I’m Gilia Angell. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by artists, writers, teachers, academics, community leaders, environmentalists, scientists, and other creatives whose work and curiosity shaped how I see the world. I carried that spirit with me to Brown University, where I studied Art/Semiotics and film production before returning to Seattle to work in the tech industry—a place I saw immense potential for creative and useful systems change.

The same vibrant milieu that inspired me also left behind a legacy of material abundance: generations of books, artworks, letters, and objects rich in meaning but heavy in volume. I’ve grown to realize that those of us in the older generations—mine, Gen X, included—hold a responsibility to the next. This sifting and sorting requires intergenerational empathy, and the energy for organizing and creating systems that scale to the individuals and collections involved. In doing so, we honor the past without burdening the future.

I’ve worked with and listened to a vast array of clients and customers in my career. I’m a 20-year user-centered design veteran in tech, working for Amazon, Expedia, Shopify, and the Gates Foundation. I researched, designed, and launched digital products and services for retail, travel, and e-commerce platforms. I’ve also done the same in roles at non-profits, civic tech, and NGOs. Ultimately, people trying to accomplish a task were my customers. Their needs and priorities centered my design work then, as it does now in legacy organizing.

I’d love to help with your legacy organizing project.