Her grandmother taught her that successful businesses put the customer first

My first job was in my grandmother’s store, Miss Annie’s, in Bessemer, Alabama. I was four years old—too young to understand business, but old enough to watch my grandmother work.

She lived in a food desert before it was a common term, and she listened to her community. If a neighbor mentioned a product they wanted, it appeared on her shelves soon after. On hot Alabama afternoons, she kept her signature bebop ice drinks stocked. I still remember the look on people’s faces when they got one, and the quiet disappointment on the days she ran out. She also extended credit to families in the community who needed it, which meant she sometimes worked a second job just to keep her own shelves full. She never made much money. But she made sure that everyone in that little neighborhood in Bessemer had what they needed, even when it cost her something to provide it.

I didn’t know it at the time, but these moments with my grandmother shaped the foundation of my love for the experience design space: being curious enough to understand what people actually need, empathetic enough to care, and willing to do the hard work to deliver it.

These lessons served me well when I started my career at Domino’s Pizza in the early 2000s. Our team launched the first online ordering platform at a time when no other major restaurants had it. There wasn’t a playbook for it, but we listened to our customers, empathized with their challenges, and started building something that could help.

Since then, I’ve brought that same approach to financial services, tax services, and now insurance—industries all working to transform experiences for clients during some of life’s most meaningful moments. Today, I lead an experience design strategy team focused on reimagining the systems, processes, and interfaces of a 180-year-old company to better serve our customers and advisors.

The questions haven’t really changed since I was three years old behind that counter: What do people need? How do I understand it? What am I willing to do to deliver it?

My grandmother answered those questions with a neighborhood store, lines of credit, and bebop ice drinks. I answer them with design strategy, systems thinking, and an incredible network of peers and partners.

Same questions—just a different business.