Concordia University
Interaction Designer & Accessibility Advisor
University Communications Services
May 2023 – Present
Lead UX, interaction design, accessibility, and design system initiatives for a university with 50,000+ students, 6,000+ employees, and thousands of web properties across a large AEM ecosystem.
Core responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end design of templates, components, and visual identity guidelines within the enterprise CMS; provide clear design specifications and accessibility requirements to developers.
- Translate IA/UX direction and wireframes into refined interface elements, user flows, interaction states, and responsive layouts.
- Create design mock-ups, wireframes, prototypes, and layouts for university websites and digital services.
- Curate and maintain key sections of institutional websites, ensuring content is accurate, accessible, up to date, and aligned with editorial standards, tone, and publishing schedules.
- Evaluate existing web content, layouts, and components created by digital content advisors and the broader publishing community; define and implement improvement plans based on UX and UI best practices.
- Develop, implement, and maintain accessibility policies, procedures, and standards; monitor and report on institutional accessibility compliance.
- Conduct regular accessibility testing using manual techniques and automated tools (e.g., Siteimprove); provide clear remediation recommendations and implement fixes through code and content updates.
- Conduct ongoing UX research, heuristic evaluations, and Hotjar/GTM/Siteimprove analysis to evaluate experience quality and guide feature improvements.
- Contribute to continuous process improvement within the Web Communications team, helping define and evolve workflows, standards, and governance models.
- Act as accessibility advisor to internal teams, guiding designers, developers, and content authors on inclusive design best practices.
Key achievements
- Created Concordia's first design system, including tokens, components, accessibility guidelines, and documentation; improved design–dev alignment and reduced project turnaround by 25%.
- Introduced token-based typography overhaul, improving readability, hierarchy consistency, and system-wide governance across AEM, Figma, and the design system.
- Designed and launched the Tuition Fee Estimator, improving usability and accuracy, contributing to a 30% increase in reported student satisfaction, and reducing service inquiries by 40%.
- Presented at HighEdWeb: Accessibility & AI.
Webmaster / Webwriter
Aug 2020 – May 2023
Managed major web transformations across Concordia's digital ecosystem, combining UX, IA, accessibility, and front-end implementation for high-impact academic and administrative sites.
Key achievements
- Led the UX redesign of the Tuition & Financial Aid website, consolidating 70+ pages into a single user-centered subsite; reduced service volume by 35%.
- Major contributor in launching Concordia's intranet, supporting content strategy, IA, UX, front-end dev, and QA—improving staff engagement and internal communications.
- Developed accessibility training for 100+ web publishers, improving institutional compliance and reducing WCAG violations across legacy and new sites.
- Implemented research-driven improvements using analytics, heatmaps, user testing, and stakeholder interviews to uncover pain points and prioritize enhancements.
- Created UX/IA documentation, wireframes, user flows, and technical specs to support dev teams and campus stakeholders.
- Built custom AEM components using HTML, CSS/LESS, and JavaScript, increasing flexibility and reducing dependency on external developers.
