About
My journey from studying social work and psychology to design in college has given me a unique perspective as an artist, something I truly value. I bring my core values, empathy, and emotional intelligence into everything I do, especially when connecting with others. I’m passionate about using research and design thinking in every project, always looking for creative ways to customize user experiences. My goal is to craft environments that spark curiosity and invite users to explore and interact.
Through the years, I’ve grown into a versatile graphic designer and communications professional who loves blending creativity with strategy. Whether I’m working on eye-catching visuals, infographics, or full branding campaigns, I enjoy balancing both print and digital content. I’ve had the chance to build communication strategies, lead projects ensuring brand consistency and 508 compliance, and collaborate with amazing teams. I’m also passionate about driving social media efforts and producing high-quality materials that make a real impact. Ultimately, I’m all about helping my team succeed and creating results that resonate with our audience.
When I’m not designing, you’ll often find me curled up under the blankets on the couch, either getting lost in a book on my Kindle or playing video games next to my black lab, Bumi. When I’m in the mood to stay creative, I enjoy building Harry Potter Lego sets, painting, or working on a book nook building kit. Though I love spending time at home, I do enjoy getting out into the city. I usually wind up at a coffee shop in downtown Boston, where I can work on mood boards or collages.
What colleagues have said:
“It has been a pleasure working with Emma over the past year. It seems she has grown tremendously in her first year at JSI and has adapted very well to the CHISU team. All requests to Emma have been handled quickly and with great communication. She always has good feedback on design requests and knows CHISU and USAID branding rules well when making designs for different materials or events. Emma is always eager to make suggestions to make improvements on materials or processes where needed. I also appreciate her positive attitude!
Emma has been a wonderful addition to the 3PU [Produce, package, and publication team. A combination of communications, knowledge management, and measurement, evaluation, and learning team members] team. We on the 3PU team and at CHISU as a whole have benefitted from having a dedicated Graphic Designer to support the development of products and deliverables representing CHISU's work. Emma is always responsive when asked for last-minute support from one of our country teams and always has a positive attitude, even when faced with multiple competing deadlines. I have been immensely impressed at how effortlessly she has taken on additional responsibilities as a 3PU focal person upon our senior communications advisor’s departure from the team. Beyond her professional excellence, Emma is also generally very collegial and warm, two qualities that I really value in a teammate and that I have observed serve her well in building rapport with colleagues on other teams within CHISU. Overall, it is a true pleasure working with Emma and I believe we are lucky to have her on our team.”
— Stephanie Watson-Grant
Project Director, CHISU Program
“I began supervising Emma in April 2024 when I assumed the CKM [Communications and Knowledge Management] team lead role. Since that time, I have seen the critical role Emma plays on the CHISU CKM Team. She stepped into backstopping two countries when our communication advisor resigned and has done a good job of juggling priorities in that role with her core function as the project’s designer. She has good instincts and with time will only get better.
Emma has solid design skills and sensibilities that is evident in the work she produces. I appreciate how much Emma values teamwork and is always willing to contribute to our work in whatever way is needed. For example, Emma did not have much experience with 508 compliance and has taken on learning the requirements and working with me to articulate how to balance our obligation with cost-effectiveness, ensuring documents are accessible but we are completing this work in a sensible way. We developed a job aid for 508 compliance that allows anyone on our team reasonably tag documents for 508 compliance, expanding our ability to juggle multiple competing priorities.”
— John Nicholson
Knowledge Management Advisor, CHISU Program