I work at the intersection of design, product, and talent — helping leaders figure out what to build and who to build it with.

I’ve spent 15 years at the earliest stages of hard problems in complex, high-stakes environments where the product decisions carry real consequences and the team is still being built.

Past work: Founding designer at Clover Health, product lead at Resolve to Save Lives, and design executive search at Wert&Co.

Services

Every engagement is different. I adapt to what the work requires, whether that's embedded and hands-on or a standing thought partner. I'm comfortable in ambiguity; that's usually where I'm most useful.

If you're thinking about what's next for yourself, your product, or your company, I'd be happy to chat. Even if you're not sure what you need yet.

  • I partner with founders on research direction, product decisions, and hiring strategy. For when you need a thought partner with range. Typically structured as a retainer; scope defined together.

  • I work one-on-one with designers and product people navigating transitions, figuring out their next move, or ready to grow into something new. Available hourly or on a recurring basis.

  • I help companies make sharper hiring decisions through portfolio reviews, candidate evaluation, and calibrating what good actually looks like for the product and creative roles. Available as a standalone engagement or hourly.

Work with me

Press & Talks

Carnegie Mellon University, Integrated Innovation Institute
"Finding a Career in an Unpredictable Job Market
Co-led seminar for graduate students on career strategy, narrative design, and hiring.

Design Details Podcast  ·  Episode 303
"Building Design Teams"
On hiring, designing for high-stakes product areas, and scaling a design function from scratch.

Women in Product
Leveraging Data to Solve Complex Problems in Healthcare
Panel speaker alongside product leaders at Flatiron, Oscar, Cedar, and Maven Health

First Round Review
"Read This Before Joining as Employee 1 to 20 at a Startup"
On ruthless prioritization, org design, and building teams through hypergrowth.

Healthcare Design  /  Medium
"Interview with Stacy La, Director of Design at Clover Health"
On designing in complex, high-stakes healthcare environments.

In Their Words

“I've worked with world-class designers and Stacy is one of the best. At RTSL, we built epidemic planning tools for public health experts stuck on legacy systems. She had a way of guiding users toward modern software without talking past their expertise, and kept things simple under pressure to add more. She understands technical tradeoffs, thinks like a leader, and I trusted her work completely. I'd work with Stacy again in a heartbeat."

— Tim Cheadle, VP of Agentic AI @ Phaidra

“I worked closely with Stacy on state-level COVID pandemic response, and she was instrumental in delivering expert design and product management. It was a trying time, but she came to stand-up every day with a positive outlook that we could do good work and help people stay safe. Stacy was an absolute pleasure to work with, and I'd be lucky to work with her again someday!”

— Jesse Cooke, Founder/CTO @ Ratio PBC

“In the early days of Clover, we needed a special designer who could embrace the complex, high-stakes context of healthcare delivery to the elderly. Stacy was a perfect fit. She built and developed her team while representing Clover in the broader design community. She has always sought and been responsive to feedback and in so doing has continued to get better and better.”

— Wilson Keenan, prev. COO @ Clover Health