Hi, I’m Erin

A multidisciplinary designer, digital marketer, brand strategist, design leader, ketchup queen & cat lover.

skills

I have a comprehensive skill set, with a recent focus on design operations, product design, and design systems. Complimented by proficiency in design leadership, brand strategy, UI/UX, product management, and content strategy.

Software & Tools

Figma, Miro, Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, Zeroheight, Usability Hub, User Zoom, Mailchimp, Squarespace, WordPress, Sitecore, Notion, Asana, ADO, Jira, Confluence, Gather Content, SketchUp, Procreate

Work Experience

The Project Management Institute

DESIGN OPERATIONS LEADER

2021 - Present

The Project Management Institute is the leading global not-for-profit professional membership association for the project management profession.

As the design operations leader, I drive efficiency, collaboration, and excellence within our Digital Product Teams.

  • Overhauled the PMI design system, streamlined tools/processes, and implemented best practices to optimize team performance.

  • Nurtured designers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth.

  • Led intake, ideation, problem-solving, and design thinking workshops.

  • Collaborated with user researchers to develop and conduct user testing plans.

  • Researched, designed, and implemented design workflow processes to improve operational efficiency.

  • Established a maturity model for the Design Operations Team.

  • Facilitated bi-weekly design critiques to encourage collaboration and improve products.

  • Led the PMI design systems relaunch, including a UI inventory, design principles, core styles, design tokens, UI kit, and in-depth documentation.

  • Managed the Design Ops Team, overseeing UX writers, Visual Design, and Product Designers.

  • Built project roadmap and task manager database in Notion for improved project planning and resource allocation.

  • Collaborated with engineering to create our design tokens and Figma variables.

  • Planned and executed the transition from Sketch to Figma, including core styles, component libraries, onboarding, and training sessions.

  • Established design system office hours for designer questions and contributions.

  • Created Design Systems 101 working sessions to onboard designers to Figma, component libraries, and design system best practices. 

penn foster education

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

2015 -2021

Penn Foster helps learners and organizations achieve their goals through affordable, accessible, career-focused learning.

As Creative Director, I led a multidisciplinary design team responsible for all print & digital design. Working in a high production environment our in-house agency supported all organizational and partner design needs.

  • Researched, and procured a creative project management software tool.

  • Implemented a digital design intake form, workflow and, approval process.

  • Led two brand redesign projects which included communication & project plans, establishing new brand guidelines, designing and evangelizing creative asset & template libraries, and updating thousands of digital and print assets.

  • Under my direction, the creative team supported three Sitecore website redesign projects. Which included establishing the UI visual direction, designing and testing wireframes, creating XD component libraries, editing and optimizing all images and media, and participating in workshops and approval workflows

  • Designed & facilitated intake, ideation, problem-solving, and design thinking workshops.

  • Established quarterly upskilling targets for the design team aligned to their professional development goals.

  • Developed guidelines and maintained brand standards for Penn Foster and its eight sub-brands.

  • Collaborated with engineering & product teams to design and continually optimize our student & partner experiences.

  • Established a design system using Atomic Design principles. Starting with a UI inventory, then establishing our design principles. I worked in sprints with our senior UI designer, front & back end developers to design a UI kit in Adobe XD and document our system in zeroheight.

  • Designed a responsive email component library with over 40 interchangeable components to enable the lifecycle marketing team to build consistent yet flexible email campaigns in Responsys and Acoustic. 

penn foster education

DIRECTOR, CREATIVE & COMMUNITY

  • Social Network Content Manager

  • Community Manager

2009 -2015

Penn Foster helps learners and organizations achieve their goals through affordable, accessible, career-focused learning.

Through my tenure as Community Manager, Social Network Content Manager, and, finally, Director of Creative & Community, I was responsible for creating and executing Penn Foster's online student community and social media strategy.

  • Developed company-wide social media policies

  • Executed the social media content strategy for all Penn Foster schools.

  • Set up and scheduled social media content through Hootsuite.

  • Designed and tested our student community platform's information architecture and user interface.

  • Designed all creative assets.

  • Built and maintained help documentation

  • Designed and moderated the badging and gamification strategy for our student community.

  • Developed an onboarding and best practices webinar to train Customer Support and Education team members to register, optimize their profile and create engagement within their community spaces.

  • Launched a Student Ambassador program to develop leadership skills, increase engagement and encourage peer-to-peer support within our student community.

  • Managed a team of Community Managers, Customer Support, and, Social Media Specialists.

In 2013 the Penn Foster Student Community was awarded the Social Media Leadership Voice of the Future Award for driving a 200% increase in adoption within a year, as well as a 30% reduction in email support volume due to the rise in peer-to-peer and self-help and a 45% reduction in cost per interaction.

igourmet.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

  • Online Marketing Specialist

2007 - 2009

igourmet imports and ships gourmet food and gifts. Specializing in small artisan food producers and cheeses with over 900 unique varieties.

My first job after college, my experience at gourmet introduced me to the world of e-commerce, logistics, importing, food photography and, gourmet food and wine culture. I did a little bit of everything while at gourmet.

  • Managed igourmet.com’s social media content strategy

  • Designed all marketing materials and social media assets 

  • Assisted with the organization & planning of the annual Fork & the Cork event. 

  • Represented igourmet.com at various food & wine events nationwide.

  • Oversaw the quality control and gift basket team during peak season.