Hi there! I’m Sam. I hope we have the chance to meet.

I am an accomplished and proven design leader. As such, I’m always learning, and looking for opportunities to grow. A consistent theme running through my work (professional and volunteer) from the last 10 years is a commitment to making my home, my neighborhood, the workplace, and—yes—the world, a better place. That has required stretching myself, and challenging my teams to do likewise. And yes, I know that sounds like a bit of cheese (stretchy cheese—the yummy kind you find on good pizza), but it’s real cheese (not the sort found in a can) and in order to be real I risk coming across as cheesy—my kids are used to it. Which relates to another principle that guides my work, family. Family first, then team. I lead by example, and work in ways that I hope my kids will be proud… when they eventually grow out of giving me a hard time for… pretty much everything.

I believe in leading with sincerity and humor. And I sincerely believe that good people, in happy environments, do great work. 

As a team leader, it is my job to help create that environment and improve the processes to support the work my teams are doing, remove obstacles, celebrate their successes, identify blind spots, and try to stay out of the way. As an art director and designer, I try to take a less is more approach in creating the environments that our visitors interact with— in order to improve focus, reduce friction, and increase the opportunity for meaningful engagement.

Over the course of my career (professional and volunteer)  I have been a design manager, team lead, product owner, business founder, design director, project manager, UX researcher, user interface designer, art director, designer, photographer, coach, and elected official. I have worked across sectors; Museums, public lands, financial, healthcare, publishing, and across mediums; physical exhibitions, web, mobile applications, and print. I have worked on established brands within established workflows, and have also been involved in startups and the accompanying creation of processes.

I am currently the Manager of UX and Design at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. My commitment to improving experiences, for my team and visitors is absolute.

When not focused on supporting my team and our work, I am a baker, carpenter, gardener, Scrabble player, softball, football, and tennis player, photographer, chalkboard artist, cat and dog snuggler, active member of my community, and fixer (or coach) for all things that break in my home.