JenStrickland.design listening for the right “it”
before we build it right

about

Hello! I’m Jen, a Design Lead and burgeoning policy wonk in D.C.

Jen portrait

My superpowers are empathy, imagination, collaboration, and motivation.
  • I’m infinitely curious, always learning, and love to share my passion for the potential of tech + inclusive design to positively reimagine our communities.
  • Collaboration, research, direct user observation, and rapid prototyping are the most valuable methods of uncovering effective outcomes.
  • Balancing feature details with holistic design perspective, I simplify the complex with a process customized for the project, provide innovative solutions, create engaging experiences, design usable, satisfying products, and build collaborative relationships.
  • My experience includes branding over two dozen products, collaborating on many design systems, and documenting style guides for a wide range of mediums.
“Jennifer is an incredibly passionate advocate for accessibility and inclusive design. Their wealth of experience allows them to identify both opportunities and potential solutions. They are a powerful voice for making experiences accessible to all users from the initial conception.”

Colleagues say I’m the ultimate user advocate. I’m human-centered, results-driven, and strategic, a cross-functional UXer, designing iteratively informed by research & behavior. I’ve worked with large enterprises known for exceptional service, where I led digital projects to streamline complex transactions into effective, responsive, mobile experiences. I led research for a large-scale digital workplace modernization.

In my spare time I enjoy writing, recording, performing, and releasing my original music, as well as hiking, running, biking, Krav Maga, surfing waves, and tinkering with Arduino. I am designing & building my first Alexa Skill and perfecting my popover baking technique. Tips welcome! ツ

Currently, I serve the public interest:

  • State Government
    State of Maryland, Department of Information Technology (DoIT)
    Technology Platform Director & Senior UX Design Lead
    Direct service delivery modernization for the caseworker-facing Eligibility & Enrollment platform (MD Benefits). Lead end-to-end human-centered design, user research, and system interventions alongside state eligibility, policy, and IT teams to structurally lower SNAP Payment Error Rates (PER), reduce procedural churn, and expand access to public benefits.
  • Academia
    Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs
    Current MPA candidate, with Certificates of Advanced Study in Data Science, Conflict and Collaboration
    Also, as a technical consultant, worked with Harvard’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, Harvard Business School Publishing, MIT’s Department of Transportation, and MIT Museum.
  • Community
    John P. Mayhugh Foundation
    Board of Directors
    Drive advocacy, annual symposia, and strategic cross-sector alignment with leaders across government, healthcare, and Congress to reform brain and behavioral healthcare, reduce systemic barriers, and expand recovery resources for Veterans and families facing PTS, TBI, and addiction.
  • International Standards
    Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)
    Invited Expert, Member Organization Representative, and Advisory Council Representative
    Chair of the Equity Community Group, Co-lead for the Web Sustainability Guidelines UX Task Force
    Also, participant of the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AGWG) (2019–2025) developing the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Over time I also participated in Positive Work Environment (PWE), Process, CSS, Web Performance, Immersive Web, and Spatial Data Working Groups, and Cognitive Disabilities (COGA) Task Force.

Recently

  • U.S. Federal Agencies
    The MITRE Corporation
    Senior Accessibility Human-Centered Engineer
    Served the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Internal Revenue Service, Defense Intelligence Agency, U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps, Federal Aviation Administration, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, and many more. Served the public interest as a Senior Human-Centered Engineer with The MITRE Corporation — delivering operational technology, HCAI governance, and decision-support tools across the VA, IRS, USAF, USMC, FAA, NSF, NIH, CMS, and the State Department.
  • U.S. Federal Contractors
    Ad Hoc, LLC
    Senior UI/UX Designer & Accessibility Specialist
    Supported the VA.gov modernization by leading user experience discovery, design strategy, and workflow analysis for complex caregiver benefits under the VA MISSION Act. Co-led the end-to-end UX design and rapid prototyping for the VA’s national digital COVID-19 screening tool across web and mobile platforms — enabling millions of Veterans, caregivers, and staff to safely access healthcare facilities under emergency timelines and contributing to the initiative earning the VHA National HeRO Award and the Service to the Citizen Award.
  • Local Government
    U.S. Digital Response
    Volunteer product lead, designer, researcher, and developer
    Served the city of Amherst, Massachusetts, and the state of Wisconsin.
    Also, as a technical consultant, redesigned the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Public Health tracking application.
  • Community
    Technologists for the Public Good
    Community Leadership Committee

Previously, I ran my own small business and contracted for enterprise, government, start-ups, and non-profits, such as Fidelity Investments, Akamai Technology, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Partners In Health, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the State of Massachusetts, Harvard’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (a joint effort of the Kennedy School & Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health), and the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Also, I led design for Fortune 500 clients with a boutique design consultancy.

Also, I speak on accessibility, inclusion, design, development, and web performance impact on user experience. I steward best practices for human-centered design, accessibility, and inclusive design through technology products and services. Reach out, I’m available for creative consulting, coaching, writing, and speaking opportunities.

I build stakeholder relationships, earning the nickname of “stakeholder whisperer,” while stewarding human-centered design throughout teams, including the C-suite.