Overcoming Adversity in UX

Join UX Akron on Thursday, February 15 at 6:30 PM for an evening of inspiration, support, and encouragement!

The path to a UX career can be winding and filled with barriers and detours. Our panelists will share their unique and personal stories of overcoming obstacles to success.

About our speakers

Richard Douglass
Breaking into UX from a Non-Traditional Background

Richard is a User Experience Consultant. For over 20 years, he has helped create engaging experiences for companies such as IBM, Razorfish, and PwC. He has worked on various projects: Intranet, Extranet, .com, Mobile, and Enterprise and Development software. In addition, Richard has experience with multiple methodologies, including co-creation and strategy workshops, usability testing, interaction design, and persona development. He has led workshops at conferences in China, New Zealand, and the U.S.

Shannon Kelly
Navigating Neurodiversity in a UX Career

Shannon Kelly is a senior UX strategist at OverDrive in Cleveland, OH. A neuro-divergent data geek, she prides herself on being a UX unicorn with a wide range of experience, having worked in digital marketing and product development teams over the last 18+ years. Shannon is passionate about creating great user experiences and sharing the importance of using research to improve products and services.

Gloria MacGillis
Overcoming Language & Culture Barriers

Gloria MacGillis, the proud owner of Glow Up Web Design, LLC, began her journey as an international student in the US, earning degrees in fashion, web, and UX design. Graduating in 2020 in UX design, she faced challenges, including language barriers, in securing a corporate job amidst the impact of Covid and limited work experience.
After obtaining her green card, Gloria decided to start her business in early 2021. By late 2023, Glow Up expanded by collaborating with multiple agencies in Canada and the U.S. Gloria's story is a testament to resilience, turning adversity into a thriving business that positively impacts business owners across the U.S.

Felesia McDonald
Learning to Collaborate with Stakeholders to Define Content Strategy

Felesia McDonald is a Sr Manager User Experience at Optum. Her UX career began in journalism as an Interactive Graphic Artist at the Plain Dealer. After obtaining her MS in UX Design from Kent State University (KSU) in 2014, she worked as a User Research Consultant for the Eaton Corporation, OEConnection as a UX Designer and a UX Manager at Sherwin Williams. She is also an adjunct instructor at KSU and loves to mentor the next generation of UX designers.

Marc Majers
Building UX & Usability Testing into a Software Development Lifecycle

Marc Majers is an accomplished Sr. User Experience leader, published author, and adjunct professor with over two decades of expertise in enhancing user experiences across websites, software, and applications. With a profound understanding of cognitive processes and their impact on human-computer interactions, Marc leverages data, research, and testing to inform his design approach. His designs demonstrate results and improved business outcomes that foster innovation. Marc excels in creating strategic, user-friendly designs that align with business goals while considering both user needs and technical requirements. His extensive experience includes collaborating with multidisciplinary teams in Agile and Waterfall environments, emphasizing efficiency and measurable impact. Currently, he serves as a leader of the user research lab at Progressive Insurance.

James Warnken, CPACC
Overcoming Accessibility Challenges in UX
I am 26 years old and have been losing my vision over the last 17 years due to Stargardts. I am a digital accessibility expert on a mission to make the online world more accessible for everyone. My original background was digital marketing and tech. Today, I combine all of my lived experiences, professional skills and knowledge, and learned experiences to help break down the misconceptions, stigmas, and intimidating components of making and maintaining accessible digital content. Through consulting, collaboration, training, and events, I help organizations understand the basics of accessibility, adapt it to their organization, and implement strategies to achieve accessibility goals through effective and efficient means. I have trained more than 150 professionals, built dozens of accessibility trainings, and even helped members of the disability community get into the accessibility space by obtaining globally recognized IAAP certifications.