Hope Turner

First person to hold this role. Built the design operations infrastructure for a 100+ designer organization from the ground up.

• Brand StewardshipArchitected the USCIS Figma Component Library as the agency's single source of truth, a 508-compliant system now adopted by DHS headquarters and propagated across multiple federal agencies.
• Review and ApprovalDesigned and launched a cross-agency Design System Working Group and Designer-Developer Working Group, creating structured review rituals that gave teams early creative alignment before production handoff.
• Core-to-ProductionManaged the full lifecycle from system component design through production implementation, conducting USWDS compliance audits across all public-facing products and executing remediation at scale.
• Operational VelocityLed agency-wide migration to a unified Figma environment, authored procurement requirements, managed IT and security approvals, implemented SSO, and serve as Figma administrator and plugin approver for 1,000+ non-design users across USCIS.
• Design HealthLaunched Figma Fridays, a cross-team design critique, and a Solo Crit program for designers working as a team of one. Figma resolved our designer-developer handoff challenges, replacing a standing working group with embedded tooling that keeps both disciplines in sync.
• Design QualityAuthored the USCIS Design Crit Handbook and USCIS Design Quality Playbook — the first resources of their kind in federal government. These artifacts raise design quality standards across delivery teams and educate IT project managers on what good design looks like and why it matters, bringing design literacy to stakeholders with little prior exposure to the discipline.
• Cross-Agency ImpactReceived recognition from the Army Corps of Engineers for accessibility standards work, establishing USCIS as a federal design authority beyond its own organizational boundary.
• Service DesignLeading the agency's first-ever end-to-end journey mapping initiative by CTO/CIO request, documenting applicant and internal staff experiences across benefit types including I-130 and N-400 flows. Work has expanded into full service blueprints surfacing systemic gaps and opportunities never previously documented.
• Resource AdvocacyAdvise procurement teams on the design talent, skills, and expertise needed in contractor statements of work to ensure design teams are appropriately staffed. Advocate for expanding permanent design headcount and collaborate with international contractor teams across distributed projects.

Select projects: USCIS Figma Component Library, Design System 2.0, USCIS Design Crit Handbook, USCIS Design Quality Playbook, I-130 Journey Map and Service Blueprint, N-400 Journey Map, USWDS Compliance Audit

• Designed user journeys and service design deliverables for the Apple Wallet Access product. Audited the Cosmos platform and delivered UX recommendations that streamlined task completion flows and reduced user reliance on Apple support.

Select projects: Apple Wallet Access User Journey, Cosmos Platform UX Audit

• Design GovernanceDrove platform-wide consistency across IBM CloudPak for Automation, establishing documentation standards, leading use-case reviews, and mentoring designers across distributed teams.
• Core-to-ProductionLed transformation of legacy on-premise applications into SaaS experiences, managing the handoff between conceptual design and production delivery teams while maintaining brand integrity.
• AccessibilityServed as Accessibility Focal for IBM CloudPak, running WCAG audits, coaching designers, and embedding a11y standards into the design process in ways that reduced developer rework and strengthened compliance outcomes. Accessibility and equity are the same commitment: designing for all users, not just the easiest ones to design for.
• Research ProgramBuilt a new research program from scratch, engaging 25+ external client participants within the first year and creating a centralized repository that reduced redundancy across teams.
• Business ImpactSole designer of an interactive Watson AI demo that secured a $16M IBM contract, demonstrating the direct revenue impact of user-centered design at the executive level.
• AI ProductsDesigned AI-powered application prototypes, chatbot interfaces, and custom UX solutions for enterprise clients in the US, Canada, and the UK as part of IBM's Watson Implementations Team.
• Design ThinkingAchieved all badge levels of IBM Enterprise Design Thinking through Coach level — IBM's highest practitioner certification. As part of this work, coached and mentored new IBM Design hires through the Patterns Program, embedding human-centered design methodology across the organization.

Select projects: Watson AI Demo ($16M contract), IBM CloudPak for Automation UX, Watson Implementations (US, Canada, UK), CloudPak Accessibility Program