I’m a data-driven design leader, recently transplanted from Austin to Durham. I bring 15 years of experience in UX, research, and product/design strategy, plus endless curiosity.

👋 Hi, internet stranger. I’m Sharon.

We won’t be pretending this page was written by an impartial biographer, so here’s a little about me:

I thrive in design leadership roles where I can bridge cross-functional gaps, mentor UX teams, evangelize product empathy, and bring clarity and sustainable growth to mission-driven teams.

For the last decade, I’ve been on the 0-1 journey.

A few times.

Whether it’s engaging frontline teams or simplifying , my focus is always research-backed UX strategy and *just enough* design to answer the next big question.

VP Product & Design, TeamSense

2023 on

Founder, Curious Design

2022–2023

VP, Product Design & User Research, data.world

2016–2022

2017–2019

Design Director, Wikibuy

2013–2016

How I like to work

Like a quick-start guide for how to best collaborate with me

  • These days, I’m immersed in manufacturing and connecting with hourly workers with TeamSense. You’d never believe the kinds of factories I’m lucky enough to visit.

    At data.world, I helped enterprise users discover what data was available, fresh, and trustworthy 10x faster. We were named a Gartner MQ-leading data catalog for that.

    At Wikibuy, I simplified price shopping into one-click buying, helping consumers get lower prices at lower risk.

  • I’ve worked (almost exclusively) in lean, rapidly evolving environments where design leadership needed to stretch across strategy, research, and execution.

    My strength is in bringing direction, tactical organization, and calm to fast-moving teams – not by doing it all, but enabling the right things to get done.

  • I am endlessly curious about how people, tools, and processes interact — and where friction or misalignment gets in the way. Whether mentoring a designer or influencing product strategy, I focus on connecting decisions to long-term impact for users and teams.

    At data.world, that meant designing systems that made complex data technologies accessible and intuitive. At TeamSense, I champion the voice of frontline workers in product direction, helping the team stay grounded in what matters most.

A few facts

100% up to you if they’re “fun”

  • For two years, I ran Hardcore Sprinkles in the spare hours I wasn’t leading product design for a Series A startup (😅). I dreamed up the recipes, manufactured product, operated as a wholesale supplier to local bakeries, designed packaging, and was a one-woman e-commerce shop. It was exhausting and I loved (almost) every second.

  • 8,000 miles, 18 national parks and monuments, 3 time zones, and 45 days of continuous travel in a sub-compact hatchback. Talk about it being all about the journey.

    It all started with designing and building the rig without any 3D design experience. One day I’ll finish designing the book with my reviews of all the novelty museums along the way.

  • One day in 2022 I woke up and realized my entire library was either digital, audio, borrowed from the library, or some combination of those things – and my bookshelves were a vestige of my taste from 15+ years ago.

    I started Matchbox Library to get back into gouache painting, feed my love of making tiny things, and have an excuse to catalog my favorite reads somewhere other than Goodreads.

  • Most recently, that’s Matchbox Library.

    Before that, it was a whiskey advent calendar, annual holiday projects including making my own bitters, and my endless quest for the perfect recipe organizational system.

    Honorable mention: that one time I accidentally turned my sprinkle-making hobby into a real CPG business. (Oops.)

I’m a bit of an introvert (INFJ, hbu?), but I love connecting one-on-one and mentoring up-and-coming designers.

PS: We don’t only have to talk shop. Chat me up about what you’re reading, cooking, making – or how Austin sure ain’t what it used to be (and probably never was). Talk soon?