Schedule at a Glance | Friday, September 19, 2025
Take a look at our one-day virtual summit UXPALOOZA 2025 programming. Click on the session title or speaker to learn more about both!
(Schedule subject to change; All times are in the eastern time zone)
*Speaker Change – Jared Johnson is replacing Michael Nix for this session.
TIME (ET)
AI & UX
UX CAREER GROWTH
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM
OPENING REMARKS
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM
NOON – 12:50 PM
12:50 PM – 1:30 PM
NETWORKING EVENT
1:30 PM – 2:20 PM
2:30 PM – 3:20 PM
3:30 PM – 4:20 PM
KEYNOTE SESSION – AI Hype vs. Help
4:20 PM – 4:30 PM
CLOSING REMARKS
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Program
Click on the ‘+’ sign to expand the session row to learn more about the session and speaker!
(Schedule subject to change; All times are in the eastern time zone)
*Speaker Change – Jared Johnson is replacing Michael Nix for this session.
KEYNOTE SESSION
3:30 PM - 4:20 PM: AI HYPE VS. HELP | CLARA KLIMAN-SILVER
AI HYPE VS. HELP
How is AI evolving the UX field?
What does it mean for UX practitioners?
This talk will investigate how AI has changed UX work over the last few years – and how it hasn’t We’ll look at where AI can assist and accelerate UX work, but we’ll also discuss the critical roles humans continue to play. In addition to addressing industry trends, we’ll examine the changing attitudes that UXers have towards AI in their creative work and strategies for effective partnership. Lastly, the talk will cover implications for UXers who are thinking about their careers and how UXers will continue to have value in an age of changing technology.
CLARA
KLIMAN-SILVER
UX Research Manager
Google
Clara Kliman-Silver is a UX strategist based in New York City. Currently, she works as a UX research manager on the Material Design team at Google and collaborates with local UX communities, including Ladies That UX. Her research focuses on the emergent role of artificial intelligence in UX design, metrics frameworks for measuring product development, and developer experience.
AI & UX SESSIONS
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM: AI-ENABLED DESIGN TOOLING | JARED JOHNSON*
AI-ENABLED DESIGN TOOLING
to Go From Concept to Code
In this session you will learn how to drastically reduce time from abstract idea to functional prototype with AI-backed products, Figma Make, UX Pilot, and more. We will review products that can help our Product Leaders looking to bring an idea to life quickly, our development teams looking to get a functional prototype in-front of business partners and customer groups for feedback, and even the start of a functional codebase to build upon. Let’s dive into what this process looks likes, how you can do it, and ways to accelerate value for your digital product teams.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Being able to understand how, where, and when to deploy tools like AI-enabled designing practices to bring ideas to life in functional prototypes.
- Understand how AI can assist in real-time code generation, prototyping, and developer handoff.
- Gain hands-on experience with prompts and workflows that bridge design and engineering.
JARED
JOHNSON
Lead UX Consultant
Solution Design Group
Jared Johnson is an Experience Design Consultant with over 10 years of experience building digital products & services for corporate enterprise organizations to start-ups. His professional expertise spans traditional experience design, interface design, usability testing, and digital product strategy.
His experience spans the industries of finance, healthcare, construction, agriculture, and legal, and he has worn many hats ranging from Production Artist and Graphic Designer to Interactive Designer and Experience Strategist. He has been featured on technology podcasts, written blogs highlighting best practices when building digital products, presented to dozens of technology professionals on industry trends, curated design topics + speakers for local conferences, and contributed to panel discussions for events like World Usability Day.
Jared is highly engaged in the local Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota design community where he lives as well as supports regional, national, and international chapters of collaborative communities of professionals like UXPA, Nielsen Norman Group, and Minnesota Digital Services.
12:00 PM - 12:50 PM: DESIGNING WITH INTENT | GURUSHA RASKAR
DESIGNING WITH INTENT:
Experience Design In the Age of AI
AI is no longer about what people do, it’s about why they do it. This session explores how intent-driven design elevates AI from functional to intuitive, creating experiences that anticipate rather than react.
Building on insights from a keynote at the Kumbhathon Startup Festival, Gurusha Raskar brings the latest shifts in generative AI and multimodal design into practical strategies for today’s product teams.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Strategies to align AI interfaces with user behavior and intent.
