UXUIRL = <UX/UI In Real Life> The signature framework I've run for over a decade: web design principles applied to physical communities and shared experiences. BMe, CSWE, HIP, BFF: different wireframes, same formula. Only the industry and the audience change.
<UX/UI In Real Life> Five stages. Two phases. The formula holds. The industry and the audience are the only variables.
Map the ecosystem. Who's in it, what they need, where they're currently dropping off.
Specify every touchpoint before committing a dollar. Venue, program, partners, flow.
Assemble the stack. Partners, venue, program, vendors.
Run it live.
Measure retention, not attendance. Ship the next version.
Measure retention, not attendance.
Great platforms work because they anticipate the user before the user knows what they want. My father wrote software; I learned that logic before I had a use for it. UXUIRL applies it to community networks instead of computer screens.
My father wrote software. I grew up within earshot of how systems work, where they break, and why a good one anticipates the user before the user knows what they want. He wasn't teaching me anything. I was just in the room. It took me until recently to name what I took from it, but the wiring was already installed: every community is running on architecture somebody designed, whether or not they meant to design it.
I chose the apprenticeship model over traditional academia. I paved my career brick by brick through hands-on execution, leading from the middle, and managing up.
That kicked off a decade of dual-track growth. At BMe Community I came in at the startup phase and helped scale the membership network from 20 to 10,000 in two years. At the Council on Social Work Education I architected CSWE Spark [the platform that gave a field spanning 850+ academic institutions its first dedicated network].
Footwear ran parallel. I trained at PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy in 2013, then returned in 2015 to co-facilitate SOLECIETY [a landmark class created in partnership with BMe Community and sponsored by Nike, Jordan Brand, adidas, Under Armour, and Keen] where I held the CMF design role for Team Under Armour.
UA Omni [conceptual performance model] Design: Brandon Bjerre. CMF: Malcolm Jassiem Randall. PENSOLE × BMe SOLECIETY, 2015 [the academy's first all-Black and Brown footwear design class]. Eighteen selected nationally, six teams of three. Six years before Pensole Lewis College opened as the industry's first design-focused HBCU, this class showed what was possible.
What started as a design apprenticeship compiled into an industry presence. First as commentator and content creator (Wolf of Wall Sneak), now as a facilitator and director. Thirteen years in, I don't just sit at the table. I set it.
Community Architect is what I am because it's what I do. Solutions Architect at High Impact Partners, directing AI-driven product roadmaps for workforce development tools that strengthen labor market value across the Mid-Atlantic. Chapter Lead for Black Footwear Forum's DMV-Baltimore chapter, pairing footwear industry resources with local community infrastructure. And Project: Wall Sneak [the platform I built to reimagine and repurpose footwear retail spaces].
Different industries. Different audiences. Same framework. Every single time. Mission matters most.
Chapter leadership · Business development
I run BFF's DMV-Baltimore chapter: programming, partnerships, and execution across the region. Connecting corporate footwear resources with boots on the ground to cultivate networks that build community infrastructure across the Mid-Atlantic.
Two cities, one chapter, two major brands converted from warm leads to program sponsors.
Retail reimagination · Founder
Footwear retail is closing, and the stores that survive won't do it on inventory alone. P:WS converts retail floors into programmed community space: partners, programming, and experiences that give people a reason to walk in when they aren't buying shoes.
We ran it at SOMEWHERE® for the BFF DMV launch event. The retail floor became a venue, the venue filled, and the room converted a national brand into a program sponsor.
Wolf of Wall Sneak is the front end. P:WS is the system underneath.
Food & beverage
Every menu item built like a premium sneaker: designed, boxed, named, and dropped. SHÜ BOX makes food that belongs at an activation rather than food ordered for one, packaged and promoted with the same care as the product on the wall.
Three deployments, three industries, six years apart. Same five stages every time.
The system
CSWE's annual conference gathered social work students, educators, and practitioners from around the world for a few days to network and build together. Then conversations and commitments went stale for another year. Social media wasn't cutting it. Members wanted a dedicated space.
The architecture
A platform exclusive to social work meant building everything from the ground up: logo, wireframe, full-stack development, integration, and seeding.
The deployment
Facilitated live tutorials and AMAs through soft launch to onboard early users ahead of the hard launch.
The output
200 members in the launch cohort with a 15% monthly active user rate. Roughly triple the benchmark for niche professional networks. Spark became CSWE's primary member engagement channel and is still running today.
The system
BFF had five regional chapters by 2025 and no presence in Washington DC: the city where the national initiative was founded.
The architecture
Launching meant finding the right landing spot. I brought SOMEWHERE® in as venue partner, saving BFF thousands in programming costs.
The deployment
Packed the room with 60+ attendees to connect with a panel of executives from Under Armour and DTLR.
The output
Converted Under Armour from warm lead to regional program supporter.
The system
Baltimore is home to Under Armour's global headquarters and DTLR's founding market, and neither had community-facing infrastructure connecting the industry to the people living next to it.
The architecture
Expanding the DMV chapter to include Baltimore meant giving the city space to feel seen. We turned Under Armour's Global Headquarters into that space.
The deployment
Gathered 75+ attendees from across the country to connect with professionals from Under Armour and DTLR.
The output
Converted DTLR from warm lead to national program sponsor and secured continued Under Armour support for future regional programming.
Watch the room32 seconds from the floor at Under Armour Global HQ
| Service area | Focus and scope | Built for |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsorship & partnership development | Sourcing, pitching, and converting corporate sponsors, venue partners, and in-kind collaborators. Structuring the deal so both sides come back. | Nonprofits, chapters, event producers, cultural programs |
| Fractional program direction | End-to-end program architecture, curriculum and activation design, and operational strategy. | Footwear brands, nonprofits, foundations |
| Event facilitation & moderation | MC and hosting, panel moderation, and room facilitation for keynotes, summits, and launches. | Event producers, conference organizers, brand agencies |
| Community architecture consulting | UXUIRL applied to digital platforms, spatial activations, and workforce pathways. | Enterprise firms, startups, cultural institutions |