULL SITE REVAMP THEN MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS: UX DESIGN & FRONT-END DEVELOPER
University of St. Thomas
Present UX solutions to stakeholders and effectively advocate for design standards and design patterns. Mentor and support coworkers interested in learning about UX and front-end design/development. Collaborate on team of 3 to work together to launch such a large project internally. Updating over 3,000 pages.
work Experience
Creed interactive; executive director of Ux + creative
2021 - current
Clients: Delta Dental of MN, Converge1, University of Minnesota, Special Olympics – Minnesota Polar Plunge, CHS
Industries: Healthcare & MedTech, Construction, Manufacturing, Farming, Animation / Entertainment, Nonprofit, Education, Creative Agencies
Lead team of UX researchers and designers. Lead collaboration with developers and QA. Develop and pitch projects to sales and marketing teams and provide budgetary estimates. Create vision and operational strategy for the agency and provide senior design and UX services as necessary. Handle 6–10 simultaneous clients across discovery and research, website design, refreshes, and add-ons. Oversee projects with various-sized budgets up to over $1M. Collaborate with internal executive operations, GM, CTO, head of operations, and project management teams to develop annual strategic plan, set revenue goals, evaluate costs, and discuss addition or removal of business lines.
Established UX research and strategy as a new role, sub-department and sales offering at the agency that’s been extremely successful using user metrics, usability testing, user testing remote and in real time, to inform decisions on internal and external projects.
Established UX Research offerings that take research and user testing to define roadmaps based on research findings, including but not limited to a dental insurance portal, an ecommerce store, mobile responsive med tech sites, and more.
Collaborate with product owners/stakeholders to prioritize features, gather user feedback, and iterate on product designs to meet evolving user needs via UX research and testing.
Accessibility is table stakes for me and has been required for many projects I’ve been a part of that are designed for diverse user demographics, and adapted for multi-lingual needs. This includes Special Olympics of MN, as well as Parent Aware’s multi-lingual needs for their website to accommodate English, Spanish, Hmong and Somali
Recruited and built a successful and empowered team after challenging firm purchase transition period, leveraging industry network and strong leadership skills to hire 4 new team members in 5 months.
Improved processes quickly without overwhelming the team through collaboration and shared investment.
Skills: Design Thinking · Team Leadership & Development · Cross-functional Collaborations · Operations Management · Inclusive Design · Web and Mobile Design · Coaching & Mentoring · Team Management · Visual Design · User Experience Design (UED) · Process Improvement · Problem Solving
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amy cullen services, llc; consultant services, business + career coaching
2020 - present
Owned and operated firm. Drive design for clients, handle customer and contractor management, and provide subject matter expertise, including speaking engagements
Skills: Team Leadership & Development · Cross-functional Collaborations · UX Web Design · Web Development · Project Management · Leadership · User Experience Design (UED)
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United healthcare r&D; Senior Design Leadership, TPM, Dev Manager, Delivery Lead
2018 - 2020
This department was a startup company purchased by UHG and continues to run like a startup while I was there, it was ambiguous, dynamic, and an evolving fast paced company. Liaised with project teams and leadership to collaborate with research and product manager and rapidly prototype and develop digital solutions for 50 internal client projects. Designed and directed projects and collaborated with various development teams to implement and iterate.
- Created dashboard to combine information on large-scale emergency events and establish centralized location for first responders.
- Designed dashboards, portals, mobile apps, scientific study websites, and marketing landing pages for specialists and insurance data sharing and created websites for research studies, new concepts, and UX design mockups for presentations.This department was a startup company purchased by UHG and continues to run like a startup while I was there, it was ambiguous, dynamic, and an evolving fast paced company. Liaised with project teams and leadership to collaborate with research and product manager and rapidly prototype and develop digital solutions for 50 internal client projects. Designed and directed projects and collaborated with various development teams to implement and iterate. - Created dashboard to combine information on large-scale emergency events and establish centralized location for first responders. - Designed dashboards, portals, mobile apps, scientific study websites, and marketing landing pages for specialists and insurance data sharing and created websites for research studies, new concepts, and UX design mockups for presentations.
