Looking back at 2021

This has been an exhausting year.

I was a part of the second cohort of the NYC[x] Innovation Fellows, a program with USDS and the NYC Office of the CTO. I was part of the team working to improve how the city’s procurement process engages with minority- and women-led businesses (M/WBE). Not all of the changes we worked towards were put live by the end of our 10-week fellowship, but it was great to work with their team and build a foundation for further changes.

I joined USDS in 2021 after my contract with Mad*Pow was cut short, and I was looking for work. I had interviewed with USDR, but they didn’t have openings. I still wanted to do work that helped make a difference, and USDS presented another opportunity to do that while I was looking for work.

I wrapped up my work with Vertex, supporting projects towards them building a lab of the future. One concept I helped with won an internal innovation contest and received executive approval to build a pilot lab to test and interact with its concepts. The main work I was contracted for hit a stall, with my research inanities put on hold again.

I started a new contract with Santander Bank. The team is great, and I’m happy to work for the boss I have there, but it’s been crazy and hectic. It hasn’t been the easiest agile transition I’ve been a part of. I got myself better established as a business in case I was still going to be primarily doing contract work, but I’m now a full-time part-time as we build the UX team there.

For better or for worse—it usually feels for worse—I moved out of my old apartment and back to my grandparents to help take care of her and her dog. The dog is a cute ball of behavioral issues. Progress with her has been slow.

On a positive note, I was able to pay off my student loans. It’s amazing not to have that load bearing down on me anymore and to start saving. After seven years, I was able to get a plot in one of the Eastie community gardens. I’m sharing it with my aunt so we can tend it together. We have garlic, spinach, and kale growing for the winter. This year was her 70th birthday too.

For 202o, we had postponed TypeCon. Instead of postponing it again, 2021 was our first online TypeCon. There weren’t volunteers or a gallery for it, but I got to MC one of the type crit sessions. I’m part of the SoTA board now too.

I dropped out of 213. I wasn’t selling much before Covid, but with Covid restrictions, I didn’t see much point in continuing with it. I was part of a panel discussion—as an actual panelist, not an organizer—for the first time, joining some other 213 members. This was something we had discussed for a while, so it was great actually to see it happen. Art-wise I was able to experiment with making some digital pieces and get some t-shirt designs up on Cotton Bureau. I was able to set up a Twitter bot, too.

Here’s to be hopeful for the coming year (and hoping the government and planet don’t implode).

Accomplishments

In trying to end on a positive note, here’s a list of things I was able to accomplish in the past year:

• Improved visibility of minority- and women-led businesses for contracts with NYC as part of the second cohort of NYC[x] Innovation Fellows

• Mentored a couple of undergrad design students

• Won the 2021 Voice Innovation competition at Vertex

• Paid off my student loans

• Became a member of A.Team

• Started a contract at Santander and converted to full-time

• I was promoted to lead at Santander for consumer banking and started building out my own team

• Started a UX management course with HEC Montreal

• Became a certified SAFe Product Owner

• Won a regatta with PPSC

• Launched The Gaggery

• I had a couple of t-shirt designs featured on Cotton Bureau

• Participated as a panelist for artists about building websites

• Installed a temporary art installation in Belle Isle Marsh in Winthrop

• Posted some interactive digital pieces

• Received a garden plot (after being on the waiting list for 7 years) in one of the Eastie community gardens

• Joined the SoTA board