Courtney and Amy standing at podium speaking to a crowd. Courtney has her arm up and is smiling at the crowd. — Courtney Clark and Amy Vainieri presenting on design systems at the O’Reilly Design Conference.

about me

I lead and grow design teams. I’m passionate about UX, design ops, accessibility, and cinnamon fire Jolly Ranchers (RIP). I'm a information architect at heart and have a knack for operationalizing ... anything. I help teams make the implicit explicit.

Experience: I am a design leader with over 15 years of experience in managing, mentoring, and growing design teams that deliver impactful and user-centric solutions for large and complex organizations. I’m adept at working with cross-functional partners (Hi, PM & Engineering!) and communicating with senior folx. I’m a pro at connecting with, relating to, and adjusting my style to different people, personalities, and company cultures. And I bring it all together with some solid storytelling. I’m always on the lookout for ways to make your meeting with me the bright spot of your day. Dad jokes help.

Soapboxes: Empathy is not enough. Everyone is a designer. Kill your darlings. Clear is kind. The future of work is remote.

Right now: I’m currently UX Manager at Qualtrics. I lead a group of talented designers who focus on reporting platform and text analytics platform design.

Experience

UX Manager
Qualtrics • 2024-present

Design leader, on a team of 60, at the leading Experience Management software, Qualtrics.

Lead 6 product designers on the Reporting & Analytics Platform team and the Text Analytics and Enhancements team. We help analysts make sense of and act on their data with dashboards and analytics, using AI throughout.
Current work: Unifying 2 platforms. This work includes strategy, roadmapping, estimation, scoping, and ongoing prioritization. Establish and drive a vision for the future of the Qualtrics platform.
Improving operational effectiveness with cross-functional partners, including UX, product management, engineering, data science, etc.

Senior Manager, Product Design
Smartsheet • 2023-2024

I was a dot-connector and force multiplier at the leading Collaborative Work Management tool, Smartsheet (read the Forrester report). Leading design on a team of 70 people.
Led 7 product designers that own Wayfinding & Apps, which included home, global navigation, AI assistant, search, notifications and email, mobile app, desktop app. We help 13.2 million customers find their most important work.
Delivered on company OKRs and near-term projects through partnership with cross-functional partners.
Established and drove a vision for the future of Design at Smartsheet.
Established goals and target metrics that drive effective design decisions.
Led customer segmentation for various features and projects.

Vice President of Design
Forum One • 2018-2022

Led creative vision and strategy across business units to foster creative, high quality work rooted in customer needs and business objectives.
Served on the executive team, supporting and guiding 10+ company-wide initiatives including annual planning, service growth, transformation, and improved processes.
Reported directly to the CEO. Work cross-functionally with multiple teams.
Led team of 15 designers (3 managers), including interactive designers, user experience designers, and researchers
Streamlined and improved hiring, career growth, mentorship, and performance management.
Transformed user experience solutions for 10+ multi-million dollar organizations. Conducted user research and usability testing for 10+ projects. Collaborated with delivery and development teams.
Spoke at 9+ design industry conferences.

Managing Director of User Experience
Forum One • 2016-2018

Senior User Experience Designer
Forum One • 2013-2016

Content Strategy Lead
Forum One • 2011-2013

Information Architect
Forum One • 2006-2011

Junior Interaction Designer
The University of Kansas • 2004-2006