“My father, a computer programmer, was the one that sparked my love of technology and design. It began one summer when I was thirteen years old. After a night of sneaking out with friends and a failed attempt at toilet-papering my grammar school, I was grounded for the entire summer.”
Selected Work
Talks and Podcasts
Women Techmakers New York City: Keynote Address
This highly rated talk focuses on "white elephant opportunities" - opportunities that arise in one's career that are not necessarily obvious, may not align with one's perception of success, might be rejected out of fear, but will hold a magnetic attraction for mysterious reasons. These opportunities should be embraced, and Heather will describe why based on her own personal experiences throughout her career.
The Design of Business | The Business of Design: Podcast
Heather is interviewed by the great Jessica Helfand at the Yale School of Management about her work at Google, leading and scaling design teams, and how to use both qualitative and quantitative user research to understand both the “how” and the “why” behind user behavior.
Design Driven NYC | Leading Design in the Midst of Chaos: Keynote Address
Do you ever wonder if your team is as successful as it could be? Are you able to honestly say you're designing "excellent" products, especially when the goal posts keep changing? In this talk, Heather describes what it takes for a product design team to move from the realm of "service provider" to a true, strategic partner, and how techniques like participatory research, disciplined measurement, understanding the hedgehog, embracing the cut-line, and others, can be the difference between mediocre and exceptional.