The Multiplier Effect
At the Principal level, my output isn't measured by lines of code, but by the velocity, quality, and direction of the teams I lead.
Mobile Revenue Strategy Major Impact
Name.comThe Mandate: Mobile traffic was growing, but revenue wasn't. The executive team needed a strategy to capture this market without disrupting the desktop cash cow.
The Execution: I led the "Mobile First" initiative, rewriting the entire codebase over 5 months. This wasn't just a CSS update; it was a fundamental shift in how we prioritized features for smaller screens.
Deflection vs. Satisfaction Trade-off
Customer Support StrategyThe Goal: Deflect basic support requests using smart self-help guidance and API integrations.
The Conflict: We reduced ticket volume by 300% (a massive win), but customers found the new "gatekeeping" irritating. I learned that efficiency metrics cannot be the only measure of success.
Design System Architecture
Name.comThe Strategy: I was a leader on the team that built and maintained our company's design systems—tokens, shared web components, and the practices that kept them reliable. That work standardized brand and accessibility across products and helped teams migrate the bulk of the codebase onto one coherent stack.
Systems Design Team MentorshipSpeaking
I have spoken at several national web conferences, and I'm always looking for new opportunities to speak.
Beyond the Keg Conference Presentation
Web Development ConferenceThe Presentation: I presented on the topic of Responsive Design, and how it can be used to create a more user-friendly experience.
Slideshare
Beyond the Keg
Web Development ConferenceThe Presentation: How to build and maintain a thriving company culture.
Slideshare
Engineering at Scale
Building complex, mission-critical applications that serve millions of users without breaking a sweat.
Performance as a Feature
Site OptimizationThe Tech: I led a deep-dive audit of our assets. I custom-built a help desk chat widget that replaced a bloated 2.89MB vendor script with a 10kb lightweight alternative.
Web Performance
Presidential Debate Infrastructure
University of DenverThe Build: Hosting the 2012 Presidential Debate meant a global spotlight. I implemented a "Redaptive" strategy, manually writing breakpoints for 580+ distinct devices.
Digital Transformation for Athletes
Fitness Tracking SaaSThe Shift: Moving a gym from paper spreadsheets to a fully optimized mobile app. We built high-fidelity prototypes to test data entry speeds with shaking hands, eventually deploying a solution on Digital Ocean.
SaaS Architecture Digital Ocean
Slack Integration & Internal Tools
Internal Slash CommandThe Build: To boost team morale, I built a custom Slack app (`/ng`) using PHP and the Slack API. It generated custom GIFs of employees on the fly.
Slack API PHP
User Experience Design & Research
Solving human problems through research, empathy, and interface design.
Ushi Agency
Founder · ConsultingThe Practice: Ushi Agency provides usability audits, performance consulting, SEO advice, and WCAG accessibility consulting for companies large and small around the world.
We're dedicated to elevating web standards through comprehensive usability audits, performance optimization strategies, and WCAG accessibility consultations for clients worldwide. Visit https://ushi.agency to make your site better.
WCAG Performance SEO
Lifecycle Marketing Optimization
Email UXThe Project: We evaluated the top 10 emails sent by volume. By applying progressive enhancement, we turned static notifications into revenue drivers.
School Phone Book
Odyssey Charter SchoolThe Community: As an elected School Board Member, I designed and built a web-based school phone book app to replace an expensive printed version. Simple, secure, and mobile-optimized.
Philosophy & Bio
01. The Hybrid Advantage
I live in the gap between design and engineering. I can fix a race condition in the morning and present a high-fidelity Figma prototype to stakeholders in the afternoon.
02. Performance is UX
A beautiful site that takes 5 seconds to load is a broken site. I advocate for performance budgets, small payloads, and Core Web Vitals as a primary measure of user experience.
03. Accessibility Defaults
I don't "add" accessibility at the end. I build with semantic HTML and keyboard navigation from the first line of code. Inclusive design is simply good design.
04. Mentorship Over Management
I believe in multiplying my impact by elevating those around me. I actively mentor developers and designers, helping them bridge the gap between their disciplines.
The Personal Side
I am based in Denver, Colorado.
I run Ushi Agency to help small businesses improve their web standards, and I've spoken at national conferences on the topic of Responsive Design.