Lisa Sterling
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CASE STUDIES
PRODUCT DESIGN LEADER
Leadership | Design | Research
I've been working with teams for over 20 years to create customer centric experiences. I'm strategic, and also like to refine the details. I see UX as the nexus bringing together product, engineering and design to focus on the customer and deliver solutions. I'm a big believer in bringing the customer voice in early and often to both inform direction and validate solutions.
What I bring
A focus on the customer - I like to focus on the customer early and often.
Team leadership - I've managed designers for the past 10 years, and am a strong believer in mentoring, creating a close team and supporting development.
Vision, strategy, and planning - I have a clear focus of where we're headed, and break it down in to actionable paths.
Collaboration - I'm a believer in collaboration, and that working together brings the best result.
Innovation and continuous improvement - Sometimes it's about 0-1 development and sometimes it's about improving what is there.
Forward thinking - It's about how we can make things easier, especially now with the fast-evolving world of AI/LLMs.
Some thoughts on leadership
I value people for who they are as individuals and as designers. This means respecting diverse perspectives and fostering an environment where everyone feels safe sharing new ideas and giving honest feedback. It also means offering support when someone needs a little extra help, and building a culture where the team feels connected, secure, and supported so we can all do our best work.
It’s important to set the team up for success. This means ensuring designers have strong relationships with their product and engineering partners, that they have clear goals, and that they have time to validate design approaches throughout the process. Bringing customer insights into the process early and often is essential. When gaps arise, I work closely with the team to close them - strategically and collaboratively.
I help designers grow in the directions that matter most to them, while contributing meaningfully to the team’s success. People do their best work when they’re engaged, supported, and growing. I partner with each team member to develop growth plans with clear goals and pathways. I’ve found mentoring roles, shared learning sessions, and team feedback practices to be especially effective in supporting individual growth and creating a cohesive, collaborative culture.
About me
I've been doing user experience for over 20 years and I still love it. I like the challenges and the problem solving. I like focusing on customers and finding ways to make things better. I like collaborating across teams to create products and experiences. Honestly, I feel fortunate to have found this profession.
Outside of work, I'm often taking my dog for a walk in the hills, or my kids are teaching me how to cook, or I'm finding some time to do ceramics. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and love living by the water.
Comments from colleagues
Lisa Geer, Director of Product
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Lisa for the past 10 years across several different roles. One constant throughout that time has been my appreciation for the authenticity Lisa brings to every interaction. She communicates her perspectives with clarity and conviction, always grounded in deep knowledge and sound reasoning.
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Lisa listens—truly listens—to other viewpoints and thoughtfully evaluates their merits. Her ability to balance strong, clear direction with openness to feedback is a rare and valuable trait.
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One of Lisa’s true superpowers is the way she supports her team and those around her. She is a trusted and respected manager, as echoed by many of her former team members. Lisa consistently advocates for her team, encourages their growth, and leads by lifting others up—while also challenging them to reach their potential.
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She leads with integrity, strength, and empathy—a combination that inspires those around her.
Ketki Naik, Senior Product Owner
I had the privilege of working closely with Lisa Sterling at Snapfish, where she led the UX team. She brings a rare blend of strategic vision and hands-on expertise to every project. Her strong analytical skills allow her to uncover deep customer insights, and she has an incredible ability to translate those into thoughtful, customer-focused design solutions.
What stood out most to me was her approach to design thinking—always centered on the customer, yet balanced with business goals. She consistently fostered collaboration across teams, guiding us to build experiences that were not only intuitive and engaging but also impactful for the business.
Beyond her skills, Lisa is a natural leader and mentor. She inspires those around her to think bigger, push boundaries, and never lose sight of the end user. Any team would be fortunate to have her driving UX strategy and innovation.
Alfred Chang, Product Owner
Lisa is a strong UX leader that designers adore. She loves her users, the passion that she has for the people she designs for is admirable and infectious to the product and engineering team. Her ability to always refer back to the data helps the team make reliable decisions. Most importantly, her level headedness when under pressure, helps the team focus and execute successfully.
I learned a lot from her during our time at Shutterfly, looking forward to what she will design next.
