I started out studying physics, which might sounds like an odd path to design. But what physics taught me is that most hard problems become clearer when you stop accepting the framing you inherited and rebuild from first principles. I've been doing that in design ever since.

My background spans two distinct chapters. At IDEO.org I spent four years leading human-centered design projects across agriculture, health, and financial inclusion in places like Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, and Zambia. That work shaped how I think about design at a fundamental level: as a tool for empowering people who are often overlooked, in contexts where getting it wrong actually matters. Then six years at Indigo Ag, where I eventually became the sole designer responsible for an entire sustainability platform, doing everything from foundational research and strategy through shipping real digital products used by growers managing tens of thousands of acres.

The through-line is upstream, systems-level thinking. I'm most useful at the stage before the solution exists, when the real challenge is figuring out what a team is actually solving. I work best as an athlete rather than a position player: comfortable moving between design strategy, systems thinking, research, and execution depending on what the problem needs. That range isn't accidental. It comes from years of working in contexts where the problem was always more complex than it first appeared, and where no single playbook was going to get you there.

Outside of work I'm a father of two young boys, an avid hiker and camper, and the kind of person who buys a 100-year-old house and spends weekends figuring out how to make it better. I'm originally from Omaha, though I've lived in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and now Tacoma. Building physical things and spending time in nature do the same thing for me: they put you back in contact with how things actually work.

I'm currently open to my next role, somewhere I can bring strategic design thinking to problems with real-world stakes. If that sounds like something worth a conversation, I'd love to connect.