About
I'm a UX strategist in Nashville. I started in architecture, then spent six years on public systems, health equity and climate before a master's in HCI at Carnegie Mellon. The common thread is work that doesn't have an obvious owner: problems that sit between research, service design and product, and only move when someone connects them.
Before UX
Before I designed products, I trained my eye. I studied architecture at the University of Michigan, then spent two years in a full-time classical atelier in Baltimore, often painting twelve hours a day and exhibiting my work. I was headed toward graduate study in conceptual architecture when I realized I wanted to make things people would actually use, and that a building teaches its architect over years while a product teaches its designer in weeks. In 2016 I moved into UX. Along the way I worked with James Chaffers, FAIA, emeritus professor at Michigan's Taubman College, editing his manuscript on responsible design and helping shape the course he built around it. His conviction that design answers to the well-being of the people it touches still frames my work.
Path
- 2010 to 2014B.S. Architecture, University of Michigan
Learned to think in systems, drawings and site plans.
- 2014 to 2016Classical atelier training, The Schuler School of Fine Arts
Full-time studio training in Baltimore, often twelve hours a day; exhibited my paintings.
- 2020 to 2021UX/UI Designer, Conseqta Technology
Federal clients. A prototype of the US Senate financial system that won a $3M+ contract.
- 2021 to 2024Research + Design Strategist, then Manager, Sostento
Health equity programs: the HRSA dashboard and Rides for Health Equity. Promoted to manager in 2022.
- 2024Climate Action + Tech Innovation Fellow, Climatebase
Selected from 4,000+ applicants; research and strategy across five venture concepts.
- 2025 to 2026M.S. Human-Computer Interaction, Carnegie Mellon
Client work for Collier Township, Blizzard and PLUS; UI for AI; transformational game design.
What I'm looking for
Senior UX strategy roles where the work goes from zero to one: a new product, service or program, at the point where research, the business and the system all have to be figured out together.
Contact
- Emailjsnjprk@gmail.com
- LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/jsnjprk
- Based inNashville, Tennessee