We are thrilled to welcome Sierra Bailey-Van Kuren as Pavilion's new Senior Product Designer. Sierra joins us from Curology, where she specialized in marketing, web, and UX design. In this interview, learn about her passion for designing seamless human experiences, love for the outdoors, and more.
Why Pavilion?
Over the last 4 years of working at a startup, I realized that I am a people-motivated person. I love to design and be a part of fundamentally human experiences. At Pavilion, I found exactly that. Not only was there an emphasis on user research and user-lead decision making, but the company itself rested on a foundation of strong collaboration.
Truthfully, I knew very little about the procurement and government space when I first interviewed at Pavilion. . However, the passion everyone had about the social-impact potential was immediately evident and sealed in my decision to join the team. Pavilion is a place where I can bring impact through my knowledge on accessibility and systematic design. Pavilion’s product also proves to be an interesting, constant challenge that pushes me and teaches me a multitude of new things which I couldn’t be more excited about.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
Promoting accessibility is a continual goal of mine. Last year, I became CPACC certified through IAAP. The next step for me is to pass IAAP’s WAS certification. While that might not happen in the next year (you have to prove you have 3-5 years of working accessibility experience), my interim goals are to complete Deque’s WAS curriculum and volunteer with Knowbility for Air2023.
The Deque course covers all the content on the WAS exam and includes sample questions. Air2023 is a great experience where you work with a small team to make an NPO’s website accessible. During the process, your team is paired with an accessibility mentor who helps guide you through complex accessibility issues.
What’s a goal you have for the year ahead?
Perhaps not unexpected once you get to know me, but I love to spend part of my summer every year working at a live-action roleplaying summer camp for teenagers called The Wayfinder Experience in upstate New York! Kids are smarter than all of us, and it has been so meaningful to me to watch them find themselves, find their voices, and grow into incredible people.
Words to live by? // Personal motto? // Favorite quote?
“Kūlia i ka nu'u” is a saying coined by Queen Kapi‘olani and means “through strength to summit”. It is one of the three ways to talk about achievement in the Hawaiian language. What makes this proverb unique is it talks about achieving not solely to be the best, or at the extent of others, but for you to strive to be your best for…you. This saying is also continually present tense. It is not just an item to check on the to-do list, but a constant effort of perseverance.
For me personally, kūlia i ka nu'u has served as a way to connect with my Hawaiian heritage and the complexity of the history that lies within the words. It also has been a guiding force for my own mental health journey and encourages me to look for opportunities to support others.
