Rachel Verdoorn
Rachel Verdoorn is a UX designer at AppFolio, where she focuses on designing AI-powered tools for real estate SaaS platforms. She works as a designer in the tech industry and has successfully transitioned into many different roles throughout her career, a skill she attributes to her adaptable upbringing and natural ability to pivot. With a background as an entrepreneur and property-management owner-operator, Rachel brings firsthand operational insight to her UX work, ensuring that solutions are practical, effective, and user-centered.
Throughout her career, Rachel has excelled at creating clarity and structure in complex situations, helping teams align and move forward with confidence. While she is naturally introverted and enjoys working independently, she places great value on building community and meaningful professional connections beyond the design and tech spheres. Her approach emphasizes bridging perspectives, fostering collaboration, and creating systems that are accessible and sustainable for the people who rely on them.
Before moving into UX, Rachel founded and managed multiple businesses, including a property-management company and a microgreens venture. These experiences honed her operational leadership, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills, which she now applies to platform-level UX design, including initiatives like the Agentic Assistant copilot experience. Outside of work, she has a strong interest in interior design, enjoys curating her home with gallery walls and furniture arrangements, and is mindful of balancing her professional drive with personal commitments.
• BrainStation,
Graduate, UX/UI Design
• Agile Foundations
• FIDM, AA Product Development
What do you attribute your success to?
I've been able to transition into many different roles throughout my career, and I really attribute that to my upbringing. It's all about adaptability and being able to pivot when needed. That flexibility has allowed me to navigate different opportunities and challenges in my career, and it's been key to whatever success I've had.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received came from great management, and it was this phrase: you're a human being before a designer, and ultimately that's what matters. That phrase really grounds me. It reminds me that no matter what role I'm in or what I'm working on, my humanity comes first, and that perspective has been incredibly important to me throughout my career.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice would be to lean as hard as you can into your human brain and your own knowledge, because that's what separates you from everything else out there. It's really about understanding your own design process and figuring out what tools can help you along the way. That human element and your unique perspective is what makes you valuable, so don't lose sight of that.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is AI and the shift that's happening in the world. Entry points into the field are getting harder to access, and there's a lot of confusion about what the right way forward is. It's a time of significant change, and navigating that uncertainty while understanding how to position yourself is really challenging for people trying to break into the industry.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that matter most to me are follow-through, transparency, and collaboration. I really believe in no gatekeeping of information. When people work together openly and honestly, and when everyone has access to the knowledge they need, that's when the best work happens. I think keeping information to yourself or not following through on commitments undermines everything, so those principles guide how I approach both my work and my relationships.