The journey that has shaped my work

About

Hey! I’m a product designer drawn to complex, high-stakes systems, and to the question of how you make them workable for the people who have to use, navigate, or operate them. My background spans three countries and an unconventional path through product design, entrepreneurship, and migration.

I started my career in Havana, designing interfaces at a web agency while building my first product on the side: Wanikiki, a remittance platform I designed and operated end-to-end during Cuba's 2021 currency crisis, helping families move money to one another when the financial system had all but broken down.

In 2021 I moved to Spain, completed a master’s in UX Design and Web Development, and immediately embedded myself in the fintech and legal sectors. In 2023 I co-founded LegalES, a legal tech company supporting immigrants through Spain’s bureaucratic processes. I led the entire digital strategy: product, platform, brand, and growth. The tool we built, ¿Cómo va mi asilo?, let asylum seekers check the status of their case in seconds instead of navigating the process blind, and became widely adopted within a community of 120K people.

In 2024 I relocated to the United States. The transition took real time: a new country, a new language, a full recalibration. I used that time deliberately: a postgraduate program at UT Austin, certifications in AI for Designers and accessibility, and deepening my technical foundations.

I'm currently building an early-stage AI product that helps people navigate complex immigration processes in Spain, designed for an international, non-Spanish-speaking audience.

Looking back, a common thread across my work has been designing systems that make complex processes easier to understand, trust, and act on.

These days I'm especially interested in how AI can help people navigate complex decisions, learn faster, and gain more agency in areas of life that traditionally required expert guidance. I'm happiest working closely with a small team, close to the work and the people it's for.

Outside of work, I’m:

  • Creating — miniatures on Sunday mornings.
  • Getting outside — cycling, hiking, camping, and as much time in nature as I can get.
  • Slowing down — daily meditation and too much time inspecting my garden.
  • Learning — Every day: Italian (1,200-day Duolingo streak). This season: talking to a camera.
  • Reading — "Tiny Experiments" by Anne-Laure Le Cunff.
  • Playing — recently started World of Warcraft :)
Handmade miniature of a terracotta pot of purple flowers, held between two fingersLooking out over a lake from the shoreHandmade miniature of a blue-and-gold ceramic wall lamp on a deep blue panelHandmade miniature of a Spanish house facade with a doorway, barred window, and a lit lanternFeet propped up reading at the beachTomato plants growing in the gardenA butterfly resting on a fingertipView over bike handlebars on a sunlit forest trailStanding in front of a castle in SpainHandmade miniature of a traditional Santa Cruz de La Palma balcony, Canary IslandsHandmade miniature of a traditional Havana facadeGym gear on the floor — dumbbells, water bottle, and bagReading at the beach at sunset