about

Dan is a UX Designer for Garmin in Kansas City where he works on smartwatches and other tools for outdoor enthusiasts. Prior to that, he was a UX Designer at backstitch in Kansas City, and earlier directed communications and design efforts at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, where he helped create web tools for tracking internet censorship, podcasts about autonomous vehicles, and reports about rural broadband. He enjoys bringing an ethical and inclusive mindset to technology, and generally complaining about bad UX. In his free time you can find him running or baking.

Lisa is a designer, educator and speaker. Her work and research engages design histories, typography, and user experiences in relationship with projected, screen- and image-media. Lisa cut her teeth in New York City at various studios including 2×4, Pentagram, mgmt. design, Wolff Olins, and Metropolis magazine before starting an independent studio practice. She holds an MFA and BFA in Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and a post-graduate certificate in Typeface Design from Type@Cooper NYC. Since 2008, she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in design at Parsons School of Design, Queens College CUNY, Marymount Manhattan College, and Oklahoma State University. She is currently a full-time Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Kansas City Art Institute in KCMO.

Angie Brunk (MLS, MA, MAS) is an Academic Services Librarian (Assistant Professor) at Kansas State University. With over 15 years of experience as a public services librarian at several institutions, she has been able to see how people of many backgrounds actually interact with complex technology. She has also served on multiple ADA committees. All of this experience, combined with an MAS in human factors and being born with a visual impairment has given Angie deep insight into designing technology and services that meet the needs of all humans. Angie is passionate about teaching UX and other design professionals about the needs of disabled people and designing products with accessibility in mind from the outset. In addition to her faculty appointment at Kansas State, Angie frequently speaks and consults on issues related to accessible and inclusive design.

Monica (Anh) is currently a UX design intern at Brand New Box and a design research assistant at the University of Kansas. She is interested in cross-cultural design which embraces cultural differences and translates them into product design. Monica focuses on creating meaningful experiences by conducting user research, implementing interactive prototypes, and practicing user-centered design. When she is not designing, you can find her watching true crime shows and munching on Asian snacks.

Sean is the UX Lead at AGI Suretrack, a Lenexa-based technology platform for Agriculture. He is a native New Yorker and received his BFA from The Cooper Union. After several years as an Art Director, Sean turned his sights to UX and Product Design. A lifelong learner, Sean attended UX Bootcamp at General Assembly and is continuing his studies at Center Centre with Jared Spool. Sean and his family relocated to Kansas City in 2012 and he loves the creative community here. In his free time, Sean enjoys DJing and spending time with his daughters.

Casey Hill is the Principal Sr. Enterprise Architect, UX at SAIC, servicing clients at the United States Department of Agriculture. In his over 25 years of service in the digital industry, he has worked on a number of fascinating projects for numerous clients/brands, including Pepsi-co, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, Frito-Lay, Sprint, P&G, Pfizer, Abbott Labs, On The Border, Guinness, and Johnny Walker. Casey specializes in User Experience architecture, product development, and strategic marketing initiatives. Always up for new and exciting challenges, Casey more recently started a new chapter in his education at Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive LEAD program, where he is taking courses focused on strategic leadership and design thinking, with the ultimate goal of bridging the gap between business operations and product design.

Frank is Senior UX Manager at Woodruff where his current duties include creating wireframes, sitemaps, and general information architecture for website designs. He got his start in UX designing icon families and UI elements for Sizewise, a medical manufacturing company based in KC. At Sizewise, Frank tried to bring common UX patterns and interface elements to the field of medical technology to make products that were more intuitive for caregivers and felt modern. Frank’s design weapons of choice are Figma, Webflow, and an iPad covered in coffee shop stickers. When not designing, Frank can be found embracing his Sicilian heritage making pizzas and loudly insisting friends and family eat more.

Tina is a Graphic Designer. She recently graduated from the Johnson County Community College (JCCC) graphic Design program. Her work has been recognised by AIGA and GDUSA. She also has a degree in Business and Postgraduate certificate in Computer Applications when she lived in India. She has 10 years of experience in the financial and education sector. Currently she is working as a Graphic and Web Production Artist at Digital Lagoon.

Tomomi Suenaga Summers is a nonprofit-turned-UX-Research professional. She thrives on digging into problem spaces, listening to people talk about what they’re into or interfacing with, finding the themes, and presenting actionable insights. She likes to make things work better. Improving and challenging things, programs, and systems is a practice she brings from a decade in nonprofit, a BFA in Art Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and volunteer service here, there, and everywhere. She came to UX for the people, and she stays for the people. Outside of projects, you’ll generally find her with her family, eating a bunch of food.

Adam is a co-owner and design researcher/strategist at Useagility and a professor at William Jewell College. Prior to working in the design space, he coached national championships in college debate (after having won a couple himself as an undergraduate at Texas Tech University). Adam loves cooking, live music, and hanging out with his wife and daughter.