About Josh
My mission is to add delight into the moments we connect. Even in the most somber industries where I've worked—I've seen how moments of joy create deeper connections and better outcomes.
I love building teams that see beyond transactions to the human moments that matter, turning routine interactions into opportunities for connection and wonder.
For 18 years, I've worked where design meets business strategy, bringing versatile experience across product design, product management, and strategic direction. I build teams that balance creative excellence with tangible results—transforming customer experiences while driving significant business growth.
I thrive in environments where I can amplify talent, create wonder, and generate velocity for products that are authentic and mission-focused.
Personal Life
Life Beyond Screens
Raised on the east coast and now living in Los Angeles, I'm a curious soul who loves connecting people, ideas, and possibilities. When I'm not working, you'll find me building guitars in my workshop, roller skating through the city with my pup, Jovi, or collaborating with my partner on our brand, Opomnia. I'm also learning American Sign Language to better understand non-verbal communication (but also because it's fun).
My Journey
My Career in Chapters
Creative Innovation
Early Career
After graduating with a fine arts degree, I started in UX and creative technology at digital agencies, crafting highly animated interfaces and exploring emerging technologies. This foundation in technical innovation and creative problem-solving shaped my approach to design leadership.
Strategic Impact
Mid-Career
Fascinated by design's growing influence in business, I pursued an MBA to bridge the gap between strategy and design thinking. This period was about learning to advocate for user-centered approaches in business-driven environments.
Design Leadership
Recent Years
Now focused on connecting business goals, engineering capabilities, and human needs. Building inclusive teams and balanced workplaces while serving underrepresented groups through thoughtful design leadership.
Community
Growing Together
Through ADPList and Goodest Design Club (community I've built), I support designers and product managers in discovering their unique strengths. Working with others and seeing them succeed in their careers continues to be one of the most rewarding parts of my journey. I’ve currently completed about 1500 hours of mentorship and have grown a small community of designers in my Discord channel as well as a leadership group in Slack.
Testimonials
Kind Words
Karina Chahal
Product Manager at Vimeo
"Josh was my skip-level manager and an incredible source of support and leadership... Josh has a high standard for UX and inspires the team to ship best in class features to market. He is humble, a team player, and a deep-thinker."
Casey Chen
Product Designer at Target
"I joined the Nordstrom Rack team specifically because of him; I knew I would learn and grow immensely as a designer working with him. He is inspiring, knowledgeable, yet approachable which is really hard to find these days... He understands the needs of his team and is fully invested in them."
Patrick Tanna
Product Manager at Amazon
"He is well-versed in all aspects of business and is respected by his peers as both a strategic and tactical leader... Josh is able to persuade or defend his views with the use of both rhetoric and analytics, which sets the bar for those around him to do the same."
Rachel Smith
Product Designer at Meta
"As a Latina woman in the workplace, Josh was my biggest proponent and advocate... Not only is he an immensely talented designer, strategist and leader, but his passion and academia for UX exudes through his teams in everything they do."
Leadership Principles
How I Work
Design With Purpose
Good design is paired with strong intention - and starts with relatable moments around real people, needs, and desires.
Lead With Heart
Simple things matter - being real, showing we care, and staying transparent. These help us connect better and find solutions that truly work for everyone.
Build Trust & Grow
Taking risks and growing together excites me most. I strive to create spaces where everyone can bring their authentic selves and do their best work, while helping each other along the way.
Drive Momentum
Good ideas become great when it's beneficial to all players in the game - the business, the builders, and the users.
Collaborate Openly
The magic happens when we bring different viewpoints together. I love seeing how sharing ideas openly, even the rough ones, leads us to better solutions than any of us could find alone.
Think Fresh
Recognition
Awards & Speaking
Awards
ADC Award (The One Club For Creativity)
W3 Award (Academy of Interactive Visual Arts)
Manny Award (Med Ad News)
Communicator Award (Academy of Interactive Visual Arts)
Rx Club Award (The Rx Club)
IAC Award (Web Marketing Association)
Talks
AI Shock (Weatherhead School of Management, 2023)
Design as a New Liberal Art, Ep. 333 (Fail Faster Podcast, 2023)
Generative Research (Medill School of Journalism, 2020, 2024)
Trend Panel (CEO & CMO Summit, MMA Global, 2021)
IRL Product (UCLA, 2020)
UX For Engineers (Rutgers University, 2018)
Other Achievements
Top100 Mentor (ADPList, 2024)
MBA Case Winner (Aspen Institute)
Top UX Voice 2024 (Linkedin)
Student Life Award (Weatherhead School of Management)
Be Vital Winner (Johnson & Johnson)
