About
I’m Nicole.
I make complicated systems feel human.
I’m a Senior AI Product Manager and Designer at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, where I lead product design for NextSpace and originated the Personality Lab. I also led design for Keyring, an open-source identity wallet. Before that I spent five years as a federal UX lead at GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, on USA.gov, Vote.gov, and Search.gov, platforms that serve more than 100 million people a year. Twenty years in, I’m still showing that accessibility and ambition aren’t in tension.
Off the clock: dahlias, zinnias, and a vegetable garden. Museums, painting, and drawing. Regular mahjong. Recipes I invent and test around food allergies, which is design under constraints with better snacks. Photos of whatever the light is doing, mostly on my phone. And I’ll stop to admire a good-looking car, even if I couldn’t tell you what’s under the hood.
How I work
Five words, measured on my own scale.
| Word | At work | Off the clock |
|---|---|---|
| Precise | 7 | 4 |
| Warm | 5 | 7 |
| Accountable | 7 | 5 |
| Empathetic | 6 | 6 |
| Joyous | 4 | 7 |
Where I’ve been
- NowBerkman Klein Center, HarvardSenior AI Product Manager and Designer. Keyring, NextSpace, Personality Lab, Council of Elders.
- 5 yearsGSA, Technology Transformation ServicesFederal UX lead on USA.gov, Vote.gov, and Search.gov. Service to the Citizen Award.
- BeforeEarlier workBehavioral energy products for utilities, brand and product design for BMT, and work in fintech, education, and defense. See the archive
Full history on LinkedIn. Resume available on request: hello@nicole-brennan.com.
