Catherine Hills - Experience and Transformation Leader

How I contribute

~ Strong disciplines are built together. I contribute through writing, teaching, speaking and mentoring shaping a more ethical, inclusive and human-centred future for organisations, customers and the community ~

👉🏼 Writing & Publications

Thought leadership & industry writing

This is Doing – Celebrating Being Better Together (ThisIsHCD) - Author
Design Systems and Agility (Parts 1 & 2) - Author
Undertaking Design Work Within a Dual or Multitrack Development Process - Author
The Impact of Rushing on UX Teams - Author
Experience Design and Software Engineering Meet in a Bar - Author
Learnings from Virtual Reality Research and Testing - Author
Working Software is the Primary Measure of Progress - Author
Designing for E‑commerce User Experience in Complex Scenarios (IEEE Software, republished by Futureshapers) - Author

Commercial publications

Think Big, Start Small (Capgemini Invent Global Thought Paper)- Contributor
NAB Analytics Guild - Co‑Author
Federal Government Care Economy Recommendations - Contributor
Federal Health Digital Services Roadmap - Contributor

Academic publishing

Contributing Factors to the User Experience of E‑commerce Websites - RMIT University
Exploring How Urban Waterfronts Encourage Active Engagement - ArchNet‑IJAR (MIT Press)
A Temporary Waterfront: Prompting Public Engagement - Routledge

Books & edited works

Career Architecture by Mags Hanley — Contributing Editor
Activating Urban Waterfronts — Chapter Co‑Author
North Star Handbook (Amplitude) — Reviewer

👉🏼 Speaking & Events

Selected talks & keynotes

UX Copenhagen- Opening Keynote: UX and Org Design
Re:Ops & Design Outlook - The Evolving Research Operating Model
REOC23 - Rebuilding Research Ops Post‑Merger
CX Summit - Driving CX to the Top of the Organisation
UX Australia - Multiple talks across design systems, agile, and product delivery
1st Conference - Service Design and Design Thinking
Randstad Design Week - Building Better Product and Service Experiences for Learners
Tabar Last Anywhere - Creating Great Products by Learning About People Remotely
Academy Xi Future Series - Future of User Experience Design

Panels & community events

Research Melbourne Meet‑Up - Panelist
Randstad Design Week, AI and Design- Panelist
UX Gatherings Mega Meet-Up - Panelist
Melbourne Geek Night - Panelist
Web Meetup - Speaker

👉🏼 Community Leadership & Service

Community roles

Design Leadership Forum - Member
Catalyst - Member
ThisIsHCD -Chapter Team (2019–2023)
Tabar Community (Lean Agile & Systems Thinkers) - Crew Lead, Speaker, Facilitator
Make Meaningful Work - Contributor
Girl Geek Academy - Mentor
Tech Leading Ladies - Organiser
Women Techmakers / Google -International Women’s Day Contributor

👉🏼 DEIA & Ethical Practice

I embed DEIA principles into:

AI ethics and responsible deployment
Human‑centred research and service design
Workforce strategy and capability uplift
Organisational transformation and operating models
Community leadership and mentoring

Activities to support DEIA:

APAC ERG Chair, Co-Chair (AU/India Pluralsight) - panelist
Most popular panel, Women In Tech, Learnapolooza ANZ 2024 (Panelist) - panelist
Multiple women in tech forums inc. ANZ, SEEK
Invitee to IWD at Google
Google Anita Borg finalist
Mindfulness & Meditation Certified Teacher class of 2025 - UC Berkeley

👉🏼 Awards & Recognition

Awards

Team & initiative delivery:

Victorian Premier’s Design Awards - Finalist (Service Design)
Best Work ANZ - Publicis Sapient (Woolworths Digital Strategy & Capability Transformation)
Hack Day Awards - REA Group, Envato, SEEK

Academic:

Google Anita Borg Scholarship - Finalist
Peer Teaching Award - RMIT School of Design
Melbourne Abroad Scholarship - University of Melbourne

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Contributions