Speakers

Jared Spool is the founder of User Interface Engineering (UIE), the largest usability research organization of its kind in the world. If you’ve ever seen Jared speak about usability, you know that he’s probably the most effective and knowledgeable communicator on the subject today.

David Dylan Thomas, author of Design for Cognitive Bias, creator and host of The Cognitive Bias Podcast, and a twenty-year practitioner of content strategy and UX, has consulted major clients in entertainment, healthcare, publishing, finance, and retail.

Colin MacArthur is the former Director of Digital Practice, and Head of Design Research, at the Canadian Digital Service. Now he’s an Adjunct Professor of Design and Digital Government at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. He also advises several organizations on design and research strategy. Colin was once described as a “die-hard artificial intelligence hater,” but has been teaching students to use AI to do UX reseach for several years now.

Tutti coaches cofounders and tech leaders to embrace their unique leadership style to achieve professional impact and a sustainable company culture.

Eva PenzeyMoog is a Chicago-based UX designer who focuses on the emerging space of safety design. Before joining the tech field she worked in education non-profit and volunteered as a domestic violence educator and rape crisis counselor.

Gail Swanson helps people solve product and service problems without blowing themselves up. Throughout her design career across many industries, she’s been dedicated to helping talented folks be effective at their jobs. Gail built the strategy practice at 18F, and has returned to public service improving the experience of disaster survivors as they recover and rebuild. Gail speaks and writes about all manners of design, strategy, and digital innovation.

Driven by a passion to make the workplace more human, Emily's work as a leadership coach and facilitator focuses on how strong leadership, process, and culture support teams to do their best work. She specializes in helping leaders navigate work with confidence by applying design skills such as creative thinking and an experiment-oriented mindset.

JR Miller is a Caribbean-American writer, designer, and speaker in the Bay Area. He’s worked on design and brand initiatives for companies such as Google, cPanel, and Grooveshark.

Farai Madzima is a UX Manager at Shopify in Ottawa, Canada. He’s an interaction designer and organiser of Pixel Up! meetups and conferences.

Aaron Irizarry, aka “Ron,” is the Head of Credit Solutions Design in Capital One’s Commercial Bank. Aaron is also the co-author of Discussing Design: Improving Communication and Collaboration through Critique.