# Providence 2025

World Information Architecture Day (WIAD) celebrates information architecture and shares knowledge and ideas from analogue to digital, from design to development, from students to practitioners, globally and locally on March 8, 2025.

## Date and time

Saturday, March 8, 2025 - 8:30am to 4pm Pacific

## Location

[**Sprout Coworking**](https://sproutcoworking.com/) (Olneyville)

166 Valley Street, Building 6M, Providence, RI 02909

**Parking:** Free parking is abundant! Park in any of the Rising Sun Mills lots. And here is a [**lofi parking map**](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jHFl7Ic9esWdudEk5Z1LQQ7nK4xv9Qmj/view?usp=drive_link) for your viewing pleasure.

**Public transit:** RIPTA routes 17, 19, 27, 29, 92

*Sprout is accessible for wheelchair users.*

***

## Call for speakers

If you would like to speak, prepare your talk ideas now and [submit a proposal](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScmEvlGLPavp7bvSKOPbUYExxt1ThKwcheXZE9B23DJ_gb_hA/viewform?usp=sharing) for WIAD Providence!

Most talk slots are full, but we are still accepting ideas for 5-minute lightning talks. [Last year’s conference](https://providence.worldiaday.org/events/providence-2024) might give you a good idea of what kinds of talks are fair game.

***

{% columns %}
{% column width="50%" %} <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/providence-ri-world-information-architecture-day-2025-tickets-1096847964789?utm-campaign=social&#x26;utm-content=attendeeshare&#x26;utm-medium=discovery&#x26;utm-term=listing&#x26;utm-source=cp&#x26;aff=ebdsshcopyurl" class="button primary" data-icon="tickets">Register</a>

Registration is required to attend

{% endcolumn %}

{% column width="50%" %} <a href="https://opencollective.com/worldiaday-providence/contribute/business-sponsor-world-ia-day-providence-2025-82196" class="button secondary" data-icon="hand-holding-heart">Donate or sponsor</a>

To make sure we can keep all our events free, make a donation today. All donations are tax-deductible.

{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}

***

## Speakers

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th data-type="content-ref">Link</th><th>Company &#x26; title</th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">Cover image</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Clare Cady</td><td><a href="../community/clare-cady">clare-cady</a></td><td>Associate Director of UX Research, <strong>Unite Us</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FC12TWhFhiKybPGU1S3Az%2FClare%20Cady.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=87f46916-527e-4e36-b39f-de7b26e41d8c">Clare Cady.jpg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Mike Eng</td><td><a href="../community/mike-eng">mike-eng</a></td><td>Senior User Experience Designer/Researcher</td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2Fsz6epygbqh9cj3OAjodH%2FMike%20Eng.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=e6dd1919-4f73-4924-ae3b-60c3b2787337">Mike Eng.jpg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Asher Kolieboi</td><td><a href="../community/asher-kolieboi">asher-kolieboi</a></td><td></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FUmC40G9Q5ZK1QtNwW8QT%2FAsherKolieboi.jpeg?alt=media&#x26;token=4a0dab10-63b1-4b34-bdc1-9f2ff9f4b7d1">AsherKolieboi.jpeg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Erynn Petersen</td><td><a href="../community/erynn-petersen">erynn-petersen</a></td><td>CEO, <strong>Emme</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FE5kruNXz6e6udValOyyB%2FErynn-Petersen.png?alt=media&#x26;token=7e7ce6d5-793e-4902-b2c3-a375b2412978">Erynn-Petersen.png</a></td></tr><tr><td>Mel Rainsberger</td><td><a href="../community/mel-rainsberger">mel-rainsberger</a></td><td>Lead UX Designer, <strong>GeoVera</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FGOybe9hzIPpiJwqHn0yH%2Fmel-rainsberger_2023-optimised.png?alt=media&#x26;token=3684e318-3753-44c5-b6c1-f848c3525f9b">mel-rainsberger_2023-optimised.png</a></td></tr><tr><td>Stephen Szermer</td><td><a href="../community/stephen-szermer">stephen-szermer</a></td><td>Chapter Director, <strong>Google Development Groups</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2F2yRj0YRGZpVhdtLUKlUb%2FStephen%20Szermer.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=f3ed1e26-4f06-4c06-8ac8-ce18314b90c9">Stephen Szermer.jpg</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

***

## Program schedule

**Doors open at 8:30 am!**

We’ll start promptly at 9:00 am and wrap up at noon. There will be bagels, coffee, and tea!

`9:00 a.m.`

### Welcome

`9:15 a.m.`

### Speakers (15 minutes each)

*Confirmed Talks*

### [**Mike Eng**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/mike-eng)**, “How to Make Sense of a Messy Project Brief”**

When starting a project or starting to work with a new team, there’s a lot of information you need to get oriented, and usually it’s not all provided right away. Here are some things to look for and ways to get answers.

