The IAC helps to keep the curriculum up-to-date to maintain program goals and competencies. To do this, members of the committee are asked to weigh in on and vote to support or reject any proposed changes to the UX program.

View the committee bylaws.

2025–26 Members

The UX IAC is comprised of industry professionals, MSOE UX faculty and students. The membership reflects a balance of high-tech, finance, retail, consulting and start-up companies that are located locally, nationally and internationally.

Community Members

Heidi Barrette Easter

Heidi Barrette Easter is a UX leader with over 15 years of experience designing human-centered digital experiences that drive business success. Heidi has a strong track record in retail, where she has honed her ability to craft user experiences for diverse areas such as Autoship and Funnel, Purchase, International, and membership programs at Chewy. Passionate about identifying strategic opportunities, Heidi is adept at diving into the details to uncover solutions that delight users and meet business goals.

Irina Becker

Irina is an experienced Milwaukee-based research lead and strategist. She is passionate about helping brands grow by gaining a deeper understanding of their customers and improving customer experience. Irina leads both qualitative and quantitative research for internal and external customers and mentors design and research team members at GE HealthCare. She also coaches teams through the side business of MB Collab. In addition, Irina has a Business Innovation and Advanced Design Thinking certifications from IDEO and UX Management certification from Nielsen Norman Group.

Hillary Black

Hillary is an AI conversation designer and marketing professional who has made it her mission to inspire the next generation of designers through mentorship, community, and content. Following a decade-long career in social media with brands like Beats by Dre, Vine, and the University of Michigan, she brought her passion for developing brand personalities and strategic content to chatbots in 2017 and has never looked back. Alongside her role in conversation design and marketing at the AI startup Mav, she mentors aspiring designers in an online community, authored the course Conversation Design for Chatbots with UX Content Collective, created the job-matching site Conversation Designer Jobs, and frequently shares her expertise online with partners like Miro, UX Professionals Association, and Amazon.

Ash Dzick

Ash is a data-driven professional who excels in managing UX teams with a focus on strategic leadership and persona-driven design. She harbors a deep passion for mentorship, leading several committees dedicated to fostering the next generation of UX. Ash chairs the Industrial Advisory Committee for Milwaukee School of Engineering and works as a Senior Manager of User Experience for Molson Coors.

Adam Grabowski

Adam is a veteran design leader with experience leading UX Design, Industrial Design, and User Research teams with two decades of experience. His approach is rooted in a commitment to collaboration and empathy, striving to build inclusive and intuitive experiences for all users. As a passionate mentor and coach, he is eager to spread his belief that design is a superpower—one that not only can build amazing products and services, but can solve larger challenges in business and society.

Kristine Howell

Kristine is a seasoned senior user experience strategist with over two decades of industry experience. In 2021, she co-founded Lyssna Method, a leading UX consultancy. As an active member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WEBEC), Kristine specializes in elevating user experiences not only in healthcare but also across diverse sectors including manufacturing, ecommerce, non-profit and government. Collaborating closely with esteemed institutions such as Children’s Wisconsin, Kristine utilizes design-led practices to create impactful and user-centered solutions in various domains. She graduated with honors, holding a bachelor's degree in fine art and design from UW-Milwaukee. Additionally, Kristine is certified in UX by Nielsen Norman Group and has earned a UX strategy accreditation from Jamie Levy.

Kevin Kahler

Kevin is a people-focused and quality-driven design leader with a wealth of experience crafting user-centered solutions in both corporate and agency environments across Metro Milwaukee. He enjoys leading teams that research, plan, and design end-to-end experiences, empowering users through intuitive, delightful, and human-centric design. Currently serving as a UX Manager at Generac, Kevin leads a team of UX practitioners focused on mobile and web applications, enabling Generac customers and dealers to remotely monitor and manage their home energy products.

Tony Maurer

With 20 years of experience in creative, design, and technology, Tony has had the honor of winning prestigious awards such as the Awwwards Site of the Year, Webby, FWA Site of the Day, Effies, Integrated Gold Milwaukee 99, and Best of Show Milwaukee 99. He has held leadership positions at nationally recognized companies including Hiebing, Cramer-Krasselt, and Bader Rutter. Currently, he serves as the Senior User Experience Designer Lead at Komatsu. His work has also been featured in Adweek, The Drum, Communication Arts Annual, and AdAge. His career has taken him places where he has created multi-million dollar websites and produced television commercials featuring celebrity talent like Michael Jordan. His biggest joy as a designer is helping others solve problems through his talents and passion for visual interactive solutions. His mission in education mirrors his approach to work: solving problems for Fortune 500 companies through discovery, definition, design, and testing, all while having fun and bringing others along on the journey.

Cindy Miller

Cindy is Senior Architect, Human Factors Engineer at GE HealthCare, where she works in both the digital and physical space for a diverse range of medical devices. With over 15 years of experience, Cindy works in areas of usability testing, UX strategy, UX research and UX design. Cindy has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Human Factors from Wichita State University.

Serene Mireles

Serene is a Milwaukee-based Design strategist and leader with over 26 years of industry experience. She is the Director of Product Design at Labcorp Genetics where she coaches and mentors designers, researchers, and product managers, taking a human-centered approach to align teams around customer needs. As cofounder of MB Collab, she also focuses on design and research ops coaching, helping teams develop strategies to launch customer-centric products and services.

