A Little Note
Thanks for stopping by! Before I share my work experience and recent projects with you,
I wanted to let you in on some things that are super important to me:
my education and work
Jan 2022 - present
2018 - 2021
2016 -2018
2006 - 2010
1993 - 2006
Jan 2022 - present
I'm currently working at a pretty darn cool digital product agency called Ventive. We build apps for clients in a variety of different industries and capacities.
In my role, I get to lead our Product Management depaartment which consists of our Lead and Junior Product Owners, UX Researchers, UX/UI and Visual Designers.
2018 - 2021
In this role, I led teams of UX/UI and visual designers, technical project managers, lead engineers, and BE/FE developers to take our client's vision from the back of the napkin to the real deal. I absolutely loved getting to know the industry and people that my products apply to, and collaborating with everyone involved in building out the product.
I would work on 3-5 different projects simultaneously that involved completely different industries, including: Eyecare, Trucking, Diamond Manufacturing, and Medical Supply Ordering.
2016 - 2018
I used to be on the product team for a DSD / Warehouse Management Software company where I launched a Learning Management System/Training Center for new and current clients of their enterprise software by developing a website that included software documentation, FAQs, a video library, and a comprehensive implementation process involving over 20 training videos that I scripted and produced using Premiere Pro.
I also worked with developers to take a half finished SaaS product to a new and improved version 2.0. To streamline the effort, I redesigned the look and feel of the app to reflect Material Design principles. We then launched the web app on the Intuit App Store.
Around this time, I also worked with a business partner on an MVP version of a project management and time tracking web app. The goal was to test the market using lean startup principles and to learn if this product would be viable in the marketplace. We found that users were relatively comfortable with piece mealing various web apps together to fulfill their needs and that unless a new product could combine a CRM, Project/Task Management, Time Tracking, and Invoicing, all in one soltuion, they weren't willing to jump away from what was currently working for them. At that time, based on these findings, we decided to not pursue the effort further.
2006 - 2010
My four years at George Fox were transformational. I left with not only a Bachelor's of Arts in Music Theory & Composition, but a clearer understanding of how my mind works and what my strengths and weaknesses are.
1993 - 2006
I went through the Portland Public Schools and am so thankful for the teachers and staff that influenced my life and inspired me to pursue further education as well as my passion for efficiency, technology, and design.
my recent works
From websites, to web & mobile apps, to complex content and data management systems, I am passionate about designing and building digital products and solutions that change people's lives for the better.
I merge Business Process Analysis and Design to create functional yet beautiful digital products.
I’m a learner, a communicator, and a creative.
Let's write you a digital symphony.
PracticePal.io is a forward thinking application that is disrupting the optometry industry.
For the past two years, I have been leading a team of highly skilled UX/UI Designers, Project Managers,
and FE / BE Developers to build a never before seen Eligibility / Benefits Patient Lookup tool as well as an Optical Sales tool that
deciphers the patient's plan and instantly shows the patient's copay amounts for all inventory at the practice. No more confusion on
what a patient owes.
Created a fully fleshed out product backlogging & requirements gathering process and Google Sheet tool
that was then applied as a requirement for all projects company-wide.
A Product Backlog is a major communication tool that helps unify the expectations and requirements
for both the Client / Stakeholders as well as the Product Team.
A good Product Backlog can be used
to align vision, to negotiate / discuss priorities (what should we do first?), to capture ideas / new requirements,
and to get an overall understanding of timeline and effort remaining.
Our client asked us to test the user experience between their product and several major products that were already on the market. We created a comprehensive testing plan that involved 3-hour long user testing sessions.
The test sessions were 3 hours long because we had the test subjects actually apply for a mortgage using both our client's product as well as for one of the competitor's products (we did not tell the test subject which product was our client's and we alternated which one the test subject completed first), which meant we had to find a very specific cohort of test subjects that were actually looking to buy a house, and we had to find unique ways of marketing and incentives to intrigue the ideal candidates.
After the testing was concluded, we compiled comprehensive reports that broke down the findings for each milestone of the mortgage application process, and listed out specific UX improvements that our client could implement to improve their product and make the experience better than any of their competitor's.
Description coming soon!
Previous partner in startup called Rytsar.io, a Project Management Web App. A few deliverables I was able to provide for this project:
My friend Ben and I discuss a different piece of classical music each episode, giving it our own unique take. We talk about hipster genius Gustav Mahler and his 9th Symphony, our buddy Rachmaninoff and his choral prowess, and how Sibelius brought me to tears, well, maybe just that one time..
Find this podcast on iTunes, or anywhere you listen to podcasts, or just go here.
I came to the states from Russia when I was 5 years old as a refugee. Now, as an educated U.S. citizen, I want to do something to give back. At Upwardly Global, I volunteer by working with professionals on their resumes, cover letters, and job interview skills.
Upwardly Global’s mission is "to eliminate employment barriers for skilled immigrants and refugees, and integrate this population into the professional U.S. workforce."
For more info, you can go here.
