What I Do
  • Design Leadership
  • Product Strategy + Research
  • Product + UX Design
  • Web Design + WordPress
  • Barista a decent latte
  • Power the second row of the scrum
  • Sun salutations for days
  • Lots of car camping & hiking
Kate Valdes

Lover of problems & carbs!

When intentionally depriving yourself of a simple pleasure in life such as a good ole’ fashioned sugar high, it’s important to have a beloved craft to funnel your energy into. Luckily for me product design is full of meaty problems to satiate my appetite for improving how humans interact with technology. The completion of each project always leaves me hungry for the next one.

Passion Projects

All sugars and grains aside, I love what I do. Here are just some of the passion projects I’m involved with.

Code for San Jose

Code for San José is a group of volunteer developers, designers, researchers and community organizers who build civic apps, data visualizations and media projects. I’ve had the opportunity to work on a project associated with the 2020 census and the criminal justice space. We’d love you to join our team!

José Valdes Math Institute

This non-profit was started over 30 years ago by my grandfather, a mathematician from Cuba. After immigrating to the US, he discovered that hispanic communities in the Bay Area were underserved when it came to learning the fundamentals of mathematics. I’m honored to support this organization by leading their media effort as a working member of the board.

Let’s talk podcasts

Have a spare hour or two to chat about podcasts? Here are some of my favorites to get the conversation going 🙂

  • 99% Invisible
  • Reply All
  • The Watch
  • My Favorite Murder
  • Dirtbag Diaries