I’m Maria

Professionally, I’m a senior user experience designer and accessibility advocate with a strong track record leading universal design and digital accessibility initiatives in complex environments. I’m interested in embedding accessibility and usability into products from the ground up, not as an afterthought.

I love playing ice hockey, camping, hiking, yoga, and generally just being outside. I would love to work with small businesses that could benefit from my experience in my “9-5”.

I believe in creating designs that everyone can use.

You’ll find my education, work history, and other engagements below. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I hope we’ll get to collaborate soon!

Skills

  • User research and audience development
  • User experience design strategy
  • Wireframes / Prototypes
  • Usability testing
  • Google Analytics as success metrics
  • Project management

Experience

User Experience & User Interface Designer / Digital Accessibility Consultant, LSA Technology Services, University of Michigan — Ann Arbor, 2020-Present

Drive continuous improvement of LSA digital projects by advocating for users and integrating stakeholder and user feedback throughout the development lifecycle.

Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to define user research strategies, align on project goals and objectives, and design innovative, accessible, and creative solutions.

Partner with developers and programmers to translate designs into implemented solutions.

Conduct user research to develop personas, define user tasks, and map information flows for complex systems.

Produce UX and design artifacts that include information architecture, requirements, wireframes, and data flow diagrams.

Lead a small team to ensure compliance with federal web accessibility standards by delivering WCAG-aligned accessibility audits and remediation guidance.

Web Designer, LSA Technology Services, University of Michigan — Ann Arbor, 2014-2020

Developed wireframes, mockups, and visual enhancements for use with Adobe Experience Management (AEM) site templates.

Prepared reports and trained unit staff to utilize insight from Google Analytics and SEO to make informed marketing decisions.

Established and maintained communication with over 450 users using Mailchimp.

Oversaw compliance with federal standards for web accessibility, maintaining WCAG AA standards.

Digital Manager, Waste & Recycling News, Crain Communication — Detroit, 2013
Web Coordinator | 2011-2013

Managed national publication’s website and evaluated it with respect to SEO and user experience.

Increased digital revenue by creating new ad space and social media presence by expanding reach on Twitter and Facebook.

Contributed editorially by blogging and creating graphics for print publication and anchoring and editing weekly newscast.

Methods and Tools

  • User Experience: Research & Design
    Surveys, Interviews, Focus Groups, Personas, User Flows, User Stories, User Journeys, Usability Tests, Card Sorts, Prioritization, Heuristic Evaluation, Task Analysis, Low & High Fidelity Prototyping
  • Cloud Platforms
    Figma
    Miro
    Adobe Creative Suite
  • CMS Platforms
    WordPress
    Adobe Experience Manager
    Omeka

Education

  • Northwestern University
    M.S. Information & Design Strategy
  • General Assembly
    User Experience Design: 10-week Bootcamp
  • Wayne State University
    B.A. Journalism

Conference Presentations

Anti-Racist Digital Research Institute
Workshop: Designing & Presenting to your Audience
June 2025, June 2026

Critical Digital Humanities Initiative
Panelist: DIY Anti-Racist DH Initiatives: How to Get Started at Your Institution
October 2022

Awards

Outstanding Staff Team Award
LSA Technology Library Self-Service Portal Project Team
Web Accessibility / UX Design
May 2026

Outstanding Staff Team Award
SpaceReady
Web Accessibility / UX Design
May 2025

HighEdWeb Conference
Poster Presentation: UX Methods for Digital Humanities Projects
October 2021

Committees

  • U-M Library Anti-Racist Digital Research Institute
    Planning Committee
    (2023-Present)
  • U-M Library Digital Scholarship Advisory Group
    Communications Subcommittee
    2022-Present
  • U-M LSA Digital Accessibility Advisory Team
    Co-Chair
    2022-2023
  • U-M LSA Technology Services Newsletter
    Editor/Writer
    2019-2023

Achievements

  • Adobe
    AEM Developer Training
    2018
  • Higher Ed Experts
    Certificate: Advanced Web Analytics for Higher Ed
    2016
  • Higher Ed Experts
    Certificate: Web Analytics for Higher Ed
    2014
  • American Business Media Neal Award
    Winner for Weekly Newscast
    2011