Service Design DC (SDN DC Chapter)

Service Design DC is thrilled to welcome Ray Knickmeyer for a special hands-on workshop introducing Ecosystem Design, a new framework and approach they are bringing to our community for understanding and reshaping the systems that influence how we work. Ray will share this approach and guide us through applying it to our own organizational realities.

Ray’s premise is simple but powerful: when talented people get stuck, the problem is often not a lack of resilience or another tool to adopt, it is the infrastructure around the work. Ecosystem Design helps make that infrastructure visible by mapping the people, rituals, and artifacts that shape our daily experience inside complex organizations.

Through a guided mapping exercise led by Ray, you will place yourself at the center of your matrix and build out the surrounding layers. Once your ecosystem is visualized, you will identify pressure points and high-leverage areas within your control. You will leave with a personalized action plan and one concrete lever you can pull in the next seven days to reduce organizational friction and turn exhausting motion into sustainable momentum.

# What You’ll Do

• Ecosystem Mapping & Real-World Framing
• Mapping the Matrix
• Pinpointing Blockers & Paired Breakouts
• The High-Leverage Lever & Commitment

# Evening Agenda

6:00 PM: Doors open and socializing
6:30 PM: Workshop begins
7:45 PM: Workshop concludes
8:00 PM: Event concludes

# About the Facilitator

Ray Knicmeyer is the Founder and Principal Strategist at Knickmeyer Strategic Facilitation (KSF), partnering with enterprise leadership teams to reduce organizational friction through ecosystem design and strategic facilitation. With a background in Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction, they previously led Talent, Learning, and Culture for a 700-person division at Capital One and cross-functional initiatives supporting a global workforce of more than 160,000 at Verizon. Their work has generated more than $16M in verified cost savings and earned two Nielsen Norman Group Awards. They hold an MS in Human-Computer Interaction from Georgia Tech.

# Registration Fee & Community Access

We want this workshop to be accessible to our community. If the fee would make it difficult for you to attend, please contact the Service Design DC organizers privately. We have a limited number of complimentary community spots available, and no explanation is required. We do not want cost to be the reason someone cannot participate.

# Many Thanks to Our Host, Steampunk!

Design. Disrupt. Repeat.
Steampunk is anchored by a startup culture with a customer-centered delivery approach. They put Federal government clients at the center of what they design, develop, and deliver to drive high-quality mission impact and user experiences at speed.

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# Venue & Getting There

Steampunk’s Design Intelligence® Studio is located at 1753 Pinnacle Dr., Suite 215, McLean, VA.

Traveling by Metro? Take the Silver Line to Greensboro station; from there it is about a 10–15 minute walk.

Driving? There is free parking in the lot at the end of Pinnacle Drive on the left side.

For building entry, enter near the Wells Fargo bank branch. The studio doors are next to the bank branch and marked “PUNK.” Someone from the Service Design DC team will be there to help with wayfinding.