About Karen VanHouten
Karen is a curious skeptic with a fascination for beautiful messes, fostered over 20 years working in UX for enterprise solutions. Currently working as a lead strategist with OST (Open Systems Technologies), she helps organizations develop holistic digital strategies that account for the varied and complex human elements required to inform successful digital initiatives. She is passionate about intentionally designed work environments that support inclusion, collaboration, and space for play and experimentation, and sees these elements as the keys to consistently delivering successful and healthy projects. She also swears a lot, especially on twitter.
Speaking at the conference
How We Get Wicked Good
Did you ever wonder why so much of our work seems harder than it should be? Does it feel like you are constantly working at altitude, trying to do more work with less oxygen? Well, Karen's first job in tech was in 1993. That's almost 30 years across different roles and companies, all in technology and digital products. And no matter how much more skilled we all get, things just seem to be getting harder. How do we move from barely surviving to thriving in our work?
In this talk, we'll discuss how we get wicked good, moving from competency and mastery to sustainability, even in environments that seem to be set up for failure and eventual burnout. We'll explore how to make our work spaces kinder, more inclusive, and more supportive of long term engagement and growth while at the same time encouraging us to be more thoughtful and intentional about the design decisions and career choices we make.
Q&A with David Dylan Thomas and Karen VanHouten
Jeremy will take your questions for David and Karen.
Tickets
We have a range of passes available to suit every schedule. All the conference and festival content will be available on-demand for three months after the event.