I like problems that aren't quite solved yet. The fun part is figuring out what they could become.
Jen Godin is a human-centered designer who creates experiences, tools, and programs that help people discover what they're capable of.
Built by hand, grounded in scientific literature, and tested in the real world. The process is simple: understand what's happening, build something tangible, test it in context, watch what happens, and change the design.
This portfolio follows that loop across four kinds of problems I keep coming back to.
Four Doors In
The same design method, seen from four angles.
01 · Community Access
Free community labs and scholarships, built to survive real institutions, real staffing, and real budgets.
02 · Inclusion + Curiosity
Regulation isn't a break from the experience. It's what protects a kid's capacity to stay curious.
03 · Experimentation
Build it, put it in front of real people, watch what reality does to your assumptions, change it.
04 · Mentorship
It started because I needed more hands. It became a pipeline for the next generation of people who care about access to STEM.
Design Perspective
A few things that show up in every project.
"A pipeline, not a volunteer roster."
From Mentorship, on what separates a fellow from a helper
"Regulation isn't built into a break. It's built into the footprint."
From Inclusion + Curiosity, on how kids are able to concentrate, learn, and play for as long as they do
"Science belongs to everyone. Access is the design problem."
From Community Access, on why free and scholarship-based aren't add-ons
Field Notes
Small observations that changed how I design.
"He wasn't using it wrong. He had another hypothesis."
Unexpected behavior is information
"If my son can break it in five minutes, it isn't ready for the lab."
Real-world durability and edge-case testing matter
"Some learners are quiet observers. Others are bulls in a china shop. Both belong."
Valid participation doesn't have one visual form
"Sometimes the design intervention is helping the caregiver step back."
Who else is in the room changes how someone participates
"Sometimes observation is the science."
Meaningful engagement doesn't always require visible action
"The best prototypes fail in front of real toddlers, not in a sketchbook."
Real-world testing surfaces what planning alone can't
About
One person, several angles on how people participate.
I come at this from a few directions at once: pediatric occupational therapist, teacher, founder and program designer, research collaborator, community partner, parent. OT is the lens underneath all of it. It's how I learned to see the person, the space, and the task at once, what someone can actually do versus what a program is just hoping for. Design is what I do with that. Children are where I've proven it. I've watched the same thing hold true well beyond childhood.
I don't think the future of learning is purely digital. Bodies matter, spaces matter, curiosity has to happen somewhere real. Technology is worth using when it makes an experience more accessible, more participatory, more possible for someone who couldn't get to it otherwise, not because it's technology.
Recognition
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