What we’re about
UXPALA is a 501c6 non-profit. Our focus is Service and Education to the UX and Tech community of the greater Southern California area.
The Los Angeles chapter of The User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) International is the 2nd largest, world-wide.
Our chapter and membership are here to support user experience professional's (advanced, entering, transitioning, students and all related) in advancing their knowledge and use of usability, research, accessibility, and best practices. Our chapter focuses on service, education, and volunteering through events, workshops, and mentoring.
Our members encompass a wide variety of disciplines, including product and service strategy, design, research, content, and development. We are colleagues in pursuit of a common goal: better products and services, better process, and better work/life through usability, accessibility, research and collaboration.
More information about UXPA and our local LA chapter can be found on the "Pages" tab.
UXPA International is a global professional association devoted to assisting new and established professionals in the user experience disciplines. Through networking, publications, conferences, and classes, UXPA can help you hone your skills and deepen your involvement in the UX community.
Upcoming events (3)
See all- Partner Event: Bookclub - Apprentice Nation the "Earn and Learn" ApproachJohnny's Pastrami, Los Angeles, CA
••• Partner Event: RSVP HERE •••
2025 Design Book Club
Apprentice Nation: How the "Earn and Learn" Alternative to Higher Education Will Create a Stronger and Fairer America
by Ryan Craig (Author)College isn’t for everyone. It’s time to challenge the status quo and embrace the potential of apprenticeships in tech, healthcare, finance, and more—which can provide a sustainable pathway to economic opportunity.
For decades, college has been the only respectable way to access the world of work, despite paralyzing tuition and a dire lack of practical skills that has left 40 percent of college graduates underemployed, unfulfilled, and struggling to repay student loan debt.
Education and workforce expert Ryan Craig explores how a modern apprenticeship system will allow students and job seekers to jump-start their careers by learning while they earn—ultimately leading to greater workforce diversity and geographic mobility.
With a deep dive into the history behind America’s outdated college system, Craig reveals:
- The origins of the student debt crises and admissions scandals
- Why apprenticeships are an effective pathway to career opportunity
- What America can do to catch up with other nations making apprenticeship opportunities broadly available
- Where students and job seekers can go to land an apprenticeship
Featuring a directory of US apprenticeship programs by industry and location, Apprentice Nation is an accessible blueprint for a country where young Americans of all backgrounds can launch careers in a variety of in-demand fields. With just a few common sense changes to education and workforce development, anapprentice nation will put the American Dream within reach—for everyone.
About the Author - Ryan Craig
Ryan Craig is Managing Director of University Ventures, an investment firm reimagining the future of higher education and creating new pathways from education to employment. He is the author of College Disrupted: The Great Unbundling of Higher Education and his commentary on ""where the puck is going"" in higher education regularly appears in Forbes, EdSurge, Inside Higher Education, TechCrunch and VentureBeat, among others.Prior to founding University Ventures, Ryan led the Education & Training sector at Warburg Pincus where he was the founding Director of Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI), one of the largest online universities in the United States. Ryan has also served as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Education and worked with various colleges and universities, such as Columbia and UCLA.
Ryan lives in Pacific Palisades, CA with his wife Yahlin and his three boys, Leo, Hal, and Zev, whose antics often appear in his articles. Decades ago, Ryan was the beneficiary of a traditional postsecondary education experience with bachelor's degrees summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University, and a law degree from the Yale Law School.
Not open - Partner Event: Bookclub - Design For Identity with Author Jessica BantomJohnny's Pastrami, Los Angeles, CA
••• Partner Event: RSVP HERE •••
2025 Design Book Club
Design For Identity: How to Design Authentically for a Diverse World
by Jessica Bantom (Author)Design is expression, a service, an act of creativity. But if designers design for everyone, how can there be so little diversity in the profession?
In this book, Jessica Bantom examines the implications of design in everyday life, from spaces and products to images and the fashion industry. Too often design concepts are based on assumptions and stereotypes that don't necessarily reflect customers' lives and values. Certain company symbols and brands, such as the image of Aunt Jemima, have stirred controversy for years but only recently has there been a corporate social awakening. The demographics of our society are changing and becoming more diverse, yet different perspectives are often ignored unless there's fallout from public backlash.
Bantom explores the concept of human-centered design that taps into an understanding of identity: how people live, what's important to them, and what informs their perspectives and experiences. Engaging directly with customers to identify their challenges and working with them to test ideas and solutions is the foundation of human-centered design. It's vital for businesses to get on board and change outdated mindsets if they want to be successful.
Bantom explains the six habits of culturally competent designers that can make this shift happen, and result in design solutions that resonate with people of diverse backgrounds. She offers a Design for Identity blueprint that honors humanity, celebrates diversity, promotes equity and inclusion, and ensures that the design profession mirrors and keeps up with the realities of our evolving world.
About the Author - Jessica Bantom
Jessica Bantom is a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) practitioner and workplace strategist whose mission is to enable individuals to take immediate actions that create meaningful outcomes for historically excluded people.A graduate of the University of Virginia and Marymount University, Bantom is a skilled management consultant with over 20 years of experience, a compelling speaker, and a certified facilitator and coach with a passion for helping people and organizations activate the values of DEIB to become more culturally competent and thrive in our increasingly global economy.
Bantom is also active in the interior design industry as an interior design and color consultant and as an engaged advocate committed to promoting DEIB in the industry and in practice. You can learn more about Jessica and her blog, 'Start Where You Are' at JessicaBantom.com.
Not open - Partner Event: Bookclub - Understanding Comics: The Invisible ArtJohnny's Pastrami, Los Angeles, CA
••• Partner Event: RSVP HERE •••
2025 Design Book Club
Understanding Comics
by Scott McCloud (Author)“Reading Understanding Comics blew my teenage mind, and gave me a toolbox full of ideas that I still use today.”
—Raina Telgemeier - The bestselling international classic on storytelling and visual communication.Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a seminal examination of comics art: its rich history, surprising technical components, and major cultural significance. Explore the secret world between the panels, through the lines, and within the hidden symbols of a powerful but misunderstood art form.
About the Author - Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud has been writing, drawing, and examining comics since 1984. Winner of the Eisner and Harvey awards, his works have been translated into more than sixteen languages. Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) called him "just about the smartest guy in comics." He lives with his family in southern California. His online comics and inventions can be found at scottmccloud.com.Not open