About

Hi! My name is Jesse. I do UX and serious game design and research backed by experience in accessibility and data systems. I take on global design challenges and work to make meaningful impact for diverse people around the world.

The journey began when I was studying graphic design at Michigan State University (MSU). In 2015, I started as the Web Intern with the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness (MCAH). This eventually shifted into a full-time role where I help administer the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) databases for Michigan and North Carolina, which leverage data to improve the homeless service delivery system. I never left behind design though, as I was also the lead designer of the HMIS Learning Center where over 1,000 new users each year gain HMIS certification.

My current role with MCAH is the User Experience and Support Specialist. Over the last 11 years, through working with and supporting users, I've learned about what works and doesn't work in large-scale systems, as well as how to communicate with people and meet their diverse needs.

In 2023, I decided to return to school to pursue a master's degree. I felt that UX was the perfect blend of my background in graphic design and user support, and I ended up coming back to MSU to study it. After starting the program, I learned about MSU's Serious Game Design & Research graduate certificate and decided to check it out. I ended up absolutely loving it, and learned about how games can be real drivers of the meaningful impact I'd like to make. The biggest example of this is We Speak!, a board game that addresses classroom language barriers in countries like Tanzania, Kenya, and India. CN Vision is another example, which is a tool that uses augmented reality and gamification to address healthcare learning challenges.

Another area that's right up my alley that I've branched into is accessibility. This began in 2022 when one of our users at MCAH reached out to us saying that some of our documentation wasn't screen reader accessible. Shortly thereafter, after receiving accessibility training, I led a remediation effort to ensure the PDFs were usable for screen reader users. This continued in my recent Digital Accessibility Internship at TechSmith, where I worked to make our screen capture platforms more accessible for users with disabilities and led a charge to boost accessibility maturity within the company. Additionally, focusing on accessibility has allowed me to learn about UX through a different lens, ensuring all of my work meets the unique needs of as many people as possible.

Having completed my master's degree in December 2025, I'm still just getting started! I'm looking forward to new and continued opportunities to make meaningful impact for people from all walks of life.

When I'm Not Working

I like to spend my free time bicycling, playing basketball, and spending time with my three dogs and two cats. I also really enjoy traveling the world when possible (36 countries/territories and counting!). Going further back, I was a major band geek in high school, playing the trumpet in the marching band and serving as the drum major my senior year. The last two years I got the chance to relive those memories and participate in an alumni band performance at my alma mater!

Collaborative Spaces

Read about other ways I get involved, from volunteer workshops with autistic youth, to conference presentations, and more!

See How I Collaborate

I believe in positive, open communication. To get a feel for my communication style, feel free to take a look at a few samples below. You can click on the images to open them in full screen.

The message reads, "I think the personas are looking good! They're very thorough. Your past experience working with patients definitely pays off here. The only thing I can think of adding would be a bit more information on what they would like to get out of Parkinson's therapy exercises (similar to the information included on their gaming preferences). I know you've already done research on this and formulated a plan (plus the analog game has already been crafted based on this plan), but as we build it in a digital format these considerations can help establish each persona's connection to the game beyond just their diagnosis. If this sounds good to you, and if there's anything I can do to help with this, just let me know!"

Providing constructive feedback and planning next steps.

The message reads, "Just a couple of quick notes: @Madeline , I saw you left a comment about choosing our testers based on our personas. I wanted to circle back to discuss if you think we should mention this. At least for my persona, such a big part of his identity was his Arab-American background, and since none of our testers come from this background Im' not sure if we should mention it. Regarding the comment I made yesterday about the hitbox, I went back into the prototype and do see that the hitbox includes the entire item area for most of them. I did notice however that on the first frame (the one with "Menu" and nothing else) only the dropdown arrow is clickable. If this is something that is being caused by the issues with Figma that you mentioned then no worries. Thank you!"

Asking for clarification and following up on technical criteria.

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