overview

Allison leads teams in driving business growth through design innovation for world-class products and services. Using a data-driven approach, she advocates for customer empathy, rapid experimentation, end-to-end experience cohesion, and maximum business impact. Her background spans product design, growth marketing, and brand. Allison’s strengths include design management at scale, cross-functional partnership, workflow efficiency, and team advancement. 

Allison's work has been featured in Forbes, Wired, and HOW Magazine’s “The Strategic Designer.” Her teams have been honored to receive a REBRAND 100 award, four Webby Honoree awards, and a Tech & Innovation award for Best Consumer Service. In 2018, she was appointed to the executive committee board of AIGA SF.

Director of user experience design, Autodesk

Feb 2019 – Present

Vice President OF CREATIVE AND UX, LIFT AGENCY

Mar 2017 – Jun 2018

Led multidisciplinary design team in building delightful user experiences to drive business growth. Scaled 20-person team with top talent, increased workflow efficiency, and led design vision for key clients, including mobile purchase flows.

Senior Director, User experience Design, JustAnswer/Pearl.com

Oct 2011 – Mar 2017

Led product design, research, and content strategy teams in the creation of world class user experiences to delight customers and drive business results. In only 24 weeks, built a UX team and – in partnership with Product and Engineering – led a re-conceptualization of the product's end-to-end user experience, doubling return visits and increasing Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 22 points. 

Developed a research function to uncover customer insights to inform product loyalty strategies, generating over $2 million/year. Initiated a components library design system in partnership with front-end engineering to launch products 80% faster. Scaled the global team threefold, including AI bot writers. Won a REBRAND 100 Award for rebranding JustAnswer to Pearl.com alongside a Tech & Innovation Award for Best Consumer Service.

Group Creative Director, CREATIVE LIFT

March 2010 – August 2011

Led 20-person team and vision for all client projects, including Facebook, Union Bank, Walmart, and Gap to elevate the user experience design for apps, sites, SEM landing pages, mobile ads, branding and social media marketing strategies. Attracted top talent to help agency double in size while lifting response to design solutions up to 400%.

Vice President OF DESIGN + Director of Design, AOL

Dec 2002 – Jan 2010

Led 25-person design team in the creation of global user experiences and creative strategies for over 30 apps and sites. Drove innovation to grow audiences over 2000%. Led global design standards team to create consistency and efficiency across the network. Partnered with cross-functional leaders to improve product development processes, bringing sites to market 60% faster.

ART Director + Marketing Manager, AOL

Jan 2000 – Dec 2002

Reinvented AOL's ecommerce experience designs, increasing conversion to generate $500 million annually. Defined new brand strategy to increase conversion rates by 100%.

FREELANce designer, leeds design

May 1995 – Jan 2000

Designed web sites and marketing materials for clients such as PwC and Lockheed Martin.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Board Member + Co-chair of Women in Leadership & Design, AIGA SF

AIGA represents the profession's largest community of design advocates and practitioners, advancing the impact of design on business, society, and our collective future. Currently serves as an executive committee board member. From 2008-2012, served on the board of the San Francisco and Washington DC chapters of AIGA, orchestrating a series of design lectures to inspire and engage the design community.

Strategic, efficient, focused

"I have worked with Allison for the past six years and she is an exemplary performer. In terms of managerial excellence and communication skills she is untouched by anyone else on my 70+-person design team. She elicits a string of adjectives when I think of her: strategic, efficient, focused, managerially gifted, detail-oriented, user-centered and solutions-oriented. As a leader here at AOL I trust her implicitly. As do her direct reports. Most remarkable I think is her seemingly endless positive “can do” spirit. Her directs respect her and look for her to help them achieve success. She’s a very special talent."

— Peter Rivera, Senior Vice President of Design, managed Allison at AOL

people management sensibilities

"Always placing her team as a priority, Allison remains one of the most coveted managers to work for. I attribute much of my people management sensibilities to her. Through example, she taught her team how to be the consummate professional day in and day out, taking everything in stride and able to inspire and rally the troops even in the toughest of times. She is best at placing full trust in your abilities as a manager and a design leader, something very rare nowadays."

— Vee Susatijo, Design Director, reported to Allison at AOL

a true inspiration and mentor

"I have had the pleasure to work under Allison over the past six years. It is rare to have such an amazing relationship with your manager but, I feel honored to have had the outstanding opportunity. Her ability to motivate, challenge and reward her employees is invaluable, and a craft she has perfected. Her enthusiasm for the work and her team is unwavering no matter the challenge. She has been a true inspiration and mentor for me. As I continue to move through the management levels of my career, I can only hope and aim to be as strong of leader for others as she has been for me. With greatest gratitude, thank you Allison!"