- Tools to foster trust through explainability and adaptive feedback.
- Insight into how AI agents and multimodal interfaces are reshaping the future of design.
GURUSHA
RASKAR
UX Researcher & AI Strategist
AI/ML Team at Apple
Gurusha Raskar is a strategic AI and UX leader focused on intent-driven, human-centered innovation. She works on the AI/ML team at Apple, bringing a researcher’s lens to shaping technologies that balance technical rigor with human insight. Earlier at Deloitte, she led more than 250 projects for Fortune 500 clients, and her award-winning work with MIT’s PatchCheck Hackathon aimed to impact over 345 million users. She has also contributed to Google’s Solve for X and Akamai’s Adventure Catalyst, and champions inclusivity through mentoring women in STEM and sharing her learnings with the next generation of innovators.
1:30 PM - 2:20 PM: BEYOND CHATBOTS | SEAN SAVAGE
BEYOND CHATBOTS:
The Evolution of AI Design
The chat window is shrinking—and what’s replacing it reveals the future of AI interaction design. While most teams still focus on optimizing chatbot conversations, leading AI products have already evolved through dual-pane interfaces to infinite canvases and dynamic, self-modifying UIs.
This presentation traces the rapid evolution from 2022’s full-screen chat dominance to today’s orchestration interfaces, where users conduct AI agent teams rather than typing prompts. We’ll examine why chat is fading in prominence, explore emerging patterns like flowchart canvases and node-based workflows, and peek into the near future where interfaces generate and adapt themselves based on context. You’ll see real-world examples that demonstrate not just what’s changing, but why.
Most importantly, we’ll discuss what this means for UX professionals: moving from designing static screens to creating adaptive systems and orchestration experiences.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Understand the trajectory from chat-first to orchestration interfaces.
- Learn emerging UI patterns beyond dual-pane designs.
- Discover how to design for dynamic, self-modifying interfaces.
- Gain insights into UX for conducting multi-agent workflows.
- Leave with practical knowledge about where AI interfaces are headed and how to design for what's next.
SEAN
SAVAGE
Product Design Lead
AAA
Sean J. Savage is a father of two and an AI product design leader with 20 years of professional experience leading teams to success through user-centered product and service design, from New York City to Shanghai to San Francisco.
He’s worked for AAA, Intel, Frog Design, Adaptive Path, Jawbone, GE Digital, Vanguard, UCSF, and Stanford Medicine. He has a Master’s degree in Information Management & Systems from UC Berkeley.
His writing has been published in The Washington Post, Wired, and the Chicago Tribune. He occasionally writes very short autobiographies in the third person.
2:30 PM - 3:20 PM: CO-CREATION OF UX & AI | ADRIENNE GUILLORY, JARED HUKE, SARAH THOMPSON & JOHN WHALEN
CO-CREATION OF UX & AI: Challenges & Opportunities
Discussion Panel of esteemed panelists, Jared Juke, Sarah Thompson, and John Whalen, with moderator Adrienne Guillory.
ADRIENNE
GUILLORY
COO
Usability Sciences
Adrienne Guillory is the President and COO of Usability Sciences, a leading UX research firm, and Co-founder of Dallas Black UX. With over 15 years of experience in human-centered design, research, and strategy, she helps organizations unlock meaningful customer insights to shape better digital experiences.
A keynote speaker, mentor, and former Design Thinking educator, Adrienne is passionate about the intersection of Ai, design, and user research, bringing both rigor and empathy to conversations about the future of technology.
JARED
HUKE
CEO
Daito Design
Jared Huke is the CEO of Daito Design and Lumara Vision Corporation, where he leads innovation at the intersection of enterprise UX, AI integration, and spatial computing. With over two decades of experience, Jared has spearheaded core business transformation projects for numerous Fortune 100 companies, particularly in the energy, logistics, and industrial sectors.
An alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design, Jared also served as a lecturer at the university’s Center for Integrated Design, teaching courses like “Introduction to Design Thinking” to interdisciplinary students.
As the President and Founder of UXPA Netherlands, he has been instrumental in fostering professional development and accreditation for UX practitioners.
Based in Amsterdam, Jared continues to drive innovation while balancing his professional endeavors with personal passions, including ceramics and family life.
