Our Mentors

Simina Megyes

Sr. UX Designer & UX Researcher at Bitdefender

• Career Advice
• Design Critique
• Product Design
• User Research

I'm focused on creating seamless experiences that satisfy user needs and exceed business goals through design. I design informed by research. Accustomed to traversing design challenges from value proposition to pixel-perfect details.

Rulatico Gonzalez

Principal Product Designer at Oyster Financial, Inc.

• Creative Direction
• Interaction Design
• Product Design
• Web Design

I love to empowered teams to create awesome projects that impact great experiences. Build goals connections is my primary tool for inspiring people. Enjoy design systems, tools, and processes. More importantly, I like to improve collaboration and communication; I love community and people. I share knowledge on my YouTube channel, Twitter, and blog posts on Medium. I'm also collaborating at @DribbbleMX meetup and the StartupBus. My Design Principles focus on be empathic to understand the users, creating systematic workflows, not forgetting the creativity and measuring the result.

Minhye Kim

Design Lead & Co-Founder at Plexi

• Graphic Design
• User Centered Design
• User Interface
• User Research

Bharath Haridas

Service Designer at Philips · Full-time

• Augmented Reality
• Design Strategy
• Design Thinking
• Graphic Design

Hello! I am a designer based in Singapore and the Bay area, currently facilitating the innovation process of financial services at Plug and Play by bringing startups and corporates to meet in the middle. Other interests include augmented reality and media for knowledge creation and art. ​​​​​​​Solving complexity starts with seeing it. I facilitate change by helping teams see their challenges, reframing them as opportunities, and bringing them to life. Currently helping Philips deliver improved healthcare experiences through Service and Strategic design approaches. Facilitating transformation for internal business teams and shaping experiences through strategic partnerships with healthcare providers.

Andrea Rivera Gomez

Lead Product Designer at Factor Eleven

• Branding & Identity
• Data Visualization
• Design Leadership
• Human Computer Interaction

Hi, I'm Andrea, a Senior Product Designer who loves to build digital products with cross-functional teams. I have 15 years of design experience making me an experienced and well-rounded creative. Lately (say some 3 years) I have been focusing on SaaS applications but I have tackled mobile App design, web design, and branding in the past.

Anupama Mishra

Sr UX Designer at PayPal

• Career Advice
• Interaction Design
• Portfolio Review
• Product Design

Hello! I'm Anu, Sr UX Designer at PayPal. I combine research, rapid prototyping, interaction, and visual design to transform complex problems into elegant solutions. Designing for 8 years in the young, rapidly growing startups, as well as companies like PayPal, Deloitte, and Walmart, taught me how to balance business goals and engineering constraints as I unrelentingly advocated for the user. My primary goal has been to deliver Design solutions which is balance b/w business goals and engineering constraints as well as accessible and user-centered design.

Roy Quilor

Interaction Designer at Nift

• Figma
• Graphic Design
• Illustration
• User Experience

I’m a Generalist Designer working with early stage tech startups, helping them secure investment. About me - 10 Years as a UI UX Designer (3 years with startups) - Youtube creator - Creating digital products in Framer and Next JS - Husband and father of one I’ve been a generalist designer who can design in Figma, use component libraries like Tailwind UI, to collaborate with developers to ship products. I believe in humility and growth to help fellow designers and to become a better human being.

Jonathan Yap

Design Standards Specialist, Director at Bank of Singapore, Asia's Global Private Bank

• Career Advice
• Design Leadership
• Product Design
• User Research

I'm a product designer with more than a decade of bringing stories together through design, research, data, strategy, and technology. My passion is in the community. Host and volunteer for UXSG. If you find time on my calendar and I'll be happy to chat! https://calendly.com/jonyap/openchat

Al Power

Lead Brand Designer & Illustrator | Visual Stimulator at Shortcut

• Illustration
• Product Design
• Visual Design

Lead Brand Designer // Illustrator // Visual Stimulator Spent whole life living in Dublin, Ireland. Although a severe lack of talent cut short a promising football career, he fell back on a life as a professional designer, lurking in the dark and using his design skills as a way to stimulate unknown spectators.

