USDA + OCX

Elevating Rural Development Through Human-Centered Service Design

Chief Customer Experience Officer

Why It Matters

This project showcases the impact of human-centered service design at scale. By shifting focus from systems to people, we helped the USDA better understand the rural communities they serve — and gave them the tools to act on it with clarity, confidence, and care.

Project Overview

Partnering with the Office of Customer Experience (OCX) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), I led a team of 10+ Experience Designers on a high-impact engagement to reimagine the customer experience of Rural Development services nationwide. This work aimed to help the federal government better serve farmers, families, and rural communities by transforming outdated systems, policies, and service delivery models.

  • As a Lead Experience Strategist and Team Lead, I was responsible for:

    • Direct partnership with the Chief and Deputy Chief Customer Experience Officers of OCX

    • Leading and mentoring a cross-functional team of designers and researchers

    • Scoping and executing a nationwide discovery initiative

    • Synthesizing research into service design insights, journey maps, and strategic recommendations

    • Facilitating collaboration between internal stakeholders, field offices, and leadership

    • Led mixed-methods research across the country to surface pain points and latent needs

    • Interviewed 60+ USDA customers including homeowners, farmers, and loan recipients

    • Conducted 25+ internal interviews across USDA departments and field offices

    • Reviewed 40+ internal documents, policies, and systems to understand operational realities

    • Identified a key opportunity area: mortgage management and loan processing—where delays, complexity, and lack of visibility caused systemic issues

    • Facilitated collaborative working sessions with executive stakeholders

    • Prioritized initiatives based on feasibility, impact, and user need

    • Built strong relationships with agency leads to foster buy-in and drive implementation

    • Created multi-layered customer journey maps spotlighting user experiences across:

      • Housing loans

      • Grant applications

      • Customer support workflows

    • Led the creation of prototypes to reimagine service interactions

    • Delivered a comprehensive Service Design Strategy Playbook including:

      • 60+ CX recommendations across digital, policy, and people touchpoints

      • Suggested improvements in communication, transparency, and process redesign

      • Future-state visioning for an equitable and digitally accessible USDA

    • Equipped OCX and USDA Rural Development with a clear roadmap for transformation

    • Elevated customer voice in a traditionally policy-led environment

    • Enabled prioritization of mortgage and loan service redesign efforts

    • Built internal momentum toward agile, iterative, human-centered innovation

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