Community Leadership
Building and supporting communities that help designers, product professionals, and technologists learn, connect, and grow.
World Usability Day Accessibility Panel
OKC Design + Tech
I was a co-organizer of OKC Design + Tech, a Techlahoma user group serving the Oklahoma City metro area. The community focuses on user experience, product design, and the intersection of design and technology.
Originally established in 2017, the group became inactive in 2021. In 2022, I led the effort to relaunch the community, bringing together local design and product professionals to create a space for learning, collaboration, and professional growth. As a co-organizer, I helped lead the group through 2025, supporting its growth and helping establish a consistent schedule of events and community engagement opportunities.
Our members included UX designers, UX researchers, UI designers, product designers, visual designers, product managers, and other professionals across a wide range of experience levels. Together with fellow organizers, we hosted events that fostered learning, networking, mentorship, and the exchange of ideas.
Below are a few of the events I helped organize alongside my fellow co-organizers.
At this meetup, we will have a talk and a panel discussion on design systems. Stephen Vincent will explain how to scale design systems and explore some hurdles that may accompany the process. After Stephen’s talk, we will have a design panel discussion. You are welcome to bring your questions to ask our panelists.
In this talk, we will delve into the significance of emotions in user experience design and the key components that contribute to a positive user experience. We will explore how the emotions users experience during an interaction can impact their decision to adopt or stick with a product or service. Our speaker, Kerry Severin, will take a deep dive into practical strategies for designers and engineers to create memorable user experiences. The talk will also feature case studies of companies that have excelled in crafting emotional connections with their users. Attendees will come away with a better understanding of the importance of emotions in design and how to incorporate emotional elements into their work.
Gather your portfolios and mark your calendars – OKC Design + Tech is hosting a portfolio learning event on April 27, 2023, at 5:30 pm at Clevyr in Oklahoma City! Come join us for an exciting night of networking, feedback, and learning – you won’t want to miss out. Adrian Townsend, Design Lead of Clevyr, will offer up do’s and don’ts of a standout portfolio. Whether you’re a student, junior designer, or just working on your UX/UI portfolio, this is a great opportunity to get the inside scoop on what hiring managers and Design Leads look for when assessing applicants. Reserve your spot now and get ready to level up!
This is a joint event with Coffee and Code!
We have a networking opportunity for UX/product designers. If you are interested in meeting coders and other UX/product designers, we are doing a joint event with Coffee and Code.
This event is come and go! Feel free to show up when you can and stay as long as you want!
We’ll be meeting each other and chatting about coding and UX/product design. If you want to bring your laptop to showcase your UI designs, there are outlets at the bar. If you just want to network with coders and designers, you are more than welcome.
Newbies are always included at our events!
The parking lot entrance is on NW 2nd St.
In recognition of World Usability Day, OKC Design + Tech will hold a panel discussion at Clevyr in Oklahoma City to explore the accessibility of digital products and websites. This event is a hybrid event (in-person and online). The live stream will be available on Techlahoma’s Twitch channel (https://www.twitch.tv/techlahoma).
Members of the panel include:
- Ashley Coffey – Emerging Tech & #a11y Consultant at Wheelhouse Group, TEDx Speaker, and Podcast Host of Coffey & Code
- Rob Carr – Digital Accessibility Trainer, Mentor, Evangelist, and Strategica11y focused at WebAIM
- Jeremy Brand – Sr. Front End Engineer at Clevyr
- Adrian Townsend – Product Designer at Clevyr
UX Manager, Grant Vinson, will host the panel.
Lunch will be provided for in-person attendees; Sponsored by Clevyr.
Note: OKC Design + Tech is a Techlahoma-sponsored user group. See Techlahoma’s Code of Conduct for more info.
October 13th is International Plain Language Day. Join us to celebrate the day with a presentation from Barbra Kingsley, Ph.D., Chair of the Board of Directors for the Center for Plain Language and the owner of Kingsley-Kleimann Group.
Barbra has spent her 25-year career helping simplify the complex. With government clients, she has developed documents used by millions of people, including the Financial Privacy Notice (Federal Trade Commission), the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), the HIPAA Privacy Notice (Department of Health and Human Services), and SNAP Application Forms and Letters (Department of Agriculture).
She has also developed plain language curricula for the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency among others.
Barbra is the Chair of the Center for Plain Language and has previously led judging on the annual ClearMark awards. She is also a Board Member of the International Plain Language Federation which is establishing global ISO Standards for plain language.
She is a frequent speaker to trade groups, advocacy organizations, and regulatory agencies on the topics of clear communication, consumer protection, and increasing governmental efficiency through plain language.
What People Say
Mentorship & Industry Involvement
I met twice with Kerry and found his guidance very insightful and helpful. He guided me through the step of conducting the whiteboard challenge and gave me the materials to help me to improve. Kerry is a fantastic mentor!!! He is so pleased to talk with and I would definitely recommend him!
V. Lee
UX Designer
Kerry is such a nice guy. He listens to you to understand your context and gives you feedback in a very friendly way. I felt very comfortable listening to the improvement areas he pointed out. It’s always good to have people like him sharing their experiences because it helps us to look at things from a different angle.
C. Venancio
UX Designer
Wow, my mentoring session with Mr. Kerry was very awesome. I really learned a lot from him. He is a good listener. He tries his best to understand what problem you are going through and gives you the best support you need even though it’s just a motivational speech or something related it really goes a long way.
B. Adediwura
UX Designer
Let's Connect
Have a role in mind? Let's talk.
I’m open to Lead / Director / Principal UX and Product Design roles at companies building enterprise software, AI-powered products, or complex digital ecosystems.