Leon Gouletsas

Design Lead Asia-Pacific at IBM

• Design Thinking
• Service Design
• User Experience

Hi, I'm Leon and I have over 15 years of experience working in design at technology companies. Through the span of my career, I have led large teams where I have overseen the design of large-scale products, working cross functionally with key teams. I frequently mentor junior designers and run company-wide workshops, research initiatives, and sprints that deliver results. I can help you with Lean Startup Product & Strategy Design Thinking Methods

Vishal Panchal

UX/UI Designer at Think.Design

• Career Transitions
• Design Systems
• Portfolio Review
• User Experience

Hello! I'm Vishal, who's educated as an engineer, started as a developer, and continued full-time as a designer. At the heart, I am a problem solver and a storyteller driven by curiosity. One of my strengths is converting visionary ideas into tangible designs but by also considering technical feasibility. I have a combined work experience of 4.5+ years and in this journey, I have worked on various projects like end-to-end insurance site, EV app, e-commerce site, enterprise apps & dashboards, fuel station management app, business performance management app. I'm committed to sharing my knowledge of design thinking methodologies and the processes I follow while designing applications and websites for Fortune 500 companies. As your mentor, I can help you with the design process, UX design, UI design, design systems, portfolio & resume reviews, and much more. Let's connect over a coffee and solve your challenges.

Apurva Gupta

Lead UX Designer at Amazon Web Services

• Accessibility
• Career Advice
• Design Critique
• Portfolio Review

Apurva is a seasoned designer and has been in the design industry for 8+ years. She holds a bachelor in Design and a masters in HCI. She has worked with companies big and small leading end-to-end design and helping teams set-up design-first product processes, design systems and accessibility goals. I am an experienced UX designer and researcher who combines expertise in user-centered design and management of technology. I work towards designing delightful, meaningful and inclusive experiences. - Extensive experience in SaaS-based enterprise and user-facing products and solutions. - Specializes in design thinking and user-centered design philosophy - Excels in connecting the dots between user needs, business requirements and development infrastructure. - Exercises systemic, deliberate and data-driven approach to design. - Strongly believes in the power of consistency across different components, modules, pages and/or processes of a product. - Loves challenges and always open to learning something new. - Fuels energy from an open, collaborative environment.

Daniel Wilcomb

UI/UX Design Manager at OneStream Software

• Design Leadership
• Product Design
• User Centered Design
• User Experience

I started in User Experience before the discipline had a name. I started at consulting agency that specialized in combining UX strategy and system architecture for financial service and biopharmaceutical clients. Since then I've built, mentored, and designed with top-tier UX teams. I am a hands-on design team leader with over twenty years of experience in a wide variety of domains. I’ve learned that approaches discovered in one area of design can radically improve design in others. The teams I have built deliver both software and physical products for IBM, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, and many others.

Navita Deswal

Senior Consultant - User Experience Designer at Deloitte

• Design Management
• Interaction Design
• Service Design
• User Experience

Hi All, I'm Navita- UX Designer Consultant @Deloitte. I would just say one thing- Please tell me to STOP if I talk a lot to you. I am a UX Researcher & Designer passionate about delivering clean designs with the best User Experience. I love to generate new ideas and devise feasible solutions to complex problems. My expertise includes designing through formative research, task analysis, wireframing, prototyping and moderating usability studies for the development of the user-centered design.

