Experience

Education

    • Boston College School of Social Work, Boston, MA
      LICSW, Masters in Social Work, May 2018
    • Rhode Island School of Design, RISD, Providence, RI
      Bachelor of Fine Arts, Industrial Design, 2010, Honors
      (check out my old portfolio site, designed by the amazing Laurel Schwulst)
    • Brown University, Providence, RI
      Courses in cognitive science, physiology, community health, disability studies, biotechnology, 2007- 10
    • Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
      School of Art, Foundation Studies, 2006- 07, Dean’s List

Educational & Clinical experience

    • Looking Glass Counseling, Somerville, MA, Spring 2020-Present | Therapist
      Provide outpatient talk therapy to adults with a variety of mental health concerns.
    •  AANE (Autism Asperger’s Network), Watertown, MA, Spring 2020-Present | Facilitator
      Facilitate online support groups for adults on the Autism Spectrum.
    • Powderhouse Studios, Somerville, MA, Summer 2018-Summer 2020 | Faculty

      Work with a small team to design and advocate for an innovative high school program grounded in individualized and project based learning. Design and facilitate therapeutic group experiences where participants create projects and develop design skills to change their relationships with anxiety and mental health challenges.

    • ASPIRE, Lexington, MA, Summer 2018 | Sensory Science Specialist
      Design and lead hands on nature, sensory and science groups for children on the autism spectrum ages 4 to 15 in a day camp setting.  
    • Manville School at Judge Baker Children’s Center, Boston, MA Fall 2017-Spring 2018 | Clinical Intern
      Provide individual and family clinical work, case management, and milieu support for children with emotional disabilities.
    • Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA Fall 2016-Spring 2017 | Social Work Intern
      Support individual and group clinical work, and family and teacher consults for children with multiple disabilities including visual impairments.
    • Chatter Symposium and Design Challenge, Spring 2016-Present | Program Director and Lead Educator
      Design and implement program to build community and collaboration between researchers, designers, and technologists with Autistic stakeholders in Autism Research through group learning opportunities and a 2-day conference event.
    • Maker Club and Outreach Program, Perkins School for the Blind, Fall 2014 – Present | Instructor 
      Design and lead year-long and short term programs on design, computer science, and engineering to high school age students with multiple disabilities and visual impairment.
    • Perkins School for the Blind, Fall 2014-Present | Teaching Assistant
      Provide classroom support for students with physical, developmental and visual impairments.
    • Medical Device Design, Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Spring 2011 |  Teaching Assistant
      Lectured on user centered design for clinical applications and prototyping methods. Assisted individual student teams in conducting user centered design research and prototype construction.
    • Design for Desirability, Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Spring 2013 | Guest Lecturer
      Ran a workshop for students on using sketch models and prototyping as a way of thinking and brainstorming.
  • Breakthroughs in Biomedical Engineering, Boston University Department of Biomedical Engineering, Fall 2013 | Teaching and Curriculum Development Assistant
    Workshops on needs finding for clinical applications. Help design assignments and course activities for graduate level biomedical engineering students developing medical technologies for Boston University Medical Center. Serve as adviser and mentor to student teams.

Design, Technology & Research Experience

    • Biostream Technologies | April 2017-Present
      Autism Technology Designer | Provides expertise in user experience design for autism for assist in the design of a therapeutic game to teach emotion recognition skills
  • MIT Media Lab Affective Computing Group | Summer 2015-Present
    Interaction Designer | Design of an interactive application for undergraduate students to track and learn from personal data related to wellbeing.
    • Small Design Firm | June 2013 – August 2013
      Intern | Research and design of an interactive media installation for a pediatric cancer treatment clinic
    • MIT Media Lab Affective Computing Group | Autism Design and Technology, Summer 2011-2012
      Research Assistant | Visualization tools for data exploration to support learning about connections between physiology and behavior in autism and tools for developing self-awareness.
    • Wyss Institute at Harvard | Medical Device Design, Summer 2011-2012
      Designer | Support engineers with design, concept generation, human factors, presentations and figures
    • Business Innovation Factory | September 2010-April 2011
      Design researcher | Field work, synthesis and analysis of research, design strategy
    • Human Engineering Research Labs, University of Pittsburgh | Summer 2010
      Lead Industrial Designer | Anti-veer caster accessory for manual wheelchair users

Workshop & Conference Publications

Patents

Awards

  • Alexander Graham Bell Award | RISD Department of Industrial Design 2010
    Given in recognition of a student whose work involves design for children, projects dealing with medical rehabilitation, or experiments with structures