I became a UX designer the original way: by learning the disciplines and tools as new technologies emerged. Each new innovation—better web browsers, CSS, SCSS, frameworks, mobile devices, design systems, AI—provided another opportunity to supercharge design and elevate the experience people have with products. I wore every hat there was, from the Webmaster of the 90s, to the Information Architect of the 00s, and finally the UX Designer that we still use today.

Looking back, I am almost nostalgic for the Y2K years, the Browser Wars, the arrival of the first iPhone (I got it day one) and then mobile apps, jQuery, Bootstrap, Material Design, and so on. I’ve been there for it all, pushing the limits of what I could do with code. (I always coded my own UI until only recently, and believe strongly in the in-browser design approach.)

But of course, my life has not always been about design. Before the first web browser, I worked in restaurants, retail stores, factories, financial firms, lobbying offices, the halls of Congress, and a zoo.

Along my journey I have also busked in the NYC subway, danced flamenco, seen a UFO, appeared in a Spielberg film, trained in Taekwondo, and got my piece of the Berlin Wall the old fashioned way. I’ve protected the President, met in private with the Iraqi leadership, and had run-ins with the CIA, Lebanese military, Syrian intelligence, and Moscow’s criminal underbelly. I’ve had guns drawn on me at least three times.

As a freelancer I’ve designed websites and mobile apps, co-authored ten books about vampires, and been a ghostwriter for Middle East political operatives. And I served in the US Navy Nuclear Power program.

I earned by BA in Philosophy from the University of Connecticut, graduating Phi Beta Kappa just as the school’s basketball teams began to make a splash on the national stage. Go Huskies!

I also attended New York University and the University of Mannheim in Germany, a graduated from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.

Today, I live in Connecticut with my family, not far from the submarine base where I was born. I’ve also made my home in California, DC, Florida, Hawaii, New York, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.