Meghan Kelley

Senior Digital Designer, Design Systems at Zendesk

• Design Systems
• Information Architecture
• Interaction Design
• Product Design

I’m a product designer, end-end based in San Francisco. I specialize in UI design and building design systems. With over 7 years of design experience, I’ve worked in museum design, B2B and AI for early stage startups and science education non profits helping them innovate and thrive. I have a passion for creating, evolving and maintaining design systems. I’m currently evolving Greenhouse, Zendesk’s design system for their Brand and Marketing teams. Greenhouse has gained tremendous adoption since my arrival at Zendesk, so lookout for hiring opportunities as we continue to grow our design systems team. At Kelvin (A.I. Series C machine data management startup for oil and gas) I lead the creation of a design system from the ground up. I designed and defined interaction patterns for responsive data tables, menus, style guides, toolkits and components. I created documentation and evangelized UI consistency with product and engineering teams to help expand system level thinking. I also did feature product improvements end to end as a key contributor product designer. At Granular (SaaS startup in agriculture management and operations), my focus was product design for the CFO and CEO allowing them to analyze and improve their crop and business decisions with financial data. I also worked on creating their design system. At the California Academy of Sciences (non profit science museum) I created award winning science based interactive experiences for exhibits and websites. Won a Webby Honoree Award. I'm classically trained in Industrial Design from RISD with over 7 years experience. I seek to understand the human experience that helps organizations thrive. Analytical thinking and empathetic problem solving I believe drives meaningful design that solves real world problems. When I'm not designing, you'll find me wood carving or woodworking, creating Pre-K activities, and jogging on the beach with my husband and daughter. Specialties: Design Systems Product Design Project Management Product UI User Experience Design User Interface Design User Research Interaction Design Information Architecture Prototyping

Ladipo Odunsi

Product Design Manager at Traction Apps

• Design Process
• Interaction Design
• User Centered Design
• User Experience

Experienced Digital Designer with a demonstrated history of working in the digital space. Skilled in Product, Visual, Motion & Graphic Design as well as front-end development. I have a passion for teaching & mentoring young designers.

Jiani Lin

Sr. Experience Designer at Code and Theory

• Design Systems
• Development
• Product Design
• Product Management

I’m a New York–based Senior UX Designer with eight years of consulting experience, currently at Code and Theory. I’ve led end-to-end product design for major global brands—developing UX strategies, building scalable design systems, and delivering award-winning, innovative solutions across both B2B and B2C platforms. I thrive in fast-paced environments where business goals and user needs intersect, and I’ve also coached junior- to mid-level designers, helping them strengthen their craft and confidence. As a mentor, I bring practical experience from leading complex, cross-functional design initiatives—from early discovery and stakeholder alignment to launch and iteration. I can offer guidance on how to navigate ambiguity, collaborate effectively with product managers, developers, and researchers, and manage expectations across clients and leadership teams. Beyond project execution, I’m passionate about helping designers strengthen their design practice, grow strategic thinking, and build confidence in communicating their ideas. I also support mentees in shaping long-term career growth paths—whether transitioning into leadership roles, deepening craft expertise, or building the mindset to thrive in fast-paced, evolving environments.

Angela Chua

Co-Founder at Ronin NFT Marketpace

• User Experience
• User Interface
• Visual Design

UX Designer at ToffeenutDesign.com • quietly doing freelance work since ‘08 • currently with @noteshelf, @whinkapp, @digivalet; past @uhooair, @metromartph • Specializes in smart homes, automation, hospitality, productivity apps and note-taking, e-commerce

Yonni Mendes

Engineering Manager at The Right Context

• Career Advice
• Team Building

Mentor for first-time tech leaders, new managers starting their first leadership position or a new position in a new company, or senior engineers taking up leadership "with no authority" roles I started my career as a full stack developer and gradually moved into leadership roles. I was often the person helping teams make decisions, resolve friction, and deal with problems that were more about people and structure than technology. Over time, that became the work I cared about most. As a mentor, I focus on practical leadership. That includes supporting engineers who are managing people for the first time, helping senior engineers expand their influence, and working through real situations from day to day work. I care about building habits and processes that serve both the team and the individual. I work best with people who want to be thoughtful about how they lead, who are open to reflection, and who want their leadership style to fit who they are rather than follow a template.

