I'm Leslie- I lived in Texas for thirty-redacted years and then started a new life in Seattle to be with my partners. During my time in Texas, I worked in hospitality and food service. The ten years I spent working my way from a barista to an executive team member of a small roasting company were spent developing skills that would ultimately help me with my UX/UI design work, but I didn't know that at the time. Skills like reading customers on the fly, which turns out to be exactly what human-centered design is about.

I would never have guessed that those early mornings, greeting customers with their daily caffeine emergencies would prepare me so perfectly for design work. Now I get to solve problems bigger than "Please get me my coffee! I cannot go on another second without my hot bean-water!"

I've spent the last year figuring out how I want to show up in the world as a designer. It took me a while to get the courage I needed to make this career transition and now I know I am more than capable of success in this field. While I still have a lot to learn, I am a curious and driven person and have a deep desire to make the lives of people better through beautiful designs. I know how to speak to the needs of others, I can translate design-talk into something real and help create something we'll both be proud of. I would like to be a creator of experiences and extractor of "everyday beauty".

I've been told I'm a tastemaker. I believe that I have a unique perspective on design and can contribute to the industry in ways that go beyond "good design". Just because it's good, doesn't make it interesting. I want to create things that would make my younger self proud; that's what pushes me to continue learning. Hopefully, this has given you enough to think about when it comes to learning about me! If you would like a more formal look into my history, my resume is available to view. Please find it in the links below.