Shared Perspective Consulting
As an Indigenous designer, I am passionate about working alongside Indigenous-serving organizations. I value approaches that are relational, respectful, grounded in the realities and aspirations of the people, communities and organizations involved, and support the self-determination of our people and communities.
I believe good consulting should leave something behind.
Whenever possible, I want the people I work with to leave with not only recommendations, but also greater confidence, practical tools and the ability to continuously improve things themselves.
That's why facilitation, knowledge sharing and capacity-building are an important part of my work.
I don’t believe every problem needs a large research project, new technology, or complete redesign. Sometimes, meaningful change comes from a small but thoughtful shift, understanding a process more clearly, bringing people’s experiences into the conversation, or helping a team see a challenge from a different perspective.
My role is to support Indigenous-serving organizations with using person and community centred design approaches that empower service recipients and community to be a pivotal part of designing and continuously improving the platforms, programs, processes, service and systems that serve them.
My name is Chelsea Cross, I am a Ktunaxa designer with a passion for understanding how people experience the organizations, services, systems and spaces around them, and how we can improve those experiences. I believe good design should make things better for the people we serve.
After nearly two decades working in Indigenous child and family services - as a frontline worker, team lead, advisor, and director - I’ve seen how much care, commitment, and good intention goes into supporting our people and communities. I’ve also seen how easily well-intentioned programs, services, and systems can miss the mark when the people they’re meant to serve aren’t meaningfully involved in shaping them.
To me, UX design isn’t simply about websites or interfaces. It’s about centring the people we serve within the engagement, design, development, implementation and continuous improvement of the platforms, programs, processes, services and systems our people navigate and use on a regular basis.
My approach combines User Experience Design, Human-Centred Design and facilitation approaches to help organizations see their work from the perspective of the people experiencing it, and meaningfully involving those people in improving it.
About Shared Perspective
Professional Learning
My formal learning spans Indigenous-focused leadership, nonprofit management, human-centred design, project management, and organizational improvement.
Certificates & Specializations
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Indigenous Focus Leadership Program Certificate - The Federation of Community Social Services of BC
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Certificate in Leadership Development - Mount Royal University
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Certificate in Non-Profit Management - Mount Royal University
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Google UX Design Professional Certificate - Coursera
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Google Project Management Professional Certificate - Coursera
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Six Sigma White Belt - PACKT
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Google Data-Driven Decision Making Specialization - Coursera
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Microsoft Purpose-Driven Leadership Professional Certificate - Coursera
My mission is to help Indigenous-serving organizations design better experiences, services and systems by supporting them in bringing the perspectives of community members, employees, leaders and other key knowledge holders into the way organizations work.
My Mission
My vision is a future where Indigenous-serving organizations have the systems, services and workplaces they need to thrive - designed with their people, grounded in their realities, and continually improving in response to the needs of the people and communities they serve.
My Vision
What I do
Community-Centred Engagement
Supporting Indigenous-serving organizations to build meaningful, ongoing relationships with the people they serve by developing practical approaches to listen, learn, respond, and use community insight to inform decisions and continuously improve programs, services, and systems
Experience Design
Supporting Indigenous- serving organizations to understand the experiences of the people interacting with their organizations, from community members and service recipients, to employees and frontline teams
Service Design
Supporting Indigenous-serving organizations to design, redesign and improve programs, services, processes and systems so they work better for the people who use them and the people who deliver them
Continuous Support
Supporting Indigenous-serving organizations with flexible experience and service design expertise through advisory, hands-on partnership, coaching and training, or ongoing fractional support to navigate challenges, make community-informed decisions, and turn insight into action
How I Work
I use User Experience and Human-Centred Design approaches to help organizations centre the voices and experiences of the people closest to the work, and directly involve them in the on-going design and improvement process by:
Listening & Understanding
Before jumping to solutions, we take time to understand people's experiences, needs and perspectives. This may include reviewing existing information and feedback, speaking with staff and community members, conducting interviews or looking at how people currently interact with a service.
We make the experience visible and consider it within its broader context. Journey maps, service blueprints, process maps and other tools can help identify barriers, points of friction, duplicated effort and opportunities while keeping the people, community and realities behind the experience at the centre.
Centring People & Place
Imagining Possibilities
Once we understand what is happening, we work together to explore what could be different. We generate ideas, identify opportunities and prioritize improvements based on what will make the greatest difference for the people you serve and what is realistic for your organization.
Creating & Co-Designing
Rather than designing solutions in isolation, we bring the right people into the process. Through co-design sessions and collaborative problem-solving, we develop practical ideas that reflect both lived experience and organizational knowledge.
Trying, Listening & Adapting
Good ideas need to be tested. We create opportunities to try things out, gather feedback and learn what works and what doesn't. This might mean prototyping a new process, testing a digital experience, piloting a service or simply trying a small change before committing to something larger.
Sustaining & Sharing
The goal is not simply to complete a project, but to leave your organization better equipped to continue the work. This can include practical tools, training, facilitation, documentation, implementation support and approaches that help make human-centred thinking part of how your organization works.
Data Ethics & Responsible Information Practices
Good design starts with good information, and good information practices start by asking whether we need the information at all.
When working with Indigenous-serving organizations, I treat data ethics as part of the design process from the beginning. The goal is to learn what we need to improve an experience while collecting, accessing and retaining as little sensitive information as possible.
Start with what is necessary
We identify what we are trying to learn and collect only the information needed to answer that question. Wherever possible, I work with aggregated, de-identified or Personal Identifiable Information (PII) minimized information rather than accessing sensitive personal information.
Treat people’s stories with care
Qualitative information can be deeply valuable but difficult to fully anonymize. Before gathering stories, interviews or other lived experiences, we establish clear expectations around consent, participation, use, access, storage, confidentiality and what happens to the information when the project ends. People contributing information should have a meaningful voice in how it is handled.
Keep information with the organization
Where possible, the organization remains the primary holder and custodian of its information. My role is to help design how we learn, facilitate engagement, identify patterns and translate insights into better services and experiences without taking unnecessary possession of sensitive data.
First Nations data governance
Data governance is considered within the specific protocols, authority and context of each Nation or community. Where relevant, this includes consideration of the First Nations Information Governance Centre's OCAP® principles - Ownership, Control, Access and Possession - alongside the Nation or organization's own governance requirements and decision-making structures.
Better information. Less unnecessary data
The goal is not to collect more information. It is to learn what we need to learn while respecting the people, communities and organizations behind that information.