Meet an Innovator: Courtney Gallagher
With over four years as an Experience Designer and with an MSc in Human-Centred Systems, Courtney has a solid foundation and appreciation for the User-Centred Design process. She currently works at Sapient Global Markets, consulting financial services and energy clients where she leverages a Google Ventures design sprint methodology, so she is experienced in fast-paced innovation projects. During her time at Sapient, she also took initiative with four other women to create R&D Incubator within the company in order to improve efficiency. As an avid football player, Courtney is happiest when she works on a team and lends her positive mindset helps facilitate collaboration.
Hometown: Falmouth, Maine, USA
Current city of residence: London, UK
School: City University London
Area of study: Human-Centred Systems
Languages you speak: English
Role model: Malala
Favorite product or invention: L.L.Bean Boots
Something you can’t live without: Sunglasses
Favorite social media platform: Instagram
Articulate yourself in a few words?
I enjoy my work as an Experience Designer which allows me to leverage both a creative and practical mindset to solve problems. I am naturally positive and happiest when collaborating as part of a team working toward a common goal. I love the outdoors and being active, whether it be running around London, skiing back home in Maine or playing on my football team (and by that I mean soccer of course). I also try to travel as much as possible to experience new places and cultures.
What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now?
My MSc dissertation focused on sketching as a creative technique in the ideation phase of design, resulting in the development of a method. I’m currently planning a workshop for CassInnovate, a conference at Cass Business School in London, to teach this method and encourage participants to use sketching to facilitate idea generation. The method takes advantage of lightweight creativity techniques which can be easily applied to a design challenge or problem to encourage divergent thinking.
What excites about the Italia Innovation Program?
As an Experience Designer and recent graduate student in Human-Centred Systems, I am continuously curious about Design Thinking in an applied and practical context. The ability to work with experts from many of the companies and educational institutes I admire in addition to other students and young professionals from diverse backgrounds is an incredibly exciting opportunity. As an American living in London, diversity of experience and perspective has become very important to me. Making connections with different types of people has shaped me to become a better informed and more open person, something that has led me to become generally more confident personally and at work. I am also excited about the potential to work with a team to help make an impact on the success of Italian companies. Increasingly, positive social impact is becoming more important to me.
What is your driving force, the vision that guides your thoughts and actions?
As I continue to learn about myself, I realize that I am someone that enjoys being productive and contributing to a purpose. I think this is why I have grown up loving team sports and still play competitive football in London. Increasingly it is becoming important to me that my work has a positive social impact, not just on the users who I carefully design for, but for the wider social construct. This sense of purpose provides me with the the most effective and satisfying motivation. Genuinely knowing that I am pursuing a beneficial goal drives how I spend my time and energy.
What aspect of yourself adds the most value to the world?
My positive mindset and curiosity to explore problems provides me with the persistence and patience to explore creative ideas which are both useful and novel. As a team player, I listen in addition to contributing my own thoughts. I genuinely enjoy doing good work, and hold myself to a high standard.
How would you like to use your talents and energy to make an impact?
I would like to work on ideas with the positive social impact. There are many ways which we can channel our energy, and I would like to focus mine on solving problems which are most urgently needed to help as many people as possible. My dream would be to work with a team of experts to collaborate on creative solutions related to the biggest challenges we face today.
What would you like other participants to know about yourself?
I am very excited to get to know each other! We each bring a different perspective and set of skills which we can all learn from.
