• University of Washington, Master in Public Health, Seattle, WA, 2011
• University of Washington, Master in Health Administration, Seattle, WA 2010
• University of Washington, Bachelor of Science, focus on Public Health, Seattle, WA, 2006
• University of Washington, Bachelor of Arts, focus on German Studies, Seattle WA, 2006

Nelly is an experienced communications strategist with a knack for digital engagement. She has led or supported the launch and maintenance of nearly a dozen digital products, including informational and educational websites, intranets, and highly integrated web and mobile applications. She loves to untangle knots, learn on-the-fly and pull apart the components of complicated situations.

Nelly holds Masters degrees in both Health Administration and Public Health Policy, as well as a graduate certificate in User-Centered Design (UCD) from the University of Washington. She is a scrum-certified product owner practiced in agile development.

Fueling Nelly's role as Organizational Change Manager at Anthro-Tech is her passion for coaching teams in UCD tools and process. Specifically, she is motivated to get organizations with a social-impact mission to harness the power of user personas and relentlessly enhance the customer experience.

Aside from helping clients on their UCD journey, Nelly also takes joy in practicing yoga, cultivating her palate (and recipes) for fermented food, and any activity that includes her daughter, husband, and pup at a beach.

Path that lead you to UX

Working at the forefront of healthcare reform in Washington. As one of the founding staff members at the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, my work in policy shifted to digital design as we evolved Washington Healthplanfinder to be a decision support tool to empower users to understand their coverage options and feel confident in their plan choice.

Design or UX hero

Nobel prize winner and behavioral economist, Richard Thaler.

Motto

Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.

Favorite place in the world

Big Sur, California.

Can't live without

Olympia's annual Procession of the Species Parade.

Certifications

• Facilitator of Human Centered Design, LUMA, (in progress)
• Practitioner of Human Centered Design, LUMA, 2021
• Scrum Product Owner, Scrum Alliance, 2020
• University of Washington, Graduate Certificate in User Centered Design, Seattle, WA, 2016

Published Work

• Change overload during the 2020 pandemic