# Michelle Trame > Research-obsessed Design and Innovation Leader Location: Oakland, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/michelletrame As designers, we are often concerned with discovering pain points and implementing solutions to address those. I am just as concerned with our joyful moments and happy places so that I can design not just for alleviating discomfort, but for maximizing happiness. ## Work Experience ### Senior Product Designer @ Instructure Jan 2024 – Present ### Service Designer @ PepsiCo Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 Design research and design for Design to Value, a product innovation initiative that required for suite of tools to support global and regional efforts to improve PepsiCo products, reduce costs and reduce environmental impacts. Service design for DTC digital products to improve the customer experience and brand/marketing design process for creating these experiences. ### Sr. Product Designer @ REI Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 Led design on several employee and customer facing software tools including supply chain, fulfillment and in-store applications. Supported stakeholder communication and defining product strategy in collaboration with product managers. Owned discovery research and usability testing with customers and employees. Close collaboration with developers to reduce technical debt and improve velocity. ### Experience Designer @ AT&T Jan 2020 – Jan 2022 | Oakland, California, United States Innovation team role. Designed a new billing experience for AT&T customers including digital, in-person and analog touch points, from generative research to service blueprinting to developer handoff. ### Interaction Designer @ Vouch Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | Austin, Texas, United States Partnered with a micro-finance non-profit, JUST, to research the economic lives of financially marginalized populations. Development of an online friends and family lending platform. ### Service Designer @ Austin Parks Foundation Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | Austin, Texas, United States Generative design research with park users in Austin to discover latent needs. Developed design criteria to address issues of inclusion in public green space in Austin. ### Computer Science Instructor @ SMASH Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Berkeley, CA ### Design Strategy / UX Designer @ In the Test Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Oakland, California, United States Market research and user research to develop an understanding of testing of process knowledge. Created user flows and wireframes for an iOS app. ### Strategy Consultant @ Last Minute Gear Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco, CA ### Economics and AP Statistics Teacher @ The Athenian School Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | Danville, CA I designed an experiential curriculum for a new Economics course. I utilized on-line economics simulations and in person demonstrations that supported learning economic theory and economic research and analysis best practices. Substantial project-based learning included teaching students project management best practices and work flows as well as using project management software tools. ### Athenian Wilderness Experience Expedition Leader @ The Athenian School Jan 2010 – Jan 2017 | Danville, CA Leadership and Interpersonal skill instruction: communication, self-awareness, empathy. Wilderness technical skills: rock climbing, desert and alpine backpacking, risk management, decision making, Leave No Trace practices, self-reliance, natural history. ### Design Strategist and Co-founder @ Backcountry Babes Jan 2013 – Jan 2017 | San Francisco and Tahoe, CA Founder of Constellation Outdoor Education. Led acquisition of Backcountry Babes. Complete UX redesign of customer experience resulting in 3x conversion increase. Streamlined and automated BOH workflows. Revenue growth of 9x over 3 years. Led customer-facing service design initiatives. Built out, managed, mentored a team of 20 contractors focused on supporting leadership of women and other marginalized identities in the outdoor industry. Owned marketing and partnerships strategy and increased key performance metrics in both areas. ### Experience Designer @ Hack Reactor Jan 2014 – Jan 2016 | San Francisco, CA I thrived in the fast-paced start-up culture of Hack Reactor, being promoted twice within my first six-months to positions of increasing responsibility. Service Design: I worked with admissions, operations, engineering and other teams to refine and develop student on-boarding processes, to apply feedback from sprint reflections and to develop the software tools that supported our instructional goals. I autonomously managed the day-to-day functioning of the cohorts on campus and provided on-line support to enrolled students, designed software tools and to more efficiently track student progress identify where to target interventions and to minimize time spent on low-ROI tasks. Team Leadership: I led a team focused on delivering instruction to software engineering students. The team included experienced software engineering professionals to recent program graduates who supported the students in learning programming and app development. Mentorship and instruction: I taught students skills for project management and successful performance in an engineering team in lectures and small-group break-out sessions. I introduced innovations in curriculum that addressed needs that students had that were not being met by the existing curriculum. ### Guide @ Northwest Rafting Company Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 | Rogue River, OR ### Guide @ ECHO River Trips Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 | Rogue River, OR ### Chadwick Outdoor Education Instructor @ Chadwick School Jan 2008 – Jan 2015 | Palos Verdes, CA Expeditionary outdoor educator for middle school and high school students: Developed and taught 6-year course progression in a wilderness context focused on communication, interpersonal skills, self-awareness, technical skills and appreciation of the natural world. ### Group Leader @ The Outdoor Education Group Jan 2010 – Jan 2011 | Eildon, VIC ### Instructor @ Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences Jan 2007 – Jan 2011 ### Outdoor Adventures Primary Guide @ UCLA Jan 2003 – Jan 2010 ### Instructor @ Boojum Institute for Experiential Education Jan 2007 – Jan 2010 ### Cartography @ Moon Travel Guides Jan 2009 – Jan 2009 Maps ### Cartography @ Perseus Books Group Jan 2009 – Jan 2009 ### Coordinator @ Camp Campbell Outdoor Science School Jan 2008 – Jan 2009 ### Trip Director @ Wilderness Ventures Jan 2007 – Jan 2008 ### Challenge Course Program Supervisor @ UCLA Outdoor Adventures Jan 2005 – Jan 2007 2005-Winter 2007 Scheduled and organized over 200 challenge course programs per year for students, staff, community, non-profit, and corporate clients Individually monitored staff development for a staff of 20-30 people and promoted a culture of consistent feedback and positive communication Coordinated quarterly external and in-house training opportunities for staff Designed and implemented marketing strategies for on- and off-campus clients General maintenance of challenge course equipment and facilities ### Medic/Instructor @ Camp Highland Outdoor Science School Jan 2007 – Jan 2007 ## Education ### UCLA ### Design Strategy Austin Center for Design ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/michelletrame --- Source: https://flows.cv/michelletrame JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/michelletrame/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13