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CARA DECUSATIS
cara.decusatis@gmail.com | linkedin.com/caradecusatis

 

SUMMARY
User Experience (UX) Designer with a proven track record of driving clarity and alignment on complex, enterprise-level digital products. Skilled at planning and executing research studies that inform UX decisions and guide development priorities. Adept at working in agile environments, collaborating on cross-functional teams, and communicating research findings to diverse stakeholders. Trusted collaborator in building and maintaining design systems. Strong background in Human-Computer Interaction and extensive experience with Figma.

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EXPERIENCE

Library of Congress, Washington, DC (remote)
User Experience Designer
Feb 2024 – June 2025 (layoff)

  • Led UX design and research on a cross-functional Agile scrum team dedicated to building the electronic deposit uploader for the Enterprise Copyright System (ECS).​

  • Produced prototypes, wireframes, and user flows detailing the multi-step copyright registration process.

  • Partnered with the Associate Register of Copyrights to plan and execute a multi-month pilot initiative to solicit feedback from 50 external stakeholders on the new Enterprise Copyright System.

  • Transformed feedback into 10 actionable interface improvements that enhanced applicant experience, addressed unmet applicant needs, and increased engagement.

  • Led weekly UX grooming meetings with 15 cross-functional stakeholders to define application behavior, capture changing business requirements, and identify UX issues essential to product success.

  • Led all design of a bespoke tool for rendering electronic copyright deposits and partnered closely with developers to support seamless viewing across 25+ file formats.

  • Identified gaps in the copyright design system and created a new component that was adopted by 5 workstreams.

  • Spearheaded the decision to pursue an alternative upload protocol, resulting in 30% faster uploads and a 50% reduction in system errors.

  • Identified and tracked key performance indicators (KPIs) from internal user testing to assess the stability of our uploader application and forecast potential risks.

  • Performed acceptance testing and partnered with developers to ensure our product complied with Copyright regulations and requirements.

  • Demoed application to over 100 colleagues and stakeholders during the "Inspect and Adapt" Agile event.

  • Conducted user interviews with 6 copyright examiners to understand the copyright examination process and define requirements for the deposit renderer; used insights to design the first iteration.

  • Planned and facilitated usability testing sessions on the deposit renderer with 12 copyright examiners.

  • Analyzed findings and delivered 5 actionable insights to guide continued development of the renderer.

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University of Maryland Libraries, College Park, MD
Digital Programs Specialist
Aug 2023 – Dec 2023

  • Contacted peer institutions conducting similar A/V accessibility projects and produced reports highlighting their challenges, workflows, technical requirements, and preliminary results.

 

Graduate Assistant – Digital Programs and Initiatives
Sept 2021 – July 2023

  • Performed rigorous acceptance testing, reported errors or feature requests, and assisted Digital Programs and Initiatives (DPI) staff throughout the product life cycle.

  • Evaluated platform interfaces to ensure alignment with accessibility, usability, and human-centered design best practices. Documented issues, bugs, and potential improvements and weighed developer time against user needs.

 

Library of Congress, Washington, DC
User Research Junior Fellow – IT Design and Development Directorate
May 2022 – July 2022

  • Developed an interview protocol, facilitated interviews with 12 external stakeholders, and created a user journey map outlining findings and opportunities associated with the digital file submission process.

  • Presented research findings during the Digital Library Services personnel meeting and later delivered a lightning talk and Q&A session for the broader Library of Congress audience.

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Sogang Language Program (SLP), Gwangju, South Korea
Kindergarten Teacher
Feb 2019 – Dec 2019

  • Managed a kindergarten class of 10 students and served as the lead English language instructor for the classroom.

  • Partnered with co-teacher to deliver lessons focused on language fluency, literacy, and fine motor skill development.

 

EDUCATION
University of Maryland, College Park, MD — M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction
Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY — B.A. in Anthropology, minor in Education

RELEVANT SKILLS

  • Confluence

  • Agile project management

  • Hive

  • Figma

  • Jira

  • Scrum & Kanban

  • Human-centered design

  • User research

  • Usability testing

  • WAVE accessibility

  • KPI development

  • UAT

  • A/B testing

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