Talks
What I’m talking about now
Lately I’m talking about Design as Repair, forward deployed design and what happens to everyday life when design treats consequences as part of the job.
Invite me to speak
Keynotes and lectures on public mechanics, civic technology and teaching are on my research and teaching site.
2026
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Jan. ’26
Design as Repair
Throughline Conference
Systems usually fail slowly. They leak, jam and get stuck, and the people who respond are the ones embedded in those systems, doing the work that keeps things running far from designers and senior leaders. Drawing on years inside federal and local government delivery, this talk argues that maintenance belongs at the center of the designer’s job, alongside the shiny UIs and dashboards. It is for anyone tired of being told to innovate when what’s broken needs tagging so someone can start fixing it.
2025
- Sep. ’25
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May ’25
You can carry on where 18F left off
Code for America Summit · Panel moderator, with Sam Couch, Komal Rasheed & Lindsay Young
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Apr. ’25
Leading From Where You Are
Bloomberg Industry Summit
2024
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Aug. ’24
Writing Is Designing
Portland UX Book Club, ADX, Portland, OR · Host, live podcast with Andy Welfle
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Feb. ’24
Graphic Design
Portland State University, Portland, OR · Guest lecture
2023
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Nov. ’23
Service Design
George Fox University, Newberg, OR · Art talk
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May ’23
The Designer’s Share of the Problem
ConveyUX, Seattle, WA
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Feb. ’23
The Designer’s Share of the Problem
Outcome Conference, Chandigarh, India
2022
- Nov. ’22
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Aug. ’22
Service Design
Cloudflare Design Growth Week
2021
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Nov. ’21
The Designer’s Share of the Problem
IxDA Oslo, Sentralen, Oslo, Norway
Amidst a global pandemic, designers of all stripes are forced to confront the world we’ve helped shape. We can marvel at how much progress has been made in a relatively short time to connect the world, while noticing the impacts of those changes on everyday life. Do designers deserve a share of the blame for consequences of design? If so, what can be done about it? In this talk, we’ll think aloud about how to reimagine the ways we create products, practices, systems and services.
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Oct. ’21
Consequence Design
Design Week Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO
2020
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Nov. ’20
Consequence Design in UX Writing
PDX UX Writers Meetup, Portland, OR
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Oct. ’20
The Consequences in Service Design
Service Design Network Global Conference
- Oct. ’20
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Oct. ’20
Consequence Design
U.S. Web Design System Monthly Call, Virtual
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Jul. ’20
The Researcher’s Role in Consequence Design
An Event Apart, Human-Centered Design · Virtual
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May ’20
Hostile Design of Digital Experiences
Indy Design Week, Virtual
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Mar. ’20
The Researcher’s Role in Reducing Hostile Design
UX Australia Design Research, Australia
How does hostile design negatively impact users in a society where we’re “always online”? In this talk, we’ll explore what hostile design is, the common terms, and the ways user researchers can make the case for eliminating them from sites.
2019
- Nov. ’19
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Oct. ’19
Hostile Design of Digital Experiences
ACM SIGDOC, Portland, OR
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Jun. 6 and 7, ’19
Involving Stakeholders in Design Research
Strive UX Research Conference (UXRConf), Toronto, Canada
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May ’19
Code for America Summit · Panel
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Apr. ’19
Portland Design Week, Portland, OR · Panel
- Feb. ’19
2018
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Oct. ’18
Improving the Product Toolbox
Indy Design Week, Indianapolis, IN
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Jan. ’18
Thinking Like a Designer
Carnegie Conference, Orlando, FL
2017
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Dec. ’17
Conducting a Stakeholder Audit
Gather Content, Virtual
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Nov. ’17
Tackling Content Migration & Maintenance
Confab Higher Ed
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Sep. ’17
Content Migration
Confab Intensive, Denver, CO
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Jul. ’17
Discovery & Microinteractions: Improving the Product Toolbox
Design & Content Conference, Vancouver, Canada
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May ’17
Content & Design: Ways to Ruin the Product Experience
Pixel Up!, Cape Town, South Africa
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Apr. ’17
Tackling Content Migration & Maintenance
University of Illinois Web Conference, Champaign, IL
2015
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Jun. ’15
What’s Your Superhero Strategy: How Web Governance Can Save Your World
Web Conference at Penn State, University Park, PA
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May ’15
A Clown Car of Nonsense: Choosing a Better Vehicle to Steer Content Governance
Confab Central, Minneapolis, MN
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Apr. ’15
The Kids Are Alright: Millennials in the Workplace
Wayne State University Regional Web Conference, Detroit, MI
2014
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Nov. ’14
Integrating a Web Team Into Your Marketing Department
American Marketing Association Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education
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Sep. ’14
Aggregate Conference, Louisville, KY · Conference director
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Jun. ’14
The College Website Is a Potluck
Hannon Hill Webinar Series, Virtual
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Jun. ’14
The Lone Ranger: Managing the Ups and Downs of One-Person Offices and Small Teams
Confab for Nonprofits
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Jun. ’14
Saving the World One Tumblr at a Time
Web Conference at Penn State, University Park, PA
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Jun. ’14
Sunnier Days Ahead: Storytelling & Social Media Across Silos
SUNYCUAD Conference
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May ’14
Who Owns the Website? Making the Case for Digital Leadership
University of Michigan Regional Web Conference, Ann Arbor, MI
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Apr. ’14
Death to Governance… Embrace the Chaos
HighEdWeb Pittsburgh Regional Conference, Pittsburgh, PA · With Tonya Oaks Smith
2013
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Nov. ’13
Armies of One: Managing the Ups and Downs of One-Person Offices and Small Teams
Confab Higher Ed
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Nov. ’13
Sharing the Sandbox: IT & Marketing
Udacity Webinar Series, Virtual · With Alaina Wiens
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Jun. ’13
Unboxing Yourself: Reaching Out for Professional Growth
HighEdWeb Michigan Regional Conference, Michigan
Start a conversation
If you send me the problem, the deadline, and who has to agree, I can tell you whether I’m the right person for it and what a first engagement would look like.