JoEllen Kames

JoEllen Kames is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Segal Design Institute, part of the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. She is a design leader specializing in AI-driven analytics, UX design, and strategic research. Her professional roles include Head of Design at Narrative Science (acquired by Salesforce), leadership positions at Northern Trust, UnitedHealthcare, and Motorola Mobility, where she developed customer-centric solutions across financial services, healthcare, and mobile technology.

• Education: Master of Design (Strategic Design Planning) from Illinois Institute of Technology; BFA in Communication Design and BA in History from University of Illinois.

Her research interests focus on applying AI to democratize data analytics, improving healthcare UX through population health insights, and designing wearable/mobile technologies grounded in user needs. She teaches at Northwestern and the Institute of Design at IIT, emphasizing advanced interaction design methodologies.

Professional experience spans corporate innovation, startup leadership, and academic collaboration. She has built design capabilities in financial services and healthcare sectors, integrating technical feasibility with human-centered approaches.