### [**Clare Cady**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/clare-cady)**, “Building a UX Research Repository That Works”**

“Hey, have we done any research on...?” is a common phrase UX researchers hear from designers, product managers, engineers, and senior leaders. It’s time consuming to dig through the archives to find past insights, and if your team has churn that institutional knowledge goes out the door.

The problem my team faced after years of data collection and research was: how do we continue to leverage our data over time and build a framework that is accessible to everyone?

This session outlines how the UX research team at Unite Us leveraged an AI tool to build a research repository that is searchable and effective for all team members across the company. The presentation will cover tool selection, protecting IP, training the AI model to provide accurate actionable results, and teaching team members how to use it.

### [**Stephen Szermer**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/stephen-szermer)**, “Designing Information Architecture for Digital Heirlooms: Preserving Knowledge Across Generations”**

This talk explores how Private Language addresses the challenge of preserving and transferring specialized knowledge across generations through innovative information architecture. I’ll examine how we’re tackling three key challenges:

* Structuring “heirloom datasets” that remain accessible and meaningful across time
* Balancing AI-assisted documentation with human expertise preservation
* Designing access control systems that support generational knowledge transfer

`10:00 am`

### Coffee break

10:15 am

### Discussion, networking, and activities

11:00 am

### Coffee break

11:15 am

### Lightning talks (5 minutes each)

*Pre-scheduled Talks*

#### [**Erynn Petersen**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/erynn-petersen)**, “Part 2: CPT Codes, the Killer Rabbit of Healthcare Meets Arthur”**

After our talk at last year’s World Information Architecture Day event, we built a platform that allows for upfront payments for doctors’ appointments, and then had to make the information architecture backwards compatible with the prevailing CPT codes. Here’s what happened.

#### [**Asher Kolieboi**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/asher-kolieboi)**, “Trust & Transparency: Accessible Information Architecture for Fintech Security”**

Security in fintech isn’t just about protecting data — it’s about making safety understandable and accessible for all users. My talk will highlight examples of accessibility challenges and wins in fintech.

#### [**Mel Rainsberger**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/mel-rainsberger)**, “Complexity as Colleague”**

Financial services like insurance don't necessarily benefit from a lightning-fast, uncomplicated process. Some interfaces can only be simplified so much. However, in the context of financial and official services user flows, this complexity is expected and can be utilized to deliver a powerful experience.

*Day-of Impromptu Talks*

**Jack Lenk, “Z Diagrams”**

**Scott Kubie, “P.O.N.Y. Your Portfolio”**

**Parker Sowersby, “Research in AI and Capstone”**

**Mackenzie Draper, “Great (Crazy) Expectations”**

`11:45 am`

### Wrap up, prize drawings, and goodbye

***

## Sponsors supporting Providence 2025

<table data-column-title-hidden data-view="cards" data-full-width="false"><thead><tr><th>NAME</th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">LOGO</th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref">LINK</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Oomph</td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FwNAs9xgGEfWWaxeUaC5G%2Foomph.png?alt=media&#x26;token=ce37e85b-6757-42ac-b273-9a5de98c9040">oomph.png</a></td><td><a href="https://www.oomphinc.com/">https://www.oomphinc.com/</a></td></tr><tr><td>Content Career Accelerator</td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FYm7i5Ndm1xOstu3cQ80e%2FContentCareerAccelerator-optimised.png?alt=media&#x26;token=5e4104df-9078-4743-914f-bf1cb792a3d1">ContentCareerAccelerator-optimised.png</a></td><td><a href="https://contentcareeraccelerator.com/">https://contentcareeraccelerator.com/</a></td></tr><tr><td>Emme</td><td></td><td><a href="https://emme.com/">https://emme.com/</a></td></tr><tr><td>Humans Make Tech</td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FaHpBHLoxgfLpHSl7JMCk%2FHumansMakeTech-logo-optimised.png?alt=media&#x26;token=d9a603ed-aa27-41a8-a132-64990683cac3">HumansMakeTech-logo-optimised.png</a></td><td><a href="https://humansmake.tech/">https://humansmake.tech/</a></td></tr><tr><td>World IA Day Boston</td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FWMDtZe0S5BOw68vWjrRi%2FWIADBOS-optimised.png?alt=media&#x26;token=b8f6a9b1-bebd-4db0-8283-6968116c8b34">WIADBOS-optimised.png</a></td><td><a href="https://www.worldiaday.org/events/boston">https://www.worldiaday.org/events/boston</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

***

## Our team

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Role</th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref">Link</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Erin White</td><td></td><td><a href="../community/erin-white">erin-white</a></td></tr><tr><td>Jen Davinack</td><td></td><td><a href="../community/jen-davinack">jen-davinack</a></td></tr><tr><td>Gregory Kimbrell</td><td></td><td><a href="../community/gregory-kimbrell">gregory-kimbrell</a></td></tr><tr><td>Nick Scappaticci</td><td></td><td><a href="../community/nick-scappaticci">nick-scappaticci</a></td></tr></tbody></table>