SARAH
THOMPSON
Director of
Behavioral Design
Live Neuron Labs
Sarah Thompson is a behavioral scientist and the Director of Behavioral Design at Live Neuron Labs, where she advises Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits like the American Heart Association on designing products, communications, and services that work with human behavior, not against it.
With a background in Clinical Psychology and a Master’s in Cognitive Semiotics, Sarah brings deep expertise in how people think, feel, and decide — and applies it to real-world challenges across healthcare, sustainability, financial wellbeing, education, and tech.
She regularly consults with organizations, trains teams, and speaks on how behavioral insights can elevate UX, CX, marketing, and AI experiences, especially in a fast-changing digital world.
JOHN
WHALEN
Lead, Psychological Insights & Innovation
Brilliant Experience
I lead Insights & Innovation at Brilliant Experience, where I help global brands understand the psychology behind their customers’ behaviors and bring successful products to market.
Initially skeptical about AI, my team and I conducted extensive “AI vs. Human Researchers” studies to pinpoint precisely where AI-enhanced research excels—and where human judgment remains irreplaceable. I became convinced that AI will transform how research will be done.
Now I regularly interview pioneering founders in the AI-for-UX space and leverage the latest AI tools to deliver rapid, scaled, global insights for top brands.
With a PhD from Johns Hopkins, I combine academic rigor with real-world experience and pragmatism to help you learn to harness cutting-edge AI tools and make AI your powerful partner.
NETWORKING EVENT
12:50 PM - 1:30 PM: VIRTUAL NETWORKING WITH JEN ROMANO
Get ready for some high-speed networking!
Join us for a fun and fast-paced virtual event where you’ll be paired up with a variety of professionals for quick, one-on-one conversations. It’s the perfect way to meet new people, expand your network, and make meaningful connections in a dynamic and engaging online environment. We’ll handle the pairings; just bring your best elevator pitch!
JEN
ROMANO
Executive Coach
UXR Coach
Jen Romano, Ph.D., is an award-winning UX Research Leader with over 25 years of experience spanning academia, industry, and government. As a manager and director at top organizations like Google, Facebook, and Bridgewater Associates, she bridges the gap between scientific rigor and industry demands.
Committed to fostering the next generation of researchers, Jen founded UXR Coach to empower aspiring researchers. Her unique UXR Intensive Training Retreats in Hawaii give professionals real-world experience conducting research in the field with live clients.
As prior President. of UXPA, she founded a global mentorship program and an education short course series, and teaches at UC Berkeley and the University of Maryland. Jen has authored four books, cementing her reputation for delivering high-quality work with both speed and precision.
UX CAREER GROWTH SESSIONS
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM: FROM AI ANXIETY TO CAREER ACCELERATION | EUNJI JEONG
FROM AI ANXIETY TO
CAREER ACCELERATION:
Your Career Transformation Blueprint
What if the biggest threat to your design career could actually become your greatest competitive advantage? While many professionals report feeling anxious about AI’s impact on their roles, forward-thinking designers are building the future of design by mastering AI-human collaboration. These designers aren’t just surviving the AI revolution—they’re leading it, commanding higher salaries, and becoming indispensable experts. Drawing from real success stories across global design communities, this session reveals the practical blueprint that transforms AI anxiety into career acceleration. Discover why AI-fluent design leaders are becoming the most valuable players in their organizations and how to become one of them.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- The AI-human collaboration framework that redefines the design process and your role from executor to strategic orchestrator of human-centered experiences.
- Tangible action plan to reframe your mental blockers and inner critics into a growth mindset and continuous development.
- Strategies for your professional brand to be an AI-fluent design leader, positioning yourself as the designer who bridges technology and human needs.
EUNJI
JEONG
Director of Strategy
Designed Connected
Eunji is a design leader, mentor, and community builder who helps organizations navigate the intersection of AI and human-centered design. As Director of Strategy at Designed Connected, she combines hands-on design leadership with business acumen to build scalable design processes and future-proof organizations for the AI era.
Through mentoring hundreds of designers across career stages, Eunji recognized the need for stronger professional community support, which led her to found Designed Minds, a global network that empowers design professionals to advance their careers and take ownership of their growth.
A sought-after voice on AI’s impact on design, Eunji writes and speaks about the transformation of the designer role and the opportunities for human creativity. Her passion for translating complex concepts into actionable strategies has helped design teams and businesses proactively embrace change and deliver meaningful solutions to real-world challenges.
