Meet the Speaker — Jeannie Adair

Jeannie Adair is the Head of Design of CX Studios. She is leading a workshop at WITS MidAtlantic — Designing with Heart: An Empathy-Focused Design Thinking Workshop.

Why is speaking at WITS important to you?

It’s my passion to inspire people, especially women, to step into their truest selves, to be their most creative, to encourage them to trust their inner wisdom, and to grow as authentic leaders. Meanwhile, I am gently nudging myself along that path, and speaking at WITS for the first time is a growth edge for me.

What or who inspires you?

I am open to inspiration from so many sources — my children, partner, friends, and work colleagues, nature, music, design, and dance. I am in awe of the deep well of genius and creativity that I see in the variety of music and dance from different cultures, as well as the various ways of problem solving, specifically around global challenges. These things fill me with hope.

Most useful article you’ve read in the last month

Articles on the Pluriverse have been helpful in increasing my understanding of equity and inclusion in design. https://medium.com/microsoft-design/power-of-the-pluriverse-c3592f5eca76

When you were a kid what was your dream job?

I wanted to either be an artist or a psychologist — I think experience design meets in the middle!

Tell us something about your session

It’s predominantly for those that haven’t had a lot of exposure to design thinking. You don’t have to be a designer to be a design thinker. It’s also for designers that want to bring more mindfulness to their own process. I am really excited to bring design thinking exercises and archetypes as mindfulness tools together in an embodied workshop.

What other sessions or speakers are you most excited to see?

• Mayra Ruiz McPherson’s Beyond Empathy, Interfaces, and Lingo: The True Impacts Technologists Need to Know as They Develop and Design for Humane Tech.

• Swathi Young’s What is the Hoopla about Generative AI and Why You Should Care?

Attend Jeannie’s workshop and hear from the other amazing women in tech speaking at WITS MidAtlantic. Learn more and register at https://womenintechsummit.net/wits-midatlantic-2023/