The Next Phase of Innovation

I’ve always believed that design should be more than what you see on a screen—it should be the lens through which we tackle our toughest daily problems. That perspective sharpened for me during my time at Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, where I dove headfirst into program development and learned how the right framework could turn even the most complex ideas into something tangible. Later, I spent a summer working on special projects at a venture capital fund, focusing on how design principles could be applied in early-stage investments. It was there that I realized my passion for strategic creativity wasn’t just about making things look good; it was about expanding capacity for growth and preparing people to adapt to whatever comes next.

By the time I’d wrapped up my work at the VC fund, I knew I wanted to bring this approach to a broader audience. Through my experience running the Institute for Youth in Policy for five years and partnering with innovative minds at places like Apple, the Department of Transportation, and Oracle, I saw firsthand how much potential is unleashed when design thinking is embedded into everyday workflows. I wanted to create a space where people from all walks of life could reimagine what’s possible, so I got the best people I know to join me. That’s how Next Phase Labs took shape.

Today, Next Phase Labs is a collective that embraces curiosity as a superpower. We thrive on blending empathy with bold experimentation, working side by side with clients to spark ideas they might not have known were even possible. Our vision is to push design beyond aesthetics and into the realm of transformation, where it can act as the driving force for sustainable, disruptive growth. Rather than just cranking out polished deliverables, we focus on building capacity from the ground up. We’re not just solving problems for you; we’re teaching you how to integrate design thinking into your own processes, so that your team feels empowered long after we’ve delivered our work.

My mission has always been about more than client satisfaction—it’s about real impact. When we partner with nonprofits, startups, or established corporations, our goal is to leave them stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to navigate change. That spirit guides everything from the initial brainstorming sessions to the final handoff. We measure success not just by numbers on a spreadsheet, but by whether we’ve unlocked new ways of thinking about your products, your services, and most importantly, your people.

In a fast-moving world, there’s something incredibly powerful about a community of problem solvers who see constraints as invitations to innovate. That is precisely what Next Phase Labs stands for. We help you take on day-to-day challenges with a fresh mindset, proving that design isn’t just reserved for the “big moments” like major product launches or radical rebrands. It’s a daily practice of seeing possibilities where others see barriers and turning potential into tangible value.

This is the invitation: to shift the way you approach the things you do every day. Let’s consider everything—every product, every process, every policy—as an opportunity for reinvention. Together, we’ll harness creative thinking to build what’s next, and we won’t just check the boxes while we’re at it. We’ll keep digging until we’ve transformed the way you see problems and designed solutions that shape the future you’ve always imagined. That’s what Next Phase Labs is here for, and we can’t wait to see what we create together.