From time to time we will profile members of the Give Lively team, revealing more about who we are, what we do and how we fit into a mix of dedicated and dynamic engineers, creatives, strategists and advocates helping nonprofits do more with digital fundraising tools.

Like the person who is the focus of this week’s profile, the full Give Lively team is passionate about using tech for social good and providing a better fundraising experience to nonprofits and donors.

Emily Kehlenbeck

What do you do at Give Lively?

I have been one of Give Lively’s product designers for almost three years. Alongside my teammate Olivia Gulin and others in the product department (meet Matt Connelly and Ciana Ferden), I am responsible for designing the user experience (UX) of our products from start to finish and implementing design solutions that ensure an enjoyable and intuitive experience for our donors and organizations alike.

What does a day in your life at Give Lively look like?

As a result of the complexities of the UX design process, each day can look a bit different. One of the most recurrent segments of my day is meetings, namely daily and weekly check-ins, wherein the product team and various others from Give Lively provide vitally informative internal feedback that propels our design decisions. Based on this input, I spend the majority of my time outside of meetings developing visual designs using prototyping software. This process can look different day-to-day as well, with work consisting of beginning or expanding upon wireframe (simplified outline) concepts, analyzing features from similar designs and/or building functioning prototypes.

One of the most helpful and enlightening steps of the overall UX process is the opportunity to meet and speak with our member nonprofits, often even observing their first interactions to prototypes of new or updated features. This not only gives invaluable insight into our consumers’ specific needs with each project, but is an integral part of understanding our user base as a whole.‍

What do you like to do outside of Give Lively?

My penchant for creativity and visual storytelling goes beyond Give Lively. I am always on the hunt for creative outlets, whether it’s sketching my surroundings, felting miniatures or personalizing my apartment with as many candles and plant fixtures as I can reasonably fit!

What usually occupies most of my day is without a doubt my dog Delle, whom I rescued from Korea shortly after my story at Give Lively began (and I wouldn’t have it any other way!). A snuggle from her is a cure for most ailments, and she gets me outside when I might otherwise have been discouraged to do so. This has been a game changer for me in regard to both fitness and connecting more with nature; foraging, watching wildlife or working on my indoor herb gardens are where you can find me a lot of the time. Otherwise, I am at my happiest going on adventures big and small, catching up on shows and exploring new games with the wonderful people in my life.

What excites you about Give Lively? 

The mission of Give Lively has deeply resonated with me from the very beginning. I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a company driven solely by positive impact. Seeing firsthand the effect that thoughtful design can have on such a vast range of communities has been the most rewarding experience. On top of that, the talent, humor and support of the incredible product team and beyond are truly a rarity and make my work environment all the more enjoyable.