Vorada Savengseuksa, MPA

Vorada Savengseuksa, MPA, is the Policy and Research Advisor at buildJUSTLY. Previously, Vorada worked the User Experience Research PM at Microsoft, and as the Aging & Adult Services Program Specialist at the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS), one of the Area Agencies on Aging in the Seattle, WA/King County area that serves nearly 3,000 homebound clients each year who are mostly limited English-speaking seniors. Vorada is a daughter of Lao refugees who fled Laos during the Vietnam War era and resettled into Minnesota in 1983. She has a rich history in being part of immigrant/refugee communities and volunteering to support health, education, and equity. During her time with ACRS (beginning in 2013), she helped create and develop programs in home care aide retention by securing grants that support caregiver students in King County to meet training and certification requirements. She also built the capacity of Title XIX Case Management Programs by coordinating trainings to augment the clinical knowledge and skills of social workers. Vorada’s other areas of impact include senior nutrition and congregate meals, mental health, social engagement, physical activity, and helping determine eligibility for seniors applying for Medicaid services. At ACRS, Vorada played a key role in steering advocacy communications to raise awareness about Asian Pacific Islander seniors’ needs, particularly for the 2013 Governor’s Aging Summit in Washington State to better inform culturally responsive care in legislation.

Vorada made a recent career pivot into user experience design and brings much of her passion for inclusion and justice into the corporate sector, including serving as a strategic advisor for nonprofits like buildJUSTLY. She currently works on improving policies within the design research space to ensure ethical and responsible practices for all those involved in technology studies and user research.