I create human-centered experiences and lead transformation initiatives that enrich people's lives.

As a leader in experience and transformation, I apply design-led strategy and emerging technologies—like GenAI and Agentic AI—to accelerate innovation, align with business goals, and deliver scalable, user-centered products and services with measurable impact.

Case Studies and Experience

A bit about me

Professionally Speaking -- Integrity, service to others, and clear purpose are the values that shape how I lead, collaborate, and solve problems. Grounded in lived experience, these principles guide my ability to inspire teams, navigate complexity, and drive progress. I focus on earning trust through action and creating meaningful, measurable impact—for people, organizations, and the future we’re building together.

headshot of rich

On a Personal Note -- I’m a proud dad of two, a lifelong artist, and an outdoor enthusiast—whether I’m on the trail, on the course, or out on the water. I bring curiosity and creativity into everything I do, blending a love for exploration with a drive to keep learning and improving. I believe in finding the upside, keeping things enjoyable, and staying open to what’s next—especially when on the water or reading a left-right down hill green.

My Approach, Focus, and Skills

My leadership style is rooted in open communication, trust, and collaboration. I believe in creating an environment where people feel heard, supported, and empowered to take ownership of their work. I ensure successful outcomes by focusing on setting clear goals, providing the right tools and guidance, and then giving teams the space to deliver.

DIGITAL STRATEGIC DIRECTION100%
  • Digital transformation strategy
  • Strategic planning & execution
  • Digital maturity assessment
  • Trend analysis, foresight & innovation strategy
  • Competitive benchmarking & market differentiation
  • Business model innovation
CREATIVE AND CUSTOMER-CENTRIC THINKING100%
  • Customer & user experience leadership
  • Design thinking & human-centered design
  • Customer & experience-centric innovation
  • Customer journey mapping & experience orchestration
  • Business process reengineering with customer lens
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND OPS90%
  • Leadership & stakeholder alignment
  • Coaching, mentoring & team development
  • Culture & organizational transformation
  • Executive storytelling & influence
  • Product portfolio management
TECHNOLOGY FLUENCY90%
  • Technology & digital enablement
  • Applied AI & machine learning in CX/UX
  • Agentic AI & intelligent automation
  • Low-code/no-code platforms for rapid prototyping
  • Data-driven decision-making & analytics for experience optimization
BUSINESS AND OPERATIONAL ACUMEN85%
  • KPI development, tracking & ROI analysis for experience initiatives
  • CX measurement and prioritization
  • Operating model design for CX/UX excellence
AGILE DELIVERY95%
  • Agile, Scrum & iterative delivery for experience design

Fun Facts

From throughout my career...

Projects Supported

Largest Auduience Impacted (millions)

Hours Serving the Mission

Relationships Formed

Testimonials

One of my biggest highlights is getting to work with such awesome folks, and hearing their kind words motivates me even more!

Harvinder Labana

Assistant Program Manager, and Technical Director

Champion for Improved Taxpayer Experience
Rich is an integral part of the OLS team and is responsible for leading the UX workstream for 5+ years. He is a consummate professional who supports our team and clients and their mission..... Our team has undergone multiple changes over the past few years. It has been hard to feel like a “team” especially in a remote environment. Rich has led the UX team to help facilitate improvement in overall culture and mood. From team meetings to team building experiences, the payoff is endless. He is always working to help others while driving the OLS mission forward.

Josh Finkelstein

Team member, and UX Designer

Transforming Our UX Capability
Richard Vary is far beyond what his title signifies. He’s not a UX Lead. He’s a facilitator of transformation, at the client level, strategy level, as well as the career level. His unflinching courage and ferocious integrity in guiding the IRS OLS team of designers, researchers and strategists, is second to none. He provides not only support for those around him but those who are looking for the next step. He’s able to interface with clients at a level that commands respect, admiration and trust. Not typical of the designer types, but more of those in positions of both leadership and vision. I would be honored to help lead the effort of his promotion to Senior Associate here a Booz Allen Hamilton.

Mario Masis

Admin Team Manager, and Product Director

Leading By Example
Rich, your contributions to your team and project over the course of the year have been unmeasurable. You've successfully navigated a complex situation within the OLS project space with positivity, and empathy, and throughout continued to influence others through your actions. Additionally, you have been able to exceed your client commitments all while doubling your administrative team, exemplifying the meaning of passionate service. We are all lucky to have you as part of our work network. We thank you and appreciate your contributions and dedication in helping your client achieve their goals, while continuing to serve as a mentor to your peers.

Masha Tatianina

Team member, and UX Strategist

Thank you for all of you do
Thank you for standing up for what you believe in, having my back, being resourceful and honest. I am thankful that I get to work with you! You rock!

Mario Masis

Admin Team Manager, and Product Director

Shaping the Future!
Thank you for leading your team of interns in the Summer Games this year. All of the interns expressed gratitude to the entire Booz Allen firm for the opportunity and experience this summer, and each walked away with a greater understanding of our culture, the ability to define a problem and work through the steps establishing a process/schedule needed to deliver a product. Nice work on shaping the next cadre of future talent, Rich!

