M.A. Urban Planning + Information Systems, MIT 2014
B.A. Psychology, Duke 2008
Drawing by Shel Silverstein.
Hi, I'm Laurel. I am a multidisciplinary product leader with 15+ years of career experience spanning digital product management, design research, and business and government consulting.
In my free time I love to paint and draw, and I'm deeply passionate about art, culture, design and placemaking. I’ve worked with Fortune 1000 companies, early-stage startups and public sector organizations to help conceptualize and commercialize new products, features, and service offerings that put people first.
I hold a Master’s degree in City Planning from MIT and a B.A. in Psychology from Duke University. After graduate school, I spent several years as an urban strategy consultant with WXY architecture + urban design, leading a range of projects that leveraged design thinking and qualitative and quantitative research methods to develop products and pilot programs to improve life in cities.
Later, I joined Convene's Strategy + Innovation Team as a Principal Design Strategist, where I used HCD methods to develop customer insights and help define the company's process for bringing new products to life and to market. Since then, I've led engineering and design teams to develop web and mobile products, most recently as a Senior Product Manager in RXR Realty's Digital Innovation Lab.
I have a passion for working with fast growing and mission-driven startups, and providing them with the user research, vision and strategy that positions them for meaningful growth. If you'd like to collaborate, please reach out!