Arun Vignesh

Senior UX Designer at IBM

• Design Leadership
• Design Process
• Enterprise Design
• Illustration

Vannakam! I’m Arun, product designer, UX researcher, and Illustrator from India, helping businesses with solutions through intuitive design and perceptive design systems for the past 11 years. Over a decade my journey with Design and User Experience has been amazing, from which I have learnt, shared and proud to say that I’m still learning new things each day. Even simple objects/ experiences, when analyzed have complex compositions within. The artistic world has always inspired me from fascinating colors to discrete patterns which also always kept me wanting to capture unusual aesthetic life scenes into illustrations.

Steve Brennan

Senior Principal at Optum

• Design Systems
• Product Design
• User Centered Design
• User Experience

Hope you are having a great day! My name is Steve, I have over 15 years of experience design and have worked across numerous domains ranging from VR, AR, e commerce, product life cycle management, predictive maintenance, machine learning, healthcare and human resources. Product designer focused on solving ambiguous problems with empathy, data informed decisions, cross team collaboration and best in class design approaches. Deep background in rapid prototyping, design operations, system design, user flows, accessibility, design systems, WCAG compliance, requirements gathering, cross team collaboration, IA documentation, UI design. Product designer focused on solving ambiguous problems with empathy, data informed decisions, cross team collaboration and best in class design approaches. Deep background in rapid prototyping, design operations, system design, user flows, accessibility, design systems, WCAG compliance, requirements gathering, cross team collaboration, IA documentation, UI design.

Aaron Benjamin

Senior Product Designer at Redfin

• Accessibility
• Design Strategy
• Growth Marketing
• Interaction Design

For more than 10 years, I’ve helped companies big and small build great experiences for their customers, partners, and employees. I believe in inclusive, likable design in the service of the user. My main interests are domain-driven design, web accessibility, storytelling, and UX strategy.

Tia Verheyen

Senior Designer at GNCinstore

• Fashion Design

Following an illustrious 15-year career with Hermès, Shanti transitioned form the luxury goods industry to academia. She now shares her industry expertise with students on the fashion track. Shanti's strategic vision, strong analytical skills, and dynamic personality led her though a circuitous journey of Hermes where she gained a 360 degree perspective of the luxury fashion house in multiple capacities—leadership and team management, customer service, retail operations, and logistics and supply chain management—with a focus on perfumes. Following this invaluable experience, Shanti is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Apparel, Retail, and Merchandising at Iowa State University. Her research interests include cultural studies and consumption within the fashion industry, focusing on the political tensions surrounding Islamic modest fashion in United States post 9/11. Shanti now adjuncts at Kent State University and the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, where she is committed to challenging her students to think strategically and creatively, while fostering an engaging, equitable, and inclusive learning environment. Specialties: Retail management, merchandising, operations, training, marketing, consumer behavior, and Islamic modest fashion.

Deeksha Somaiya

Assistant Professor at UID, Karnavati University

• Architecture
• Design Process
• Design Thinking
• Interior Design

experience defined by volume and emotional resonance. My practice and research are situated at the intersection of Worldbuilding and Speculative Spatial Design, where I explore how narrative-led interventions can navigate preferable futures. Currently an Assistant Professor at Unitedworld Institute of Design (UID), I adopt the role of a 'Collaborative Lead Designer' in the studio, fostering a creative lab environment where process is valued over final imagery. My work investigates the 'phygital'—the seamless integration of physical and digital layers—to create immersive, sensory-rich environments. From algorithmic design to interdisciplinary synergy, I am committed to advancing design pedagogy that balances academic rigor with the brave exploration of radical ideas. My goal is to educate designers who are not just technically proficient, but possess the conviction to defend their design decisions in an increasingly complex world.

Ka An Hsu

UX Designer at Kyndryl

• Graphic Design
• User Experience
• User Interface
• Visual Design

I am Hsu Ka An a.k.a Robert. I am a third-generation Indian Chinese and an HFI – Certified Usability Analyst. I have been in the UX Role for the last 6 years. I am currently working as a Design Lead in Continental, a company that deals with Mobility Solutions.