Hello, I'm Sarah
I believe the best work happens at the intersection of business goals and human needs.
I'm a product and design leader with deep experience in healthcare and retail, specializing in consumer-centric digital solutions. I have a proven track record of leading high-performing product and design teams to drive business growth and deliver exceptional user experiences. My expertise spans user-centered design, healthcare technology, and digital product strategy. I'm skilled in fostering cross-functional collaboration, aligning stakeholders, and translating consumer insights into scalable, impactful digital products.
My Experience
April 2014 - Current
Progressive Product Design Leadership Roles Across Optum and RVO Health
Spanning enterprise experience strategy, digital product, human-centered design, and UX. Built and led cross-functional teams, scaled consumer-first solutions, and delivered measurable enterprise growth.
- Launched Optum Store, a direct-to-consumer platform offering HSA/FSA-eligible products, virtual care, and a low-cost cash pharmacy—beating competitor pricing 70% of the time.
- Scaled a human-centered design practice that became a go-to shared service across the enterprise—driving product strategy, system improvements, and executive empathy through actionable, research-driven insights.
- Pioneered interactive journey maps with embedded consumer and frontline audio/video—replacing static research artifacts with immersive tools that sparked alignment and experience improvements across business units.
- Led a cross-functional design and research team to support product transformation across Optum and UnitedHealthcare—applying ethnographic research, JTBD, and service blueprinting to shape end-to-end experiences.
- Developed a capability mapping practice used in CEO-level sales conversations—aligning Optum’s offerings to client needs and helping close deals across employer, provider, and government markets.
- Created strategic tools and frameworks linking product capabilities to tangible value drivers (e.g., revenue generation, cost reduction, patient satisfaction)—used to secure board-level approval and expand provider partnerships.
September 2005 - April 2014
Held multiple roles across digital product, design and merchandising—progressing from Senior Information Architect to Senior Manager Product Design.
Focused on delivering scalable digital solutions that enhanced customer experience, improved operational efficiency, and drove business growth. Key highlights included:
- Redesigned Target’s gift registry experience, resulting in a 150% increase in average registry size and a 50% reduction in in-store paper usage—during the kiosk era.
- Led digital initiatives that improved conversion and basket size, including the product review and recommendation platforms, subscribe-and-save functionality, and content standards for product imagery and video.
- Issued three design patents related to gift registries, personalization, and integrating social media to deepen consumer engagement.
- Led the product team through the migration of Target.com off the Amazon platform, working with agency partners like Huge and Publicis Sapient to accelerate innovation and elevate execution.
- Developed a scalable onboarding model for digital agencies, piloted with AKQA and later expanded to other Tier 1 partners—accelerating time-to-value across key initiatives.
September 2004 - September 2005
Information Architect
Supported digital transformation efforts by designing intuitive, user-centered web and kiosk experiences across consumer and employee platforms. Played a foundational role in structuring content and navigation for complex banking tools.
- Conducted research to understand user behaviors, needs and pain points.
- Developed wireframes, site maps and navigation systems for websites, ATM interfaces and employee tools.
- Developed clear taxonomies, labeling systems and meta data frameworks that enhanced usability and findability.
- Worked closely with UI designers and front-end developers to ensure that the design and functionality met user's needs.