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

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

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).

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

Work Experience

UX Researcher + Strategist
U.S. National Science Foundation (contract position)
2021 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

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

Work Experience (cont’d)

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