Modernizing Hardship Withdrawals
Turning a paper-based, regulated request into guided digital self-service
Paper to digitalself-service hardship withdrawals, released in phases
Retirement · B2C, plan participants · Private, regulated
Designing experiences for people who have to understand something complicated, decide something that matters, and get it right the first time. Retirement participants with a deadline. Clinical staff learning a new platform. Public employees choosing a plan. Twenty years in design, ten of them leading UX inside retirement, financial services, and healthcare, where accessibility and compliance are part of the brief. I work research through implementation, and I build things meant to be reused.
2020 Eddy AwardPensions & Investments, for the NewYork-Presbyterian redesign
~$200Min rollover assets guided through a single plan transition
300+clinical operations staff ready on day one of a new platform
5 to 8regulated initiatives delivered with AI-assisted methods
Regional EmmyNATAS, Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design
Capabilities
Experience strategy
Journey maps, service scenarios, and information architecture, done before anyone agrees on the problem.
Research & evidence
Usability testing, heuristic evaluation, and analytics, used to decide and then to check.
Interaction & systems
Flows, prototypes, and components built to flex across clients rather than get copied.
Accessibility
WCAG held at program level through reusable patterns, not fixed one project at a time.
AI in practice
AI-assisted synthesis, specifications, and handoff, inside enterprise limits, with human review on every output.
Selected work
Case studies
Consolidating Workplace Custom Client Sites
From hundreds of one-off client websites to one modular, compliant system
~50%labor savings my component design contributed to, on applicable work
Retirement · B2B2C, plan sponsors and participants · Private and public-sector clients
AI-Assisted Design Delivery
Building a working method inside a locked-down regulated toolchain
5 to 8projects with substantial AI-assisted delivery
Retirement · Internal, design practice · Private, regulated
Browse by focus
Pick the lens that fits your role
Retirement & financial services
Participant decisions with deadlines, regulated money movement, and plan sponsors who answer for both.
Healthcare & clinical operations
Clinical staff learning new systems, health-system clients, and workflows where errors reach patients.
Public service & mission-driven work
Public employees, residents, and visitors who need a service to be clear the first time.
AI adoption & design operations
AI used inside real constraints, with human review on every output and a method others can pick up.
The value I bring
Regulated complexity
Distribution rules from the IRS, multi-plan transitions, clinical operations. Getting it wrong costs more than a bad review.
End-to-end ownership
Research, workflows, IA, prototypes, accessibility, testing, and the support that comes after launch.
Practice leadership
Mentoring, design critique, stakeholder training, and new methods moved through a team by persuasion.
Systems thinking
A multiple-account component built for one client went on to serve others with different constraints.
Cross-functional work
Clinicians, counselors, product managers, engineers, vendors, compliance partners, and executives.
Telling leadership the truth early
Risk raised while there is still time to act on it, which is what keeps a launch on track.
What I'm best at is the messy middle: taking a problem nobody has framed yet, working out what people actually need, and staying with it through build and adoption. Regulated industries taught me that the constraints are the brief, not an obstacle to it.
What colleagues say
Working with Lesley
“Words cannot fully capture how vital Lesley has been to the success of the Hardship Withdrawals project. … Lesley has dedicated numerous hours, patiently handled challenges, created multiple drafts of wireframes to conceptualize ideas, and consistently delivered high-quality products. She demonstrates teamwork, professionalism, and is a reliable resource for others with questions or concerns.”
Empower Value Stream Senior Analyst
“Lesley is a strong teammate who shows up prepared and takes her work seriously. She’s collaborative, easy to communicate with, and handles her responsibilities well even when things get busy. I really enjoy working with her and appreciate the steady, thoughtful approach she brings to the team.”
Empower colleague
“Lesley brings a wealth of UX experience. Her confident, friendly poise helps business partners feel good about what she recommends and brings to the table.”
Prudential business partner
“We especially appreciate how organized, transparent, and up-to-date Lesley is with her prototypes and recommendations.”
Prudential business partner
“An excellent collaborator and communicator. She makes collaboration easy and effortless, letting everyone share openly to reach the right outcomes for the customer.”
Prudential business partner