Rob Nero

Rob is a UX Manager at Volvo Cars in Stockholm, Sweden, leading UX for a domain focused on internal tools. With over 25 years of experience, he has touched all types of design, from enterprise insurance and financial tools, to agency projects for Samsung and HP, and to product companies with Spotify and now Volvo Cars. The common thread through all of his work is focusing on tools that bring efficiency and utility to users. What drives him now is building design teams through a growth mindset, and enabling focus through design visions and strategy.

Erik O'Brien

Erik is a product & UX strategy leader with 15 years of experience helping organizations make things people want. With his work spanning industries and clients like Royal Caribbean, Allstate, Verizon, BCBS, Walgreens, McDonald's, US Olympics, and emerging startups, Erik thrives on uncovering insights that reshape perspectives on people, categories, technology, and culture. Always seeking the path less traveled, he brings a unique blend of analytical rigor and creative thinking to drive innovation at the intersection of people and technology.

Nghi Pham

Nghi (Nee) is a user experience designer who enjoys incorporating biometric/mathematical research and international patterns to diversify her works. As a UX Designer at Milwaukee Tool, she specializes in One-Key iOS, Android, and Web application design for enterprise partners and users. She utilizes her UX knowledge to develop a sprint planning process for UX initiatives and assist in the sophistication of the organization’s design system. Nghi has a Bachelor of Science in User Experience from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, making her an alumna of MSOE’s UX program.

Joe Poeschl

Joe Poeschl is on a mission to be a catalyst for strategic innovation, inclusive collaboration, and community connections in Milwaukee. Throughout his career, he has facilitated learning and growth experiences for thousands of local students, professionals, entrepreneurs, and innovators of all backgrounds and disciplines. Formerly Co-Founder of The Commons, Joe is now the Director of Engagement at the MKE Tech Hub, a non-profit coalition that serves as a unifying voice for Milwaukee’s tech ecosystem.

Corey Poquette

Corey is the UX director for the Software and Control organization at Rockwell Automation. He leads a global team of more than 40 UX professionals. He found his passion for design and research at his prior company, Johnson Controls, where he spent 13 amazing years amongst great friends, learning the discipline and specializing in information architecture, design leadership, research and strategy. He is most at home collaborating with a group, tackling ambiguity and complexity, and where a design thinking mindset is shared by those partnering on the challenge.

Kat Richards

Kat Richards (she/her) is a systems thinker that has a passion for collaboration between business strategy, technology and CX. She has over a decade of experience spanning from consumer goods, tourism to B2B, healthcare and financial industries, working from interactive design, UX and product, to experience strategy and design operations. As an associate director of experience strategy at Digitas, Kat creates human-centered solutions that challenge the status quo and inequities.

Jade Stewart

Jade is a customer-focused product manager based in Chicago, Illinois. Joining RSVPify in its early growth phase, Jade has grown with the company to its current position as a leading event management software solution. Jade shows a particular focus and commitment to innovation, with a deep understanding of user needs. Jade continues to shape RSVPify's trajectory, ensuring that the product remains at the forefront of software solutions in the industry. Jade has pursued further education by participating in Reforge's Growth Series, enhancing her expertise in driving product growth strategies. 

Jonathan Wagenknecht

Jonathan is a user experience designer who enjoys bridging the gap between design and software implementation. As a UX/Product designer at Northwestern Mutual, he utilizes his UX expertise and understanding of front-end development to improve digital experiences across internal and external-facing web applications. He has also worked with agencies, government entities, and startups as a designer/front-end developer, bringing people-centered digital experiences to life. Jonathan is also a proud graduate of MSOE's UX program, with a Bachelor of Science in User Experience and Communication Design.

Chelsea Wanta

Chelsea is the director of usability/human factors engineering at GE HealthCare. In this role, she leads a global team of usability/human factors engineers as part of GE HealthCare’s Experience Design organization, working across the GE HealthCare portfolio of products. The team helps optimize the quality of interaction between people and healthcare products as well as informs and evaluates design of user interfaces to ensure they are safe, effective and deliver a good user experience. Chelsea holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a master’s degree in human factors and ergonomics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Student Members

Will Heffernan

Will is a senior User Experience student at MSOE, a Milwaukee native, and a passionate learner. He just wrapped up his UX internship with Uline, and continues to work with the MSOE marketing team to ensure MSOE’s digital communication/website are accessible and intuitive. He loves advocating for the student voice and is looking forward to his 3rd year in the UX IAC.

Alexis Ovokaitys
Alexis is a senior at MSOE pursuing her B.S. in User Experience. She has experience in UX research, interface design, and front-end development, and is skilled in tools such as Figma, Adobe XD, and the Adobe Creative Cloud. She is excited to bring her creativity, teamwork, and passion for user-centered design to the IAC.

Faculty/Staff Members

Dr. Alicia Domack

Alicia is the chair of the Humanities, Social Science, and Communications department, which houses the User Experience & Communication Design program at MSOE. She is also an Associate Professor. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology and a Master of Arts in School Psychology from the University of Nebraska and Bachelor of Science in Psychology from University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Dr. Nadya Shalamova

Nadya is the User Experience & Communication Design Program Director and an Associate Professor at MSOE. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy, Rhetoric & Professional Communication from New Mexico State University, M. Phil., Post-Graduate Degree in Descriptive Linguistics from Mari State University (Yoshkar-Ola, Russia), and a Master of Arts, Graduate Degree in Teaching English and German as a Foreign Language from Tomsk State Pedagogical University (Tomsk, Russia). MSOE alum!