DesignOps Assembly was founded in 2017 by Elyse Eshel and Meredith Black, as a small meetup of DesignOps leads in San Francisco who were looking for community and ways to learn and grow in our nascent discipline.
We turned towards each other, shared what we knew and watched in amazement as more and more people "like us" started joining the conversation.
DOA is now a global network of DesignOps practitioners at all levels, working in top Tech companies, boutique Design agencies, and everything in between. Along with virtual events, our local chapters provide opportunities for in-person connection.
We host events focused on fostering community, sharing resources, and generating best practices within the DesignOps Industry.
We've created a forum for discussion and connection, and provide access to industry leaders who are eager to share their experiences and help others learn and grow.
Co-Founder, Partner
Meredith Black is the co-founder of DesignOps Assembly and the Director of DesignOps at Figma.
Prior, Meredith spent five years at Pinterest, where she started and grew the DesignOps team into an internationally renowned team while also being instrumental in growing and building the Pinterest Product Design Team.
You can listen to her discuss DesignOps on the DesignBetter podcast or check out “The DesignOps Handbook”.
Partner
Adam leads partnerships and sponsorships for the DesignOps Assembly, and a the Chief-Of-Staff for UX Leadership at Google.
Before this, Adam was the Head of DesignOps at DocuSign and founding director of the Design Leadership Forum. He's been a long-time community builder, bringing designers together through events, reports, podcasts, and conferences.
Outside of work you’ll find Adam adventuring with his family or doodling with woodworking or the piano.
Co-Founder & Content Contributor
Elyse is the co-founder of DesignOps Assembly and currently runs DesignOperations at WhatsApp.
Prior to this role, she built and ran the DesignOps team at Spotify, which oversaw operations for Product Design, Research and Analytics across their global offices.
She lives by the beach in San Francisco where you can find her in the ocean, in the garden or in the kitchen.
Assembly Chapters and Chapter Development
Jaclyn Stiller is responsible for the development of DesignOps Assembly’s local chapters around the globe. She manages close to 20 local chapters and ensures the mission of DesignOps Assembly is shared far and wide.
Jaclyn Stiller is also a Sr. Design Program Manager at Intuit Mailchimp where she leads CreativeOps for the Brand & Marketing Design team. Prior to that she spent her career working on the agency side working with top brands including Apple, Delta, IHG, The Coca-Cola Company, NCR, Jack in the Box, Nickelodeon, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and The Ritz-Carlton.
Social Strategy
Frances Yllana is a branding, experience and community strategist, designer, teacher, speaker and consultant for businesses and non-profits. Since 2001, she has practiced and led a wide range of projects and teams including brand identity, art direction, social campaigns, video, animation and user experience — as well as employee experience and design operations.
She is the first Design Ops Lead at Coforma, Secretary of the AIGA National Board of Directors, former host of AIGA's DesignOps Ed webinar series, AIGA Community Advocate for Design Management, and also a Learning Labs professor for DesignOps Assembly.
Program Manager
Lillian uses her broad set of skills to operationalize the behind-the-scenes work that runs the DesignOps Assembly. Her work includes: onboarding new members, supporting global chapter initiatives, managing tooling and cost reduction, writing communications and documenting processes, running online and in-person events, updating the website, and creating Slack workflows to scale our efforts.
Her professional background includes UX design, project management, creative team operations, and marketing. She loves building community and helping people feel seen.
We’ve partnered with some of the greatest brands and tools in the industry to promote the evolution of design operations world wide.
Join us and thousands of our DesignOps friends across the globe on Slack, our safe space to ask questions, stay connected and learn more about DesignOps.