From the start, I’ve been obsessed with users. Yes, for real.

When I began my career at WFIE in Evansville, Indiana, we were at the very dawn of mobile consumption. I was rocking a Blackberry Curve (R.I.P.) and I was obsessed. Everyone was. Then the iPhone and Droid hit the market and it was all over. Those beautiful, Flash intro-heavy websites were over. It was about the phone. It was about the user. And I was here for it.

So the media properties I managed switched to mobile-enabled sites, we got better apps, we capitalized on early social traffic. We followed users’ patterns and made things better. We let their behavior determine how we allocated our resources, and they rewarded us with the best traffic and standing.

When I switched gears into non-profit marketing, I brought the same zest of user-first experience to the Campbell County Public Library. I examined the usage patterns of our folks and reworked our website to make it simple to find what they were looking for. I helped build an app that made it easy for them to access important library services wherever they were. I created video campaigns to help celebrate and explain our mission. I expanded our social media reach into Instagram. Why? That’s where the users were. That’s what they wanted.

Since starting at Cerkl two years ago, our roster of clients has grown exponentially. The whole time we’ve stayed true to our core values of saving time and growing engagement. I’ve been lucky to help create a better user experience through my feedback. I was always energized by these sessions, happy to be helping our users. I always wanted more time to analyze and act. Now, with my new position, as Director of Product, I will get to do just that.

I will get the rare chance to shape a product that is both useful and desirable. I will be able to tap into my well of empathy to help solve communicators’ biggest problems through technology. It’s an exciting time and I can’t wait to get started.