# Debbie Sorkin > Design Leader Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/debbiesorkin I've spent 18+ years turning complex problems into experiences people actually love — including over a decade scaling two-sided marketplaces. I build and lead diverse teams across Product Design, UX Research, Brand, and CX. I'm a builder, an artist, a strategic partner, and what colleagues call a "culture multiplier." ## Work Experience ### Designer and Advisor @ Manychat Jan 2026 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area ManyChat is a leading marketing automation platform enabling creators and businesses to scale conversations across Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS. Working directly with the CPO across product strategy, design, and AI-native design — sitting at the intersection of product thinking and the future of AI-driven experiences. ### Designer and Advisor @ Giant Jan 2025 – Present Designer, Strategist and Advisor to a native AI children’s entertainment platform, shaping safe, interactive, AI-driven experiences that spark curiosity, creativity, and growth. ### VP of Design and Product / Head of Design and Product @ Apartment List Jan 2025 – Jan 2026 | San Francisco Bay Area • Executive leader overseeing Design, UXR, and CX, while serving as Interim Head of Product and SEO for the renter-side of the marketplace. • Design leader behind the AI-led rental search and discovery experience, aligning experience, product, and growth to serve both sides of the marketplace—improving decision confidence and strengthening resident property fit. • Executive sponsor of Design-to-Code transformation initiatives—championing cross-functional workshops, experimentation, and rollout to streamline handoff, improve velocity, and strengthen design–engineering alignment. ### VP of Design / Head of Design and User Research @ Apartment List Jan 2022 – Jan 2026 | San Francisco Bay Area • Functional leader, growing and retaining the Design and User Research teams from the ground up, spanning Product Design, Marketing Design, User Research, and Customer Experience. Managing directors, managers, and IC’s. • Responsible for the user experience and visual identity of three distinct brands and products from concept to launch, including Apartment List Core, Sunny.com , and Lea.ai • Overseeing the creation of our company level Design System Library and Visual Brand Identity, unifying the product experience across all platforms, spanning 3 brands. • Champion for a more diverse and equitable workplace as executive sponsor for the Pride ERG, DEI Product Pillar, and Homebridge Ambassador Program. ### Senior Director of Design / Head of Design and User Research @ Apartment List Jan 2019 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco Bay Area Scaled the design org through a period of rapid company growth, owning both supply and demand-side experiences across Product Design, Marketing Design, and UX Research. Led design across the full renter journey; search, discovery, native apps, reactivation, user acquisition and SEO, Design Systems, company level user research and internal tooling while establishing the foundation for the company's Design System and brand identity. ### Director of Design / Head of Design and User Research @ Apartment List Jan 2017 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco, California Built and codified the design practice from the ground up — establishing design principles, team rituals, and a shared creative language that scaled with the company. First true design leadership hire. ### Senior Product Designer @ Apartment List Jan 2015 – Jan 2017 Product designer responsible for our web, mobile web, Android and iOS products. ### Senior Product Designer @ UrbanSitter Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 | San Francisco Led end-to-end design of an Android app from concept to launch in 3 months. Sole designer driving UX, prototyping, user testing, and a full style guide. Partnered closely with engineering to implement Material Design; the work earned a TechCrunch feature and was showcased at Google I/O 2015. ### Lead Product Designer @ Elementum.com Jan 2012 – Jan 2014 | San Francisco Bay Area Led design for Elementum's news application across iOS, Android, and web — establishing the visual language and brand experience from concept through launch. Partnered closely with engineering to translate mockups and prototypes into a cohesive, polished product. ### Product Designer @ CREDO Mobile / Working Assets, Inc. Jan 2011 – Jan 2012 | San Francisco Spanned digital and print design: built wireframes, mockups, and coded landing pages in HTML/CSS; designed email campaigns for product and marketing; and produced print deliverables including direct mail and ads. ### Founder / Lead Designer @ Happy Medium Design Group, LLC Jan 2008 – Jan 2012 Happy Medium Design Group is built upon a foundation of individual skill and artistic knowledge--we excel as a group when we collaborate with our happy medium, Graphic Design. We use both print and digital media as our material to create artistic expression. • The primary Graphic Designer responsible for creative work, editing, overall production, & final products. • Supervise interaction with clients, marketing, promotional displays, and logo and web design. Manage all clerical and administrative work, and financial accounting. ### Marketing Designer @ Littler Mendelson Jan 2011 – Jan 2011 | San Francisco • Developed print collateral, HTML emails, and landing page design and development. ### Graphic Designer @ Savannah Diocese Jan 2009 – Jan 2011 | Savannah GA • Served as the sole Graphic Designer responsible for all creative work, including branding, digital and print design. • Branded the Catholic Diocese in digital and print media, designed advertisements in religious and secular media, re-designed the website, created holiday and seasonal cards and invitations, and designed bi-monthly e-newsletters. • Created web templates for 45 parishes in South Georgia using Wordpress, managed social media, and received two awards for “best use of original graphics” for the 2011 Catholic Press Association International Competition. ### Graphic Designer @ Hit Web Design Jan 2008 – Jan 2010 | Remote Contract Work • Served as a contract Graphic Designer for a multi-million dollar online graphic design firm and hosting company. • Worked remotely creating web sites, logo designs, and Flash banners and web intros. • Managed all client interaction throughout the creative and design process. ### Graphic Designer @ adiamor.com Jan 2006 – Jan 2008 | Los Angeles, California • Worked as the sole Graphic Designer for a multi-million dollar online jewelry and diamond company. • Created new imagery for website, updated website and photographed and edited new jewelry and merchandise. • Created, designed, and oversaw monthly e-newsletters, coordinated with programmers, and provided customer service. ## Education ### Bachelor of Arts in Arts and Ideas with an added emphasis on Photography and Spanish University of Michigan ### BFA-MFA in Graphic Design Savannah College of Art and Design ### Spanish Universidad de Granada ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/debbiesorkin --- Source: https://flows.cv/debbiesorkin JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/debbiesorkin/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13