BETHANIE COLWELL
STUDENT CENTERED DESIGN
WHO I AM
Solution seeker for K12 sized problems
I’m fascinated by all things messaging and design and love connecting with people through the power of words. I’ve been teaching the power of words to teenagers in North Carolina where I developed journalism and digital citizenship curriculum before leading the school’s 1:1 digital integration. When the resistance to change became unbearable, I made the best decision of my life to leave education to pursue my passion for user experience design weeks before a global pandemic.
I have been on the marketing team at an international law firm, a counselor to college women, a director of a tutoring center, a journalism teacher, a curriculum designer, a school leader, and a comedy club hostess.
The consistent thread? A deep empathy for people and desire for clarity and delight.
WHAT I CAN DO
UX WRITING
Connecting with users through empathetic conversation design and clarity of voice and tone
CONTENT STRATEGY
Planning and delivering user focused content with insight from a decade in K12
RESEARCH
Digging to understand the root cause of human behavior to make the complex simple
CURRICULUM DESIGN
Developing learner centered instructional content that engages and delights
My brain is consistently led to seek simple solutions to complex problems, like the mental health of our nation’s young people. Currently, I’m exploring how to reduce stress and build community through simplifying social emotional learning in secondary schools. During my recent internship with a D.C. social impact startup, my team worked to design a mobile onboarding experience to reduce the mental health stigma for college students that is currently being tested.
I hold a Master’s in Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a B.A. in Communications, Information Sciences and Technology minor, from Pennsylvania State University. For my third career leap, I recently completed a 7-month User Experience Design course with Springboard and am excited to work with like-minded people to humanize technology.