Merit

Akou Dossa

(She/her)

User Experience Manager at AppFolioDetroit, MI, USA Β· Product Design

Experience

AppFolio
Paylocity
?
Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan

Education

Wright State University
Wright State University

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Available times (30 mins)

πŸ““About me

Hi, I'm Akou Dossa, a user experience designer and leader with a passion for creating products and services that delight customers and deliver results. I have a background in human factors and a diverse portfolio of projects across various industries, such as financial services, compliance, and healthcare. I am a Design Manager at AppFolio, where I lead a small team of talented designers, and prior to that I was a product owner at Paylocity for their Flexible Benefits (HSA, FSA etc.) and COBRA services. Overall, I have 12+ years of experience and love solving complex problems with insight, creativity and collaboration. When I'm not designing, I enjoy reading, long walks, and spending time with my family.

Product Design

Skilled in

⭐️Why I mentor

Practice CoachingSkill TrainingGive back to the communityLearn from Others

Talk to me about

πŸ“œ Writing docs people will read

πŸ“½ Presenting your work

πŸ‘€ Dealing with imposter syndrome

πŸ›‚ Being an immigrant in tech

πŸ’» Running effective meetings

πŸš€ Launching products and measuring success

πŸ’» Managing remotely

πŸ”­ Product vision and strategy

πŸ’« Managing up, down and around

πŸ–ŒοΈ Building a design process

🎭 Mock interviewing

πŸ–Œ Resume and portfolio review

πŸ‘©β€πŸš€ Being a woman in tech

🎯 Setting team goals and metrics

πŸ”¬ Useful user research

πŸ€– Prototyping that works

πŸ’ž Working in cross functional teams

🧠 UX and UI design

πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘¦β€πŸ‘¦ Team happiness & productivity

🐣 Becoming a people manager

πŸ’¨ Changing roles

😰 Managing burnout

πŸ’¬ Giving and receiving feedback

❀️‍πŸ”₯ Building your first team

🌟 Preparing for the next level

πŸƒ Getting the most out of my internship

Recommendations

Here’s what Merit users have said about Akou

My session with Akou was great. I appreciate the time she took to listen, provide insight into the Product Management field, and the valuable suggestions and resource.

Anicee Monfleury
Jul 18th 2023
AV
Allyssa Van Camp

Mizaru

UX/UI Designer Β· 16-50 employees

Jan 22nd 2024

It was an very insightful session with Akou. From her extensive experience she provided me valuable feedback on my portfolio and good insights regarding what Hiring Managers look for in a candidate. I highly recommend Akou for your next mentoring session!

Santhosh K S
Jul 9th 2024
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