I lead product and brand design for Embleema, a biotechnology startup that powers registries and real-world studies by connecting genomic, clinical, and patient-reported data to generate regulatory-ready research.
When I joined, design had been on pause for over a year. I rebuilt the function from the ground up, updating the user experience to meet accessibility guidelines, moving the team from Sketch to Figma, creating a design system, implementing AI-powered design workflows, and establishing design operations with engineering. I've worked on everything from a clinical trial matching, consent management, wastewater surveillance, and EDC re-platforming initiatives that have directly expanded our pipeline and brought in new revenue-generating partnerships. I also sourced and hired key design and marketing talent, leading the team that delivered a full website and identity refresh. My work touches every part of the platform experience, from defining the roadmap to building AI-powered tools for the next generation of research. Our 25-person team’s technology is used by seven of the top ten research institutions, including Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, and NYU Langone, as well as the FDA and the Department of Defense.
I was a lead product designer at Stellar Elements (formerly Big Nerd Ranch), an Amdocs company. After years as an in-house designer, I joined the agency world to broaden my experience across industries and strengthen my skills as both a designer and consultant.
At Stellar, I worked primarily with Chick-fil-A in Atlanta as the sole designer for Spotlight, a platform that enables restaurant operators to create and manage customer rewards through the consumer app. I collaborated closely with cross-functional teams to align the operator and consumer experiences and led initiatives like Bonus Points Streaks, Recommended Rewards, and the iOS Order Tracking Widget.
Beyond product, I partnered with design leadership to craft pitch decks and proposals that helped win new business. I also mentored junior designers, offering feedback, career guidance, and support that strengthened the team’s confidence and design culture.
I was a senior growth product designer at Clearing, a digital healthcare startup serving over 50 million chronic pain patients in the U.S.
When I joined, the company was focused on its direct-to-consumer business. My role centered on product growth, collaborating with our growth product manager and engineering team to optimize the patient intake and subscription experience. During my time there, we launched two major product rebrands and built our experiment framework from the ground up, designing experiences that drove patient acquisition. As the company began accepting insurance, my focus shifted to designing tools that helped patients easily share and validate their insurance information and better understand their coverage. The work was fast paced, complex, and deeply rewarding, especially in learning how to design for regulated, HIPAA-compliant environments.
At The Economist, I advanced from junior to lead in just two years, growing from UX work on newsletters to shaping product experiences across both consumer apps, the Economist app and Espresso, as well as the web-based subscription platform.
My time there coincided with major global events including Brexit, the 2020 U.S. election, and the COVID-19 pandemic, when reliable, unbiased news was critical. I led user research to better understand subscriber behavior and helped expand our digital reach through new newsletters, podcasts, and multimedia content in the apps. I regularly presented key design strategy work and insights to the editorial team, the CPO, and the CEO. My proudest achievement was redesigning and replatforming the subscription experience, simplifying the process from ten steps to three and clarifying subscription tiers. The result was one of the most successful holiday subscription sales in the company’s history.
I make progress inevitable by combining vision with follow-through.
From defining strategy to motivating teams and doing the hands-on work, I make it happen. I'm someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy and craft, equally comfortable sketching the vision one day and shipping the solution the next.
10+ years in design
From The Economist to Embleema, I've shipped products used by millions and tools that power cutting-edge research.
4+ years in healthtech
I've committed to spending my career making healthcare technology work better for patients and clinicians.
4+ years in leadership
I've spent years building teams, mentoring designers, and creating the conditions for good work to happen.
2+ years in AI design
I build custom GPTs and Claude-powered workflows to streamline research, ideation, and design execution.
testimonials
A personality hire with serious chops
“It has been one of the great pleasures of my career to work with such a talented, thoughtful, and thoroughly enjoyable colleague. You've been an absolute pleasure to work with and a shining example of art in medicine.”
Manager at Clearing
“Your willingness to proactively solve issues is a prime example of how autonomous designers should work. You’re always seeking to bring your clients along so they can learn how to problem solve effectively.”
Manager at Stellar Elements
“Every time I see you are
presenting in a
meeting, I instantly feel
calm. I already know it
will be excellent work.”
Executive at
The Economist
"Having a mentor like Alana who was excited about my career was a huge confidence boost and pushed me to take on opportunities that I may have missed because felt as though I had someone in my corner."
Mentee at Black Valley
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