Tomoko Creed, Lead UX Researcher
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Lisa on many projects over the years at both Snapfish and Shutterfly. Most recently, I was part of her UX team, where we collaborated on a variety of UX research initiatives.
There are many qualities I deeply admire about Lisa. She consistently puts the customer experience at the forefront, with a remarkable ability to recognize how even small UX changes can have a meaningful impact. She successfully juggled multiple projects across both brands and brought an infectious “we can do it—let’s give it a try!” attitude to every challenge.
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Lisa was truly one of my favorite colleagues to work with. She led by example and constantly inspired us to push the boundaries of how we could improve the user experience. I especially enjoyed brainstorming and collaborating with her on research projects—her insights were always thoughtful and grounded in a deep understanding of both brands, not only from a UX standpoint but also from an engineering and technical perspective. Her strong relationships with engineering and cross-functional teams were built on mutual respect and trust.
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One of the most memorable projects we worked on together was the Holiday Product Workshop in Fort Collins. We hosted 50–75 Snapfish customers onsite, offering product demos led by product owners and UX designers, and facilitated user testing sessions. This event allowed us to gather invaluable, direct feedback from our users and build a strong community of engaged customers who continued to support our research efforts.
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As a manager, Lisa gave clear direction while also challenging me to grow in my role as a senior UX researcher. She encouraged innovative thinking and always supported professional development, motivating us to attend webinars and classes to stay current with industry trends.
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I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work alongside Lisa and contribute to improving UX at both Snapfish and Shutterfly. She is a thoughtful leader, a strategic thinker, and a passionate advocate for the user.
Ian Kelleigh, Principle UX Designer
Lisa has been one of the best and inspiring managers I've ever had the opportunity to work with. For over 12 years she has helped support me and my work with Snapfish and Shutterfly. She was always there to give input on design decisions and helped push me to try different approaches that I didn't even think about. Lisa's feedback was always positive and productive which helped elevate the quality of my work as well as others' work on the team. Lisa's knowledge of the creative customers at Shutterfly was invaluable and brought world class experiences to those users. Lisa always had the team in mind, and helped us grow together through group exercises and team outings that helped inspire us in our design work.
Shankar Kondoju, UX Designer
I had the pleasure of working with Lisa our UX Director at Shutterfly. Her leadership goes far beyond project oversight—she brings a thoughtful, human-centered approach that uplifts the entire team. She consistently offered insightful feedback that pushed our designs to the next level, while also creating space for experimentation, passion projects, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
What stood out most was how she encouraged us to bring our full creative selves to the table. Her ability to connect with team members across time zones and backgrounds made a lasting impact on our growth, confidence, and creativity. Lisa is a rare kind of leader—genuine, visionary, and deeply supportive—and I’d jump at the chance to work with her again.
Kondaiah Ageeru, Senior UX Designer
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Lisa for over 8 years across both Snapfish and Shutterfly. During this time, I had the opportunity to work on many UX projects under her guidance, and she remains the best UX manager I’ve had the privilege to work with. Lisa placed deep trust in her team, fostered a culture of creativity, and encouraged us to explore bold ideas while staying grounded in user value. Her leadership style was both empowering and inspiring—seamlessly blending innovation with real-world impact.
She’s a thoughtful and visionary UX leader who consistently puts the customer at the center and brings a strategic, solutions-oriented mindset to every challenge. Her ability to collaborate effortlessly with engineering, product, and research teams truly stands out—and she leads with authenticity, empathy, and a strong commitment to both user needs and team success.
One of my most memorable experiences was getting the opportunity to meet the UX team in San Francisco and work closely with them. At the time, I was still early in my UX journey, but Lisa’s belief in me gave me the confidence to grow. Her support made a lasting difference, and I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to learn under her guidance.
Dileep Ajay Divvela, UX Designer
I had the pleasure of working under Lisa Sterling in the UX team, and I was genuinely impressed by her depth of technical knowledge. During our conversations, it was clear how well she understood both design and engineering perspectives. She could effortlessly grasp the concerns of the engineering team and offer practical, thoughtful suggestions. Her approachable nature, combined with her expertise and leadership, made her an invaluable part of the team. Truly fortunate to have worked with such a leader.
