Operational Principles
Act as a guide, not a gatekeeper
Effective governance orchestrates teams toward success rather than merely hedging against failure.
Earn trust through transparency
Partner with stakeholders early and often to create momentum that compounds across programs and initiatives.
Infrastructure begets innovation
Teams move fastest when systems and processes are solid enough to support experimentation and scale.
Case Studies
Rescuing 5 Years of Research—Then Making It Actually Useful
$100K in Savings Without Losing a Single Capability
Building the Guardrails Before Anyone Asked for Them
Experience
Work Experience
Nov 2023 - Present, San Francisco, CA
Research Operations Principal at Okta
Jan 2022 - Nov 2023, San Francisco, CA
Research Operations Lead at Okta
Feb 2017 - Jan 2022, San Francisco, CA
Senior UX Researcher → Staff UX Researcher at Okta
Jul 2015 - Feb 2017, San Francisco, CA
UX Researcher at Kiavi (Formerly LendingHome)
Education
2012 - 2014, Bloomington, IN
Master of Science, Human-Computer Interaction/Design – Indiana University Bloomington
2005 - 2009, Madison, WI
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science & Global Culture – University of Wisconsin Madison
Portfolio Showcase
Kind words from writers
“Naoto transformed my portfolio site completely. The clean layout lets my work speak for itself, and setting up different sections was surprisingly intuitive. My clients constantly compliment the site's elegance.”
Sarah Chen, Designer
“Finally, a theme that doesn't fight with my content. The typography is gorgeous and the table of contents feature makes my long articles so much more readable. Worth every penny.”
Marcus Rivera, Tech Writer
"I needed something professional but not corporate. Naoto strikes that perfect balance. The resource sections help me showcase my expertise, and the dark mode is a nice touch for evening readers."
Emma Thompson, Freelance Consultant
The timeline template is perfect for my online courses. Students love how clean and organized everything looks. Plus, the mobile experience is flawless—important since most access from phones.
David Park, Course Creator
Naoto's gallery layout showcases my photography beautifully. The minimal design doesn't compete with my images, and I can organize everything exactly how I want from the Ghost admin.
Lisa Rodriguez, Travel Blogger
Switched from a cluttered theme to Naoto and immediately saw better engagement. The homepage builder let me create exactly the story I wanted to tell. Clean, professional, and flexible.
James Mitchell, Startup Founder