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About Tony Vergara

Tony
Vergara

Experience Design Leader Specializing in Service Design, User Research, and Information Architecture

I seek to find meaningful work where I get to use my strengths in user psychology and co-design to lead effective teams and design solutions to tough challenges that benefit the greater good.
Experience Design Leader Creating Value-Driven Work Working in Civic Tech For the last three years, I've been working at Fearless. I currently work closely with Maryland's Department of Labor to help bring the FAMLI program to life for the state's workers to have access to paid leave. Prior to this, as a design lead and service designer, I partnered with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve how we get information on key CMS websites like Medicare.gov, CMS.gov, and Healthcare.gov. Through this work, I led an initiative to improve the education processes around Medicare to people who are currently eligible or will soon be eligible to sign up. I also get to work with some very smart people to help develop the craft of service design at Fearless and help socialize the things that make us stand out as leaders in civic tech. Developing as a UX Leader Before joining Fearless, I led the customer experience strategy team at R2integrated. I started as a UX Architect back in 2017, focused on website redesign projects. Over time, my focus shifted to include design system implementation, design thinking workshop facilitation, conversion rate optimization through A/B and multivariate testing, and customer experience management. During my time at R2i, my proudest achievements centered around helping build and foster a culture of customer experience excellence and positive, empowering team culture. I also achieved some certifications and won some awards. In my spare time, I collaborate with purpose-driven organizations to build and measure digital experiences, allowing me to refine my craft while contributing to meaningful change. Transitioning from Human Psych Research to Tech I started my journey in tech through an internship-turned-job at Blue Water Media after completing a UX bootcamp. There, I learned to apply research to problem solving, using ctionable insights to help clients drive business goals. Before the UX bootcamp, I worked in academic research, primarily supporting research projects on memory and attention because I'm passionate about human behavior, but that didn't work with my impact-driven nature, so it felt natural for me to move to a field where I could use my strenghs as a researcher in a creative way to solve real problems. What's Next for Me? Looking ahead, I hope to lead delivery teams and experience design practices in impact-driven environments, where I can foster a data-informed culture that champions customer experience at every stage.

Resume

Service Designer II → Service Designer III & Design Lead

Fearless Solutions
September 2022 to Present

I'm currently working on a contract with Maryland's Department of Labor as a Design Lead for the Maryland Paid Family and Medical Leave program. I recently worked with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where I lead multiple design teams across critical public-facing web properties (like Medicare.gov and CMS.gov) to improve the web experience for end users and content editors.

Customer Experience Consultant

Freelance
January 2016 to Present

I help small businesses, non-profits, and community organizations set up their digital presences and improve business operations through use of technology.

UX Architect → Senior UX Architect → Associate Director, CX Strategy

R2integrated
August 2017 to August 2022

I led design strategy for website redesign projects and creative marketing campaigns, helping diverse commercial clients develop data-informed design solutions that drove user impact. I also developed deep expertise in user research operations, content strategy, information architecture, measuring user experience, and business consulting.

UX Design Intern → UX Designer

Blue Water Media
June 2016 to August 2017

I led comprehensive discovery research for website redesign projects, building strong client relationships through stakeholder interviews and presenting strategic findings. Developed crucial information architecture elements, including sitemaps, wireframes, and taxonomies, while collaborating closely with Art Directors and Content Strategists to ensure alignment between client needs and project execution throughout the web development process.

Research Program Coordinator II

Lab of Working Memory & Cognition at Johns Hopkins University
February 2013 to June 2015

I conducted research on memory and attention, developed inclusive recruitment strategies and other research operations protocols, and trained undergraduate assistants. In my spare work time, I also programmed research tasks in MATLAB and Python for efficient data collection and secured IRB approval for all protocols and research studies.

Research Assistant

Center for Sleep & Circadian Neurobiology @ Penn Medicine
June 2011 to June 2012

I recruited and screened research participants to ensure high-quality data collection, conducted testing directly with participants, and assisted the Lead Researcher in preparing materials for publication and presentation.

Certifications and Awards

We're constantly looking to improve our ability to deliver results. Here are some of our recent accomplishments.

Award

Fearless Purple AI Hackathon – 3rd Place Winner

Award

3rd Place in the 2025 Fearless Internal Purple Hackathon

Award

Make an Impact (Fearless Digital 2024 Award)

Metrics

Our work contributed to a 15-24% increase in customer satisfaction for new Medicare beneficiaries

Award

2017 Acquia Engage Award

Certification

Nielsen Norman Group UX Certifcation in Management

Certification

Adobe Certified Expert - Adobe Analytics Business Practitioner

Certification

IBM Enterprise Design Thinking — Co-Creator

Certification

Google Analytics Individual Qualification

Testimonials

Customers and co-workers love working with Tony! Read a bit more about what they have to say about their experiences.

Tony does an amazing job at supporting strategic conversations with stakeholders, specifically with helping them align objectives, and explore new ideas and directions. Tony always does his homework, and really dives in to surface everything stakeholders need to to make informed decisions.

Nice work Tony! The fact that there were so few changes needed to the site shows how well you planned out page content. Awesome job.

I just wanted to say what a joy it has been to work with you. So snarky, but really funny. I have enjoyed your honesty and work ethic. You’re always willing to go on a deep dive on something, and I think it is a gift to R2i. Your talents are much appreciated by the team.

Tony crushed it. The insights he provided about the email templates were exactly what i was looking for and i thought they were very insightful. He started with one of the biggest things that’s been bugging me about our templates (no dark mode), and then brought up a whole bunch of other really great points that I hadn’t even considered. Definitely want more time with him.

Tony is such a team player and really looks to extend his skills. Not only is he doing the BP cert for Adobe Analytics, he is willing to get into Marketo to help. That's so awesome!

This is great and inclusive! It checks all our boxes, especially on usability and visuals. There are some quick, easy, actionable things [in these recommendations] that we’re excited to get started on ASAP.

Blog Articles by Tony Vergara

Python for Designers

Aug 08, 2024

I love using Python to help me with tasks in my daily work. Check out some of the ways I've used it to streamline my design workflows.

How to Apply User Psychology to Web Design

Nov 02, 2021

When building a website, ensure your design builds visual interest, minimizes choice overload, and establishes trust with your brand.

Choice and Motivation: How Many Choices is Too Many?

Jun 03, 2017

Read more about choice overload and avoiding it to help customers make informed decisions that they'll be happy with.