Skills: Design Thinking · User Experience Design (UED) · Multicultural Team Leadership · Project Management · Communication · Design Thinking · Cross-functional Collaborations · Web Development · Management · Web Design · Mobile Application Design · Technical Product Management · Visual Design · Team Management · User Interface Design · Team Leadership & Development
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Carlson School of business; Senior Web Development and UX Designer
2017 - 2018
I maintain and manage the whole Drupal website along with a Content Manager/Analytics Manager and a Project Manager. As well as digital signage, one off stand alone websites, and the current redesign and rebuild of the website due to release in the Fall.
Tools: Drupal 7 & 8, GitHub, Tower, Terminal, Photoshop, Atom, Sass, HTML5, CSS3, jQuery/javascript, Acquia Dev Desktop, and more.
Skills: Design Thinking · Cross-functional Collaborations · Web Design · Web Development · User Experience · Technical Product Management · Process Improvement
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University of St. Thomas; Web Designer II, 2011–2012 | Web Designer III, 2012–2015 | Front End Developer / Designer, 2015-2017
2011 - 2017
Responsive website design with mobile first approach, user interface/user experience design and front-end build of multiple sub-sites and external sites for the University. Co-management of email system and initiatives, technical support for multiple CMS's as well as problem solving for website issues/difficulties, training, presenting and more. Expert: HTML5, CSS3. Intermediate: jQuery, javascript, and other frameworks.
I was also the Interim Email Marketing Specialist focusing on training, documentation, support and technical needs of UST's mass email marketing needs through Lyris, Banner and other software to pull together a campus wide solution for those who need a specialist.
Skills: Design Thinking · Cross-functional Collaborations · Web Design · Web Development · User Experience · Technical Product Management · Project Management · Process Improvement
AWARDS
2022/23 Web Excellence Awards
Medical Website
School Website
Video Motion Graphics
Manufacturing App
Self Promotion
Digital Product Design
2023 Mobile Awards
My Skills
Skills: Leadership, User Research (UX), Human Design (HD), Inclusive Design, Mobile App Design, Coaching, Miro, UX Research Team Creating, Rebuilding Departments, MS Teams, Atlassian, Trello, Salesforce, UX Design, Product Management, HTML5, CSS3, Foundation, Adobe, with intermediate skills in JavaScript, jQuery, and Figma.
Business Acumen: Growing Inclusive Environments that Promote Quick Thinking and Teamwork, Design solutions for diverse industries including healthcare, education, television, travel, hospitality, construction, sports, and non-profit. Skilled at bridging the gap between business requirements, talent retention and technology requirements.
Communication: Excel at collaborating with clients, users, management, mentoring, technical teams, and third party firms to achieve goals. Adept at translating complex technical information to audiences at all levels.
Problem Solving: Unique ability to see the big picture as well as the small details. Consistently produce high-quality solutions with an extreme focus on user success.
Organization: Proficient in project planning, execution, and management. Excellent follow-through skills and attention to detail.
Flexibility: Keen ability to quickly learn new technologies, and readily adapt to new directions, responsibilities and environments.
SPECIALTIES
Director
User Experience Design (UXD)
Human Centered Design
Translator: technical <—> non-tech
Inclusive Design
Design Standards
Rapid Prototyping
Product Ownership
Experience Design
Front-End Development
User Experience (UX) Research
Responsive Web Design
CSS
HTML
UX Design
Mentorship/Coaching
Staffing/Team Leadership
Presentations/Negotiation
Resource Management
Client/Stakeholder Relations
Creative Problem Solving
Public Speaking
Training
Education
cornell University
HIGH PERFORMANCE LEADERSHIP CERTIFICATE
University of Minnesota, morris
B.A. LIBERAL ARTS
HOW DEsign University, online
UX DESIGN CERTIFICATE
MINNEAPOLIS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE, MINNEAPOLIS
WEB DESIGN AND GRAPHIC DESIGN
MINNEAPOLIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN, MINNEAPOLIS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN WEB DESIGN, TYPOGRAPHY, + UX
