About

Most people call me Vora.

Papaya salad, funk music, and asking people questions with “why,” “what,” and “how” — these are just a few of my favorite things.

I've always been drawn to both systematic thinking and creativity. For a long time those two things ran parallel in my previous work within healthcare, education, and public policy, until I finally made the decision to blend them together by pursuing User Experience Design at General Assembly. During this intensive 10-week training, I found my place within the vast UX ecosystem, where user research and universal design principles came to light as my calling.

I’m invigorated by design thinking and robust research to set the design direction for products and systems, especially for international audiences. As someone who is passionate about the intersection of data, design, and inclusion, I look forward to using my skills as in program management, research, experience design, and language access to scale UX and ensure products are relevant and engaging for all users globally.

Fun facts about me:

• Linguaphile - J’aime ຮຽນພາສາ ต่างฯ, todo el tiempo

• Microlearning experimentalist: IG: @lao.language.lab

• Amateur (indoor) boulderer

• Former fellow for Contemplative Practice, Hemera Foundation

“ວໍ” is the first syllable of my name written in Lao language. As I was raised in a refugee family, Lao was the first language I learned to speak. It has its roots in Sanskrit, which is a compound word that signifies “work that is done well and done cohesively.”

I strive to bring cohesion to my work as a UX professional, seeing myself as a facilitating “instrument” in the discovery process and in the bigger ecosystem of UX design. I embrace learning and bringing awareness to assumptions, preconceptions, identities, and power dynamics in data collection, analysis, problem framing, and generating solutions. By doing so, I aim to become a more well-rounded individual and UX practitioner, minimize bias in the process, and make a positive impact on technology and design.