12:00 PM - 12:50 PM: AVOID BURN-OUT | MARKUS FLÜCKIGER
AVOID BURN-OUT:
Look Out for Burn-Out Systems
Unfortunately, stress and burn-out are too commonplace experiences, also for us UX professionals. The source of the stress and thus burn-out lies to a great deal in the system in which people are stuck. Let’s watch out for such burn-out systems, let’s decipher how they work and how we feed them through our own actions, and let’s identify levers to disarm them.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Understanding a burn-out system is an early step to reduce stress and thus the risk for burn-out.
- Factors that put pressure on UX professionals.
- Traps to put them in the hot spot of a burn-out system.
MARKUS
FLÜCKIGER
UX Consultant
Zühlke Engineering AG
Markus Flückiger is a UX Consultant working at Zühlke, Switzerland. He bridges the gap between users and technology, in software and product development, and consults clients in how to integrate UX in agile development. Markus lectures UX and requirements engineering at the University of Applied Science in Bern and is a member of Council of the Master in HCID at the HSR. Markus also co-wrote one handy book, UX and Usability Kompakt, and one a bit longer about the brain’s perspective on software engineering.
1:30 PM - 2:20 PM: BEING HUMAN | CLAUDIA BRUCKSCHWAIGER
BEING HUMAN:
Soft Skills as a Superpower When Facing AI
This session gives a practical overview of the social, personal, and communicative soft skills for UX professionals, how these relate to the typical focus areas in UX and how we benefit from being human in times of AI.
Perhaps our future career opportunities lie not in learning tools or technologies, but in understanding and strategically applying our soft skills. Let’s discuss.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Knowledge about different soft skills in the context of human-centered design.
- The influence of soft skills on our work in the context of (generative) AI.
- How to recognize soft skills in yourself and your team and to identify development opportunities.
CLAUDIA
BRUCKSCHWAIGER
Managing Partner
swohlwahr
After founding an international startup, project experience in software design, digital strategy, and personnel service in a managerial position, Claudia now works on strategic digitization projects with startups, SMEs, and corporations as a managing partner of swohlwahr, a consultancy focusing on the human-centered organization. She is also a lecturer in interaction design at a vocational college in Salzburg, is co-author of the books, “Soft Skills for UX Professionals” and “User Experience Design und Sustainability,” and is vice president of the International Accreditation Program of UX Professionals (IAPUX).
2:30 PM - 3:20 PM: FINDING YOUR VOICE | ANDREW SCHALL
FINDING YOUR VOICE:
Publishing to Build Visibility and Credibility in UX
This session explores how UX professionals can share their voices and make themselves heard through publishing and speaking opportunities. From books and articles to conference talks, podcasts, and social media, publishing is a powerful way to build your personal brand, share your expertise with the community, and establish professional credibility.
Drawing from my own publishing journey, I will share strategies for getting started, identifying meaningful topics, and choosing the right platforms to reach your audience, including peer-reviewed journals like The Journal of User Experience (JUX) and UXPA Magazine.
Whether you are new to publishing or looking to expand your visibility, this session will give you practical guidance to take the next step.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- How publishing can support your personal brand, career growth, and community impact.
- Approaches for identifying and developing topics to share.
- Guidance on where to publish from first opportunities to well-recognized outlets.
- Practical tips for creating content that is engaging and memorable.
ANDREW
SCHALL
UX Research Leader, DTXD
ServiceNow
Andrew Schall has over 20 years of experience as a UX leader, researcher, and strategist. He has collaborated with renowned organizations such as Mayo Clinic, Citibank, Harley Davidson, The New York Times, National Institutes of Health, Office Depot, and Southwest Airlines. He currently leads a rockstar team of UX researchers at ServiceNow, focusing on creating the next generation of AI-powered tools for employee experiences.
Andrew loves to share his knowledge and insights with the UX community. He is the author of the new book, The Persona and Journey Map Playbook. He co-authored the book, Eye Tracking in User Experience Design and contributed to the 3rd edition of the book, Measuring the User Experience. As the Director of Publications for UXPA, he oversees the Journal of User Experience and UX Magazine. Andrew is an experienced instructor teaching courses in UX and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) as an adjunct faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).