Bell Canada · Facilitation
Aligning 45 leaders on the future of dispatch
How I designed and led a virtual design thinking session that brought leadership, field operations and dispatch teams to a shared vision for automation.
Read the case study →Design thinking · Innovation · UX research
Turning complexity into clarity.
I help organizations listen to their people and customers, align leaders around a shared direction, and design services that feel intuitive instead of frustrating. Sticky notes and dot voting included.
10+
years in UX and design strategy
4.4M+
customers using service strategies I delivered
20+
strategic workshops with senior executives
$2M
in capital spending shaped by research
250+
student designers mentored
Services
From a room full of opinions to a clear path forward.
Design thinking facilitation
Workshops that bring 30+ people together, online or in person, to align on a challenge, uncover insights and agree on what happens next. I design the agenda with you, train co-facilitators, and make sure every voice is heard, not just the loudest.
Executive alignment · Innovation sprints · Strategy sessions · Roadmapping
UX research
Interviews, usability testing, surveys and field observation that show you what your customers and employees really experience. Then I turn the findings into stories that leadership remembers and acts on.
User interviews · Usability testing · Surveys · Accessibility · Insight storytelling
Innovation and service design strategy
Journey maps, service blueprints and ecosystem maps that connect what customers see to what happens behind the scenes. Grounded in thoughtful change management, so people actually embrace the new way of working.
Journey mapping · Service blueprints · Ecosystem maps · Change management
Team training and coaching
Hands-on training in design thinking and UX research for teams who want to build these skills in-house. Drawn from five-plus years as a design professor and more than 150 mentorship sessions.
Design thinking training · Research coaching · Lunch and learns
How I work
It always starts with listening.
1. Empathize
Listen to employees, customers and the patterns between them.
2. Define
Frame the real problem and what success looks like.
3. Ideate
Bring people together to imagine bold, shared possibilities.
4. Prototype
Make ideas tangible quickly, so they can be judged fairly.
5. Test
Validate with real people, then refine and roll out.
About
Hi, I'm Laura.
I've spent ten years helping teams in building science, education and telecom untangle complex problems through collaborative strategy and UX design. An engineering background helps keep me grounded in how systems work. At Bell Canada, I led a team whose work reached over 4.4 million customers, and became the go-to facilitator for large, high-stakes sessions.
My secret to innovation is thoughtful change management. People embrace new ways of working when they feel part of the direction of change, so the first step is always to listen: to your employees, your customers and the patterns emerging between them.
Since 2020 I've taught design at Centennial College, championing participatory research and content-first design. I co-founded Product Brunch, a potluck-meets-case-study community for product people. When I'm not working, you'll find me treasure-hunting at thrift stores, tinkering with creative code or dancing at a live concert.
EducationBachelor of Engineering, University of GuelphInteractive Media Management, Centennial CollegeBeyond Smart Cities, MIT Media Lab
Community
Speaker, FITC Spotlight UX 2026
Co-founder, Product Brunch
Kind words
What it's like to work with me.
It was one of the most effective virtual collaboration sessions I've been a part of.
VP of Field Operations and Support, Bell Canada
I've witnessed her take an exhausted, reserved group of strangers and transform them into engaged participants eager to collaborate and share ideas.
UX Designer, Bell Canada
Laura is one of those X-factor people… one of the strongest user advocates I have ever met.
Senior Product Manager, Bell Canada
For the first time ever agents and customers are being asked their opinions, and that information being used to improve process across the organization.
Senior Manager, Bell Canada
Her storytelling knack and ability to turn complex data into actionable strategies make her invaluable to any team or business.
Senior UX Designer, Bell Canada
You have been instrumental in our transformation journey.
Director of Field Services Strategy, Bell Canada
FAQ
Good questions.
Where are you based?
I'm based in Toronto, Canada. I work virtually with teams wherever they are, and travel in person across the Greater Toronto Area.
What tools do you use?
For workshops and collaboration, Miro and FigJam. For design, Figma. For research, UserTesting.com and Qualtrics. And Slack to keep everyone connected along the way.
How big a group can you facilitate?
I specialize in large-scale collaboration, regularly bringing together groups of 30 or more, online or in person. For bigger sessions, I train co-facilitators to lead breakouts so every voice is heard.
Who do you work with?
A mix of corporate teams and non-profits. Whether you're a large organization aligning dozens of leaders or a small team figuring out what your users need, the approach scales to fit.
Do you offer training for in-house teams?
Yes. I run hands-on training in design thinking and UX research for teams who want to build these skills themselves, drawing on five-plus years as a design professor.
Do you do speaking engagements?
Yes! I speak at conferences, including FITC Spotlight UX, and I love to emcee and host events. Get in touch with the details.
What are your rates?
Every engagement is shaped around your challenge, so I talk through scope and rates personally. Let's chat and I'll put together an approach that fits.
Got a wicked problem? Let's untangle it together.
Tell me what you're working on. Every engagement is shaped around your challenge, from a single workshop to a full research program. Based in Toronto, working in person and virtually.