H. Kate Rears

1650 Fitzgerald Lane
Alexandria, Va. 22302
703-967-9618
krears@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/hkate

Education

M.S., Information Systems Technology
The George Washington University

B.A., English Language and Literature
The College of William and Mary
magna cum laude

Skills

Leadership + Outreach
Public speaking, press interviews, group facilitation, executive communications, fact checking.

Productivity + Collaboration
Microsoft 365 (Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, Word, Excel, Project, Visio, Access); Project/product management (JIRA, Confluence, Basecamp, Airtable, Trello); UX/UI design/documentation (Adobe CS, Lucid, Mural, Miro, Figma, Sketch, Axure).

Technology
HTML, CSS, JQuery, XML, PHP/MySQL, ASP.NET/VB, FTP, SVN; CMS (WordPress, Drupal, Sitefinity, Shopify, Squarespace, Weebly, Wix), CRM administration.

Keen ability to learn new systems and translate technical concepts into everyday language.

Work Experience

Strategic Lead
U.S. National Science Foundation (contract position)
2024 to present | Alexandria, Va. & remote

  • Lead engagement focused on improving digital employee experiences

  • Conduct on-site and virtual stakeholder research and manage online data repository

  • Analyze data, author reports, and present findings to customers and leadership

  • Transform complex documentation into usable content via microsites and MS Teams

  • Implement communications approvals and document management via OneDrive

UX Researcher + Strategist
U.S. National Science Foundation (contract position)
2021 to 2024 | Alexandria, Va. & remote

  • Lead engagement focused on improving digital employee experiences

  • Conduct on-site and virtual stakeholder research and manage online data repository

  • Analyze data, author reports, and present findings to customers and leadership

  • Transform complex documentation into usable content via microsites and MS Teams

  • Implement communications approvals and document management via OneDrive

Senior UX Designer + Researcher
Freddie Mac Multifamily (contract position)
2018 to 2021 | McLean, Va. & remote

  • Led UX efforts for agile development teams in support of digital transformation

  • Conducted interviews, contextual inquiries, and workshops to identify customer needs

  • Created front-end designs, prototypes, and technical documentation for developers

  • Facilitated meetings across teams; provided updates to leadership and stakeholders

Account Manager/Consultant
Future Value Consulting
2013 to 2018 | Falls Church, Va. & client sites in the U.S. and France

  • Multifaceted consultant managing client websites, databases, and relationships

  • Coded front-end web interfaces and integrated web/AMS database solutions 

  • Produced and delivered training presentations for software and web apps

  • Managed projects, schedules, development tasks, and client communications

  • Created and edited proposals, requirements, user guides, and other documentation

Web Developer/Producer
The George Washington University
2007 to 2012 | Washington, D.C. & Ashburn, Va. 

  • First point of contact for web support requests across entire university 

  • Provided day-to-day technical support for staff on online platforms and systems

  • Created and maintained websites, online resources, and email newsletters

  • Trained staff to use CMS, CRM, and email management platforms

  • Managed website migrations, vendor relationships, and cross-team partnerships