Crafted to connect. Designed to serve.
UX Design | Learning Experience Design | Service Design
Digital UX & UI Design
CivicLink
App Designed for Civic Engagement
Learning Experience Design
Conference Design
End-to-end Design of Bookstore Education Conferences
Trainings & Public Speaking
Session Design & Presentation
Tools & Programs
Expanding Education Formats for Small Business Professionals
Hi, I’m Lee.
I’m an Experience Designer with 15+ years leading operational, training, and customer experience initiatives in independent bookstores nationwide. I built tools to automate inventory management, created training programs that scaled nationally, and improved workflows that empowered staff, strengthened community connection, and helped put the right book in the right person’s hand at the right time.
Those years taught me that design isn’t just about creating a product or service—it’s about crafting experiences that give people the tools and the narrative to shape their own story, while also making them feel seen, understood, and connected to the communities around them.
Today, I bring that same approach to UX, learning, and service design. I map journeys, analyze complex systems, and collaborate to make experiences easier to navigate. I create experiences that connect, empower, and foster a sense of belonging, just like a great bookstore.
My design philosophy is rooted in the bookselling principle I’ve carried throughout my career:
put the right book in the right person’s hand at the right time.
I apply that same approach to experience design:
design the right product that solves the right problems for the right people.
Professional Journey
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Role: Director of Education, American Booksellers Association (2022–2025)
As the national education lead for ABA, I oversaw learning experiences for thousands of independent booksellers. My challenge was to transform a legacy education program into something scalable, inclusive, and genuinely useful—meeting the evolving needs of booksellers navigating both physical and digital retail.
I applied experience design principles to deeply understand user needs, drawing on member councils, surveys, and real-time feedback loops. By restructuring the program around modular learning, we improved accessibility and retention, moving beyond static presentations to dynamic, on-demand resources that fit busy professional schedules.
Highlights include designing large-scale conferences and initiatives that fostered community and professional growth, alongside new platforms and content formats that reached members at all experience levels. This work wasn’t just about content—it was about building trustworthy, intuitive systems that respected users’ time, context, and goals.
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Role: Store Manager, Third Place Books Seward Park (2017–2022)
Managing a bustling community bookstore was real-time service design. Every operational choice—from layout to inventory systems to team workflows—was informed by user needs. I curated product placement to align with customer behavior, optimized signage for wayfinding, and created training and support systems that reduced friction for staff while improving the customer experience.
When the pandemic hit, I led a thoughtful, iterative transformation of store operations: virtual events, curbside pickup, and enhanced online experiences. These changes weren’t reactive—they were community-centered solutions designed to maintain connection and engagement in a shifting environment.
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Role: Lead Receiver, The Elliott Bay Book Company (2015–2017)
At Elliott Bay, I found elegance in systems. I redesigned receiving and inventory workflows, balancing technical system logic with frontline usability. By standardizing metadata practices, I improved discoverability, simplified staff training, and enhanced the customer experience.
I also developed SOPs and internal documentation that anticipated user needs, transforming basic instructions into tools that empowered staff. Every process was treated as an experience—one that could either frustrate or empower—and I designed for the latter.
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Role: Inventory Manager & Assistant Manager, WORD Bookstore (2015–2017)
WORD’s Jersey City location was a blank canvas, and I got to design the user journey from the ground up. I shaped everything from floor plans and signage to inventory logic and events, creating experiences that reflected the neighborhood’s needs.
Through data analysis, customer feedback, and community engagement, I iterated on merchandising and inventory strategies, expanding offerings through consignment and local partnerships. My dual role in management allowed me to build both operational systems and a welcoming community hub, ensuring every touchpoint—physical or operational—was intentional, efficient, and human-centered.
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Roles at Powell’s Books (2008–2013)
At Powell’s, I learned to navigate complexity at scale across seven locations. I helped centralize ordering and developed an automated backlist reorder system, translating individual buyers’ philosophies and processes into a scalable solution.
This required extensive interviews with book buyers, collaborating with developers to provide SQL-based logic, and working with software designers to integrate the system into existing inventory management tools. I also led initiatives to streamline receiving, metadata management, and training, grounding every effort in usability, clarity, and long-term sustainability.
Let’s get to work
I help organizations design thoughtful, human-centered experiences, whether in a cozy neighborhood bookstore or a complex digital platform. With a background that bridges operations, learning design, and UX, I bring both strategy and empathy to every project.
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I design digital experiences that are clear, inclusive, and grounded in real user needs. Whether you're building from scratch or refining an existing product, I offer:
UX research and synthesis
Interaction and interface design
Prototyping and usability testing
Information architecture and content strategy
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I specialize in making complex systems easier to understand through learning experiences that engage, empower, and scale:
Designing staff onboarding and continuing education programs
Creating eLearning content, workshops, and resource guides
Facilitating training on UX principles, service design, and customer experience
Supporting change management through thoughtful learning strategy
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For teams looking to improve how they serve people, I help untangle complexity and design better systems from the inside out:
Mapping service journeys and identifying friction points
Redesigning workflows and processes
Creating tools that empower frontline staff
Aligning user needs with business goals
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I partner with indie bookstores to strengthen what makes them special. Whether you're opening a new shop or refining a legacy store, I can help with:
Streamlining daily operations
Designing impactful staff training
Curating data-informed, community-rooted inventory
Improving store layout, signage, and customer flow