Meet the Speaker — Nadia Preston
Nadia Preston is the Director, Head of Experience Activation / Product Management at Ford Motor Company. Her session at WITS Spring 2022 Virtual Summit is “Human Centered Design: The power of working together in cross-team collaboration”.
Why is speaking at WITS important to you?
I am thrilled to be able to speak at the WITS! Having worked in a male-dominated field for most of my career, I am passionate about advocating and supporting women, especially in the tech field. I also look forward to networking with other women and hearing about their journey.
What or who inspires you?
I’m a mother of 2 very active and creative boys. They are not only my “why”, but also inspire me to look at the world as an endless road of possibilities. I love their curiosity, their passion, and energy. They also help to keep me grounded and ensure that despite how busy life gets, I continue to focus on my body, mind, and spirit as priority one. That approach has made me a better Mother and a more well-rounded Leader.
The most helpful article you’ve read in the last month
I’ve been practicing yoga for over twenty years and know firsthand its benefits. As a member of the Ford Mindfulness Team, I am always looking for ways I can inspire my team to incorporate Mindfulness into the workplace. I just read a couple of articles that resonated with me -
5 Essential Qualities Of A Mindful Leader (forbes.com)
“Mindfulness is more than a program. It’s a movement that is gaining momentum. It’s time for managers to embrace it, lead by example, and inspire others to do the same”.
And How Mindfulness Can Help Engineers Solve Problems (hbr.org)
Which talks about how Mindfulness can help Engineers unlock the creative and innovative mindset needed to solve complex problems.
When you were a kid what was your dream job?
I wanted to be a professional chef; I even imagined having my own cooking show. I still carry that passion for cooking and love to get creative in the kitchen.
Tell us something about your session.
My session (Human Centered Design: The power of working together in cross-team collaboration) will focus on how we have integrated Human Centered Design into our work and how it has been foundational to the cultural transformation at Ford Motor Company. I will also talk about the role my team of engineers play in the design process with the hope of inspiring others to unlock their creativity.
What other sessions or speakers are you most excited to see?
There are some really great topics and so many I’m excited about. However, the most relevant to the work I’ve been leading is “Inclusive Design: A Design Thinking and Digital Prototyping Workshop”.
