Tony Vergara

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.