Hiya!
I’m Russell,
I'm the dad of a Pokemon-loving 4th grader and an adventurous 1st grader, and partner to a pretty stellar human.
I'm a product design leader who's spent 20+ years building teams, systems, and products across startups and enterprises, from food services and cybersecurity to event management and energy. I've scaled design teams, led design systems that unified product ecosystems, and shipped experiences that powered thousands of in-person events.
But I'm at my best when I'm empowering the people around me. Whether it's mentoring designers to think bigger, building systems that multiply impact, or creating space for teams to do their best work, that's where I find the most meaning. I lead with kindness, empathy, and inclusivity, and I believe great design comes from great collaboration.
Companies I’ve worked with over the past 20+ years
…and about 30 more if you go back to my 10 years as a consultant.
“Russ is an insights-driven, methodical change agent, driving impact across the entire organization. He leads with empathy and acts with intention.”
Work Samples
Rituals and Ceremonies to power a distributed, 100% remote team
Motivating and connecting a remote team needs thoughtful and intentional points of contact.
Journey Mapping
We had a cluster of disparate survey products that worked independently of each other. This caused workarounds, support calls, and frustrated users. Before making any future roadmap decisions, the product team wanted a way to understand the current experiences and how they served our users.
Building Partnerships
How did we break down the walls that have been erected and were preventing us from accessing our users?