— Leah Koentopf, Art Director, reported to Allison at AOL

leader in the design community

"Allison is most likely the best manager I have ever worked for in the graphic design field. She is always encouraging and supportive. She consistently provides constructive, actionable feedback that helps me to succeed in my own career path. She has been a wonderful mentor to me and an excellent leader in the AOL organization and outside graphic design community."

— Heather Zelensky, Art Director, reported to Allison at AOL

INSPIRES THE HIGHEST QUALITY WORK

“Allison is the most compassionate, talented, effective and motivating leader I have ever had the pleasure of working for. More than just a boss, she is a teacher and a role model. By always maintaining an encouraging and positive attitude, leading by example, and sharing her brilliant copy, design and user experience expertise, she continually inspired the entire UX team to deliver the highest quality work. I am grateful to have worked for her.” 

— Melissa Antonelli, Senior UX Copywriter, reported to Allison at Pearl.com

DEVELOPS THE TEAM

"Allison is a consummate professional, truly a complete team player. Her ability as a design supervisor to advance and elevate the work is superior. And just as remarkable is the way she manages her people; with great care for their well-being and development. Allison's hallmark is her respect for others, and the respect she naturally commands for herself. Two thumbs up!"

— Michael Solow, Vice President, Creative Director, managed Allison indirectly at AOL

Inspirational team leader

"Allison is a master at motivation; she’s an inspirational team leader, her clients love her, and time after time she delivers great creative that drives results. I enjoyed working with Allison, learned a lot from her, could rely on her, and would work with her again."

— Joseph Cole, Account Supervisor, worked with Allison at LIFT Agency

elevateS the design

"Allison's arrival at Pearl.com immediately elevated the company's creative and design capabilities. Through her leadership and passion, she created, communicated and engaged the team on a vision focused on delighting customers with meaningful experiences. I feel fortunate to have worked directly with her and the talented UX team she assembled. I highly recommend Allison and would jump at the opportunity to work with her in the future.”

— Victor Alcazar, Senior Software Engineer, worked indirectly for Allison at Pearl.com

Collaborative across disciplines

"She is deeply knowledgeable about so many things: art direction, branding, messaging, user experience, how to collaborate across disciplines and, most importantly, what sells – both internally and externally (she truly is a master of framing). Relentlessly positive, never say die, always learning, deeply committed to the success of both her organization and her team, Allison is one of those rare managers who inspires by example, teaches without seeming to teach and when goals are achieved, hands off the credit. Wait a minute, there’s a word for that: LEADER."

— Stephen Boni, Senior UX Copywriter, reported to Allison at Pearl.com

big-picture thinkER

"Allison offers true leadership and a passion for creating incredible user experiences. One of the most admirable things about Allison is that she creates an empowering work environment, where she entrusts each team member, finds their core strengths and consistently provides praise and recognition for hard work to allow each person's unique talents and abilities shine forth and drive company success. She is committed to big-picture thinking and the execution of well thought-out, compelling ideas that push creative possibilities. It is a wonderful privilege and a pleasure to work with Allison. Her pleasant nature and enthusiastic personality is contagious and will leave you feeling capable, motivated and inspired so that you are confident and successful in your creative endeavors."

— Ashley Gilmore, Associate Designer, worked indirectly for Allison at AOL

outstandingly well-organized

"Allison is outstandingly well organized. I don't believe she has ever lost track of a single detail. She was a terrific art director, managing work by difficult designers and demands by difficult clients with calm and tact. Best of all, Allison approaches all projects (and apparently every aspect of her life) with a positive attitude and warm, sunny personality. It's no surprise to me that she has made such impressive career progress in the years since we worked together."

— Sam Bentley, Producer, worked with Allison at AOL

DRIVES EXCELLENCE

"She is in the top 1% of people that I have worked with in my career. Allison brought rigor and goal-oriented structure to our leadership team. She fortified the UX and research functions to ensure customer-insight-driven design solutions, partnered with executive leadership to drive business goals forward and increased team efficiency....Everything her team produced was thoughtfully aligned to our client’s and company’s business objectives and showcased the business impact of smart design...She hired top talent, created clear career paths and growth opportunities for the team and drove her team to excellence with carrots, not sticks. Her loyalty and ability to motivate her team was palpable."

— Danielle Narveson, Director of Strategy, worked with Allison at LIFT Agency