Case Studies and Experience

Philosophy and Approach

Creating experiences that resonate, gain trust, and build long-standing relationships. The first step is to gain an understanding of the customer through discovery and ideation techniques that uncover behavior, expectations, and needs that produce informed solutions.

IRS digital design system

IRS Digital Design System

IRS.gov Homepage - Concepts

IRS.gov Homepage - Concepts

Taxpayer Accounts - Concepts

Taxpayer Accounts - Concepts

IRS Research Repository

IRS Research Repository

Professional Experience

KPMG - Experience and Design Director

February 2023 – Present

KPMG is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom, and is one of the "Big Four" accounting firms.

Responsible for advancing the Federal Advisories Experience capabilities and business across DoD and civilian accounts by leading transformation, fostering collaboration, and improving customer experience with solutions that address federal needs.

  • Responsible for establishing the User and Customer Experience capability and operations, developing a cohesive strategy aligned with business objectives...
  • I integrate AI accelerators across key UX/CX activities—including visioning workshops, user and systems research, design, and measurement...
  • I devised the strategy and created marketing materials to define how we position, communicate, and target UX opportunities with clients...
  • I led the Experience and Design efforts to deliver the first AI-powered tool...
  • Spearheaded UX research and design for a mission-critical tool utilizing scenario-based data modeling...

Booz Allen Hamilton - Experience Strategist Lead

February 2017 – 2023

Booz Allen Hamilton Corporation is an American management consulting firm, aimed at a government-services.

Responsible for UX and CX teams that deliver strategic initiatives with optimal solutions for government clients.

  • Responsible for and stood up the first 18-person cross-functional experience team...
  • Responsible for growing scalable strategic solutions that drive enterprise-wide client engagement...
  • Leads 4 UX managers, 2 cross-functional experience teams, recruitment of talent...

Comcast - Lead UX Designer and Front-end Engineer

2016 – 2017

Comcast Corporation is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal.

Responsible for the creation and optimization of enterprise-wide products for Comcast’s Cloud Services team.

  • Led efforts with engineers to discover, define, and create the front-end design...
  • Utilized User-Centric design and Agile principles to establish a UI/UX Style Guide library...

Time Warner Cable - Sr. Manager, UX Design and Research

2013 – 2016

Time Warner Cable, is the second-largest American cable telecommunications company...

Responsible for the digital experience for Time Warner Cable Business Class marketing website.

  • Led design and user testing efforts for the responsive redesign of TWC Business Class website...
  • Defined and optimized UX operations across engineers, product team, and QA specialists...
  • Led a team of two direct reports’ tasks, schedules, and deliverables.

Harris - Sr. UI/UX Designer

2012 – 2013

Harris an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 125 countries.

Responsible for UX that delivers Harris’s Patient and Provider web and iOS applications.

  • Created user-centered designs of Patient and Provider Applications using contextual inquiry...
  • Led a 2-person team in the design of a web delivery system...

Laureate Inc. - Sr. UX Designer

2010 – 2012

Laureate International Universities, leading innovative institutions of higher education...

Responsible for delivery of scalable student experience platform to serve 50+ online universities worldwide.

  • Conducted user research, usability testing, and prototyping...
  • Led 5-person team in the creation process...
  • Conducted research of industry best practices for mobile and desktop...
  • Led design efforts during two-week sprints and daily scrums...

Hillcrest Labs - Sr. UX Designer

2008 - 2010

Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc., provides products and solutions that enable entertainment, motion gaming, and Internet browsing on your TV.

Responsible for defining customer experience through company’s cloud-based products and services platform.

  • Led a 2-person team in design efforts for iTV consumer-based applications...
  • Designed consumer-based product package design, marketing sites, and iPhone app.
  • Developed prototypes and various layouts to support company goals...
  • Designed and developed the Loop’s and TV Ami’s HTML/CSS marketing websites.

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer - Art Director

2001 – 2008

PBS NewsHour, one of the most trusted news programs in television delivering news for 40 years...

Responsible for the user experience of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer across existing and emerging digital platforms.

  • Led 3-person team in design efforts for “The Online NewsHour” and “NewsHour Extra”...
  • Led NewsHour’s involvement in joint ventures iTV prototypes...

AOL TV - Sr. Designer

2000

AOL, a pioneering internet services and media company known for online connectivity, digital content, and early web-based experiences.

  • Created designs and interactive experiences for AOLTV...

Discovery Communications - Art Director

1997– 2000

Discovery Communications, a global media company specializing in nonfiction content...

  • Conceived and served as the creative lead of editorial layouts...
  • Worked within a team environment to meet aggressive goals...
  • Designed network sites “Hate & Violence: No Simple Answers” and “A Dating Story”...
  • Created innovative layouts to achieve highly aggressive traffic and revenue goals...
  • Served as a key member of the redesign team for Discovery.com.

Education

Bachelor of Fine Arts & Visual Communication

1994 - 1997

Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Institute College of Art is a private art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland...

Certificate Programs

UX Masters Certification, Nielsen Norman Group (NN/G) - 2021

Cooper U Interaction Design - 2011

SAFE - 2021

icAgile - 2017