Making Healthcare
More Human
More Human
Making Healthcare
Hi - I'm Lauren!
I work at the intersection of human-centered design and healthcare, translating lived experience, research, and systemic complexity into actionable change. Much of my learning has happened at the fringes of healthcare—exploring border relief, immigrant health, and disability care, where the gaps between people and systems become especially visible.
It’s there that I’ve learned to see healthcare not simply as a system to navigate, but as something we can reimagine.
My Expertise
I’ve built my expertise through a multidisciplinary path spanning K–12 education, medical education, clinical care, program development, and design research. Across these spaces, I’ve learned that my strength is finding the common language between different systems, disciplines, and communities. I bring these perspectives together to develop solutions that are grounded in the reality of our interconnected world, rather than the boundaries of any one field.
Co-Design & Community Research
Designing with, not for through 10+ participatory design projects, using qualitative and mixed-methods research to build alongside patients, clinicians, caregivers, and communities. I adapt traditional co-design methods to create meaningful ways to participate across educational backgrounds, languages, communication styles, and neurodivergent experiences.
Clinical & Community Insight
Drawing from experience across 5+ healthcare and community settings, including clinical care, medical education, and trans-border health. Experience directing clinic operations serving patients in Tijuana, Mexico informs how I design inclusively, grounding solutions in the realities of patients, families, and the systems they navigate.
Systems Thinking & Translation
Finding common language across 5 disciplines: medicine, research, design, education, and public health to connect perspectives and uncover opportunities across complex systems. Recognizing that health extends beyond clinical outcomes to quality of life and lived experience, I take a multipronged approach to problem-solving, exploring how perceived weak points within a system can become opportunities for stronger, more sustainable solutions through the inclusion of diverse stakeholders.
Designing for Real-World Use
My original attraction to design came from wanting to bridge traditional bioscience research with the people it is meant to serve. Having worked across both traditional and design research, I translate insights into tangible tools, interventions, and resources that move projects from discovery through implementation. Two projects I originally founded have grown into 5+ year initiatives, reinforcing my focus on designing solutions that can be sustained beyond their initial development.
Let's Make a Healthier World Together
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