Lesley J. Hubbard

Experience Design Leader | Retirement, Financial Services & Healthcare | Research, Accessibility & Design Systems | AI-Enabled Design Practice

ljhubbard005@gmail.com · (860) 212-6427 · linkedin.com/in/lesleyjhubbard · Greater Hartford area · Remote or hybrid

Download as PDF · Case studies

Summary

Twenty years designing digital products, ten of them leading UX strategy inside large regulated enterprises in retirement, financial services, and healthcare. I own the process end to end: research through interviews, surveys, and usability testing, then journey maps, information architecture, user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes, through to implementation with engineering partners. Deep experience with regulated distribution flows, WCAG accessibility, design systems, and tying UX measurement to business outcomes. I mentor designers, run critique, and work fluently with AI-assisted design methods.

Areas of focus

Experience

Lead Designer, Marketing UX/UI

Empower · Hartford, CT · 2024 to 2026

  • Owned UX strategy for high-visibility product work, setting the bar for quality, accessibility, and AI adoption across the team.
  • Built AI-assisted delivery methods on 5 to 8 regulated product initiatives (ChatGPT, Claude Code, Gemini, GitHub Copilot via enterprise Visual Studio Code, plus Figma Make) for research synthesis, requirements, UX specifications, design system migration, and engineering handoff.
  • Demonstrated the workflow to leadership on request and volunteered further sessions; parts were adopted informally by teammates while the organization was still forming its AI approach.
  • Mentored designers and ran design critique, building a culture of evidence-based decisions.
  • Turned ambiguous business requirements into clear, buildable, measurable solutions. Promoted from Senior to Lead for design leadership and enterprise AI adoption.

Senior Designer, Marketing UX/UI

Empower · Hartford, CT · 2022 to 2024

  • Ran heuristic evaluations and usability testing, and made sure remediation met enterprise WCAG standards.
  • Diagnosed usability friction and designed solutions grounded in human-factors and UI principles, taking concepts from wireframe to high-fidelity prototype with cross-functional teams.
  • Brought generative AI into research synthesis, journey mapping, and documentation, shortening turnaround and making output more consistent.

UX Architect / Design Experience Manager

Prudential Financial · Hartford, CT · 2014 to 2022

  • Led the redesign of the NewYork-Presbyterian retirement experience for a major health system. Winner, 2020 Pensions & Investments Eddy Award.
  • Built reusable design system infrastructure using tokenized variables and component states, contributing to roughly 50% labor savings across the team's output.
  • Led responsive web and WCAG accessibility programs across enterprise platforms.
  • Directed UX strategy for complex regulated products, turning ambiguous requirements into research-driven solutions, and made the case for human-centered design through stakeholder training and advocacy.

Senior Business Analyst

Prudential Financial · Hartford, CT · 2013 to 2014

  • Streamlined operations for the Institutional Investment Solutions portfolio, facilitated Agile sprint and release cycles, and built dashboard reporting for senior leadership.

Senior Business Analyst, Clinical Information Technology

CIGNA · Bloomfield, CT · 2009 to 2011

  • Led a cross-functional Agile team on the Clinical Operations Delivery Management program supporting holistic health-management capabilities.
  • Mapped clinical workflows, processes, and interaction behaviors across internal teams and vendors. Early, hands-on grounding in clinician-facing systems.
  • Ran sprint planning and briefings, and reported to a cross-matrixed clinical leadership group.

Additional experience

Skills

Awards & recognition

Education & certifications

Let's talk

Get in touch

Open to Lead, Principal, and design leadership roles in retirement, financial services, and healthcare. Remote, hybrid, or in the Greater Hartford area. Email is the fastest way to reach me.

ljhubbard005@gmail.com LinkedIn Résumé