Listen &UX Presents – UX Panel on Design and Leadership @ Allstate

Listen&UX is our continued series of Design related professionals speaking about their craft. We are very honored to have our first panel talk with esteemed speakers Carolyn Chandler, Randy Ellis, Pradeep Nayar, and Jason Ruud!

Schedule

6:00-6:30 pm – Mingle & enjoy some food courtesy of our friends at Allstate**
6:30 pm – Our panel talk will start at 6:30 PM sharp so please arrive early.
7:15 pm – Audience Q&A to our panel
7:30 pm - Open Forum Q&A
8:00 pm – End

**Please be sure to include both your first and last name as it reads on your government ID with your RSVP to be able to gain entry to Allstate.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

---About Carolyn Chandler: Director of User Experience, Eight Bit Studios ---
Carolyn Chandler has been working in the field of User Experience Design for over 20 years, as an interaction designer, strategist, practice director, and educator. She co-authored "A Project Guide to UX Design" with Russ Unger and "Adventures in Experience Design" with Anna van Slee - an activity-oriented book uses games and short, playful lessons to take beginners through the experience design process. She has defined UX and UI related curricula for DePaul University, Northwestern University, DeVry University, The Starter League, Ascend Training, and experimental programs within high schools in Chicago. At Eight Bit Studios, Carolyn uses her background in Anthropology and experience in digital design to dive deep into complex problems and facilitate the crafting of powerful and elegant solutions.

--- About Randy Ellis: Lead Experience Designer, Digitas North America ---
Randy is a lifelong entrepreneur who has advocated the importance of design. With ambition and the desire to help others succeed. Randy founded an online marketplace in 2013 receiving seed funding and notoriety for his vision in the local merchant space. As an aspiring thought leader and aspiring angel investor. Randy has spoken on UI/UX and entrepreneurship as a panelist at Research Park - University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Mobile Development Day, Tribeca Flashpoint, and Technori. His new venture, 5ivehat Digital UX Agency, Randy has refocused his methods of product design and UI/UX strategies to help his clients become successful and leaders in their industry. He is currently a lead instructor of user experience design at General Assembly and Lead User Experience Designer at Digitas, LLC.

--- About Pradeep Nayar: Director of User Experience, Allstate ---
Pradeep Nayar leads human-centered initiatives to drive engagement, innovation and adoption as the User Experience Director at Allstate Insurance Company. Prior to joining Allstate, he has worked several UX leadership roles in the B2B e-commerce and media industry. His current passion revolves around team leadership, organization design, iterative-design process and product strategy. Beyond his day job, he occasionally teaches at DePaul University and serves as an advisory board member of Designation.

--- About Jason Ruud: User Experience Manager, Paylocity ---
Jason is an accomplished creative leader with over 20 years of experience growing user experience teams in both the B2C and B2B enterprise. He is currently the user experience category team leader at Paylocity where he builds cloud-based human capital management software for the mid-market. Jason has expertise in product design, user-centered research, IOT technology, and agile/lean methodologies. He has worked with a variety of clients such as GE Capital, Nielsen, Cardinal Health, Gerber Blades, Aon Hewitt, and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Before joining Paylocity, Jason was Creative Manager for Grainger’s UX team and Creative Lead at Sears Holdings, where he lead UX for the Parts Direct and Home Services divisions. He has given presentations at IxDA, DePaul, and has provided UX mentorship for programs such as I.C.Stars and Girls Embrace Technology. Jason holds a BFA in Graphic Design and Photography from Illinois Wesleyan University.