Hi. I’m Turi.

I’m an executive leader transforming teams and their industries through human-centered design.

Turi McKinley, a seasoned human-centered design expert with a long history of shaping product and innovation strategy, shaping the teams who will deliver those innovations in market, and coaching today's design and innovation leaders.

I empower leaders and creative teams to unlock their full potential.

Through launching impactful products, tailored leadership coaching, and organizational transformation for innovation-driven teams, I achieve measurable results.

Let’s work together to shape your organization’s future and amplify your impact.

  • Cristina

    "Hi Turi, I gave it a go for the head role ...and I MADE IT!! I'm over the moon and wanted to share the news as you made me grow as a person in our transformation journey"

    Cristina Barreca, VP Global Head of Customer Experience and Solution Design

  • Kelly from Linkedin

    "Your ability to speak truth-to-power, in a way we can move forward on, was exacty what we needed."

    Kelly Smith, VP Digital Product Strategy and Design, Product Design Center of Excellence

  • Steph Ng

    "You encouraged me to embrace each leader’s strengths. For our engineering team, that meant giving them the freedom to experiment. The results? A massive leap forward in AI development!"

    Stephanie Ng, Head of Product

  • Jim's photo

    "These courses have been some of the best performers in my portfolio since they launched."

    Jim Heid, Content Manager

My Services

  • Org Design for Creatives

    Expand the mandate and impact of your team

  • Design & Innovation Leadership

    Shape products that transform your business

  • Leadership Coaching

    Take your vision and impact to the next level

  • Design Research

    Find the insights that drive true innovation

  • Facilitation

    Expert facilitation and workshop design

  • Speaking

    Bringing expertise to your team or students

Create the Change your Teams and Customers Deserve.

frog design - innovation and design consultancy
American Express - Financial Services
Facebook - Meta - Tech
GE - utilities and industrials
Roche Diagnostics - Healthcare
Hyundai Motor Group - Industrials and Automotive
Humana - health insurance, financial services
Qualcomm - Technology
Cigna - Health Insurance, Financial Services
Mars - consumer packaged goods
Florida Blue - health insurance, innovation center
New York Life - Insurance, financial services
Canon - Electronics
ADP Ventures - startups, corporate ventures, employee experiences
Linkedin Learning - Education
Parsons, The New School for Design - Education
American Dental Association - non-profit membership association
MIT Entrepreneurship Center - ventures, Education
Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities - non-profit, social impact
MIT - Education
Columbia University Engineering - Education
UNICEF - non-profit, social impact

Work

  • A Health Tech company transforms for the Experience Economy

    When an industry leader looked to its design team to keep ahead of rising competitors, the new team leader needed a strategy to both transform the team and how the business understood their value.

    Diagnostics systems

  • An Insurer begins a Direct-to-Consumer journey

    When a storied insurer faced rising pressure from fintech start-ups, they acknowledged their lack of a seamless experience as a competitive threat; and looked to scattered design teams to turn it around.

    Workshop image

  • A Start-Up Incubator increases the Desirability of their Products

    When a one-year-old corporate start-up incubator identified leadership alignment as a critical gap, they sought a human-centered design infusion.

    Image courtesy of ADP website

  • A Global Learning platform expanded its catalog to Reach Wider Audiences

    To increase the evergreen content on their platform and expand their audience to more leaders, they sought an expert in design thinking and leadership.

    A screenshot of a video of Turi McKinley teaching about human-centered design and design thinking.
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Passions & Pursuits

  • Cornell, Graduate School of Management. Guest speaker and critic

    NYU, School of Professional Studies. Guest Speaker

    LinkedIn Learning

    • Design Thinking: Lead Change in your Organization (2025)

    • Learning Design Thinking: Lead Change in your Organization (2016)

    Columbia University, School of Engineering

    • Fall 2019 - Introduction to Human-Centered Design and Innovation

    • Spring 2019 - Introduction to Human-Centered Design and Innovation

    • Fall 2018 - Introduction to Human-Centered Design and Innovation

    • Spring 2018 - Introduction to Human-Centered Design

    • Fall 2017 - Introduction to Human-Centered Design

    • Spring 2017 - Introduction to Human-Centered Design

    • Fall 2016 - Introduction to Human-Centered Design

    UPenn, Integrated Product Design: Guest speaker and critic

    NYU, Interactive Telecommunications Program. Guest speaker and critic

    Parsons The New School for Design

    • Fall 2008 - Experiments with Technology

    • Spring 2008 - Experiments with Technology

    • Fall 2007 - Experiments with Technology

    • Spring 2006 - Experiments with Technology

    • Fall 2005 - Experiments with Technology

    MIT

    • Fall 2002 - 21W.785 Communicating in Cyberspace (2-week guest lectureship)

    • Fall 2001 - 21W.785 Communicating in Cyberspace (2-week guest lectureship)

  • Speaking

    • ADP Ventures 2024: Human@Heart

    • The Future of Work: Two perspectives in dialog HR and Creative

    • Leading in Times of Great Change: Panel host on leadership

    • Distributed 2020: Collaboration Behaviors at Scale

    • Creative Tech Week 2019. Space to Explore

    • Better Future Podcast: spotlight on Turi McKinley

    • frog Design: 9 Keys to Remote Collaboration

    • Better Future Podcast: Design in the Boardroom

    • How to be Awesome at your Job: Innovating through Empathetic Collaboration

    • Designing the Human-Centered Organization

    • The Human Current #28: Leaping into Design Thinking

    • MIT Enterprise Forum: Billion-Dollar UX: How UX Has Become Key to
      Massive Product Valuations & Exits

    • XX-UX 2015: Experience, Space, and Design

    • UX Indonesia Keynote 2014. Insights to Inspire Innovation

    • UX Awards Conference 2014: Building a Culture of UX Collaboration

    Judging

    • Make Your MarkAwards 2020

    • New York Design Awards 2019

    • iDesign $50k competition 2016

    • UX Awards 2014

    • CASE Awards of Excellence, Websites category, 2002

    • Council on the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Awards of Excellence, New media category, 2001

  • Organizations

    • Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

    • The Textile Art Center

    • Urban Glass

    • MIT Glass Lab

    Artist-in-Residencies and Teaching

    • Pilchuck Artist in Residence 2017

    • Pilchuck Teaching Assistant 2006

    Shows

    • Compelled by Content. Fraser Gallery, Bethesda, MD. Curator: Tim Tate. 2005

    • Night Vol 4 – Game. Compact Impact, New York, NY. Curator: Doron Altaratz. 2005

    • 10th floor –Second Edition. Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY. Curator: Zhang Ga. 2005

    • UBIsac1.0 (Ubiquitous Computing Systems Aesthetics Competition). Flux Factory, Long Island City, NY. Curator: James Rouvelle. 2004

  • Inspired by the people in my life, and those who have passed from it, as well as the Death over Dinner site, and Kara Pecknold’s inspiring design dinners - I’ve begun hosting facilitated dinners gathering strangers to discuss living well through the lens of death.

    Want to join one? Contact me.