About Me
About Me
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Nice to meet you, I'm Ana Maria, but you can call me Aina (pronounced I-nah)!
I bridge the gap between human behavior, education, and measurable performance.
I’m a Senior Instructional Designer and Learning Experience Strategist with 10 years of international experience designing scalable learning solutions across complex enterprise, public sector, and B2B environments.
I lead the end-to-end design and development of multi-modal learning programs (from discovery and strategy through UX design, development, and delivery) focused on one goal: turning learning into measurable behavior change and organizational impact.
My work sits at the intersection of instructional design, adult learning theory, behavioral science, and emerging technology. I build learning systems that are structured for engagement, scalability, and real-world performance, not just content delivery. Whether I am developing a clean, accessible Storyline-based compliance eLearning or designing a lively, interactive workshop (ILT/VILT), my focus is on practical applications that help people do their jobs with confidence.
Across my global career, I’ve transformed fragmented training initiatives into scalable learning systems used across teams and institutions. I work closely with cross-functional teams, including SMEs, facilitators, and senior leadership in complex organizational environments.
A core part of my approach is systems thinking: identifying skills gaps and designing structures that scale without losing quality, accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA), or consistency.
I also work with emerging tech in learning systems, focusing on practical applications such as scenario generation, personalization, safety, and operational efficiency. As a certified AI Product Manager, I prioritize implementation that is responsible and grounded in real learner needs.
Experience
Experience
Senior Learning Designer, Product Manager | Playpod.education (USA - Spain), 2024 - Present.
Lead Learning Experience Designer & UX Strategyst & Lead | CAST.org (USA), 2023 - 2025.
Instructional Designer, ILT & VILT Facilitator| Ministry of Education / Palma Activa (Spain), 2015-2023.
Lead Instructional Designer, Head of Hispanic Department | Henan University of Economics and Law (China), 2017 - 2018.
Education
Education
M.Ed., Digitally Mediated Learning Environments, Honors | University of Barcelona, Spain.
M.Ed., Teacher Training (Instructional Design) | University of the Balearic Islands, Spain.
B.A., English Studies | University of the Balearic Islands (Spain) / University of Graz (Austria).
Certifications
Certifications
Exploring Generative AI for Learning Design | University of Michigan, 2025
AI Product Management | IBM, 2025.
Exploring Generative AI for Learning Design | University of Michigan, 2025.
Generative AI: Impact, Considerations, and Ethical Issues | IBM, 2025.
Learning to Teach Online | UNSW, 2019.
Business Management. Explorer by SantanderX, 2022.
Toolkit
Toolkit
Instructional Design & Strategy: Needs Analysis, Action Mapping, Storyboarding, Adult Learning Theory, Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA), ILT & VILT Design, Agile/Scrum, ADDIE, SAM, LLAMA.
Design & Development: Articulate Storyline 360, Articulate Rise, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office Products, Figma, Miro, Rapid Prototyping, Video Editing Software.
AI & Analytics: Learning Analytics, xAPI/SCORM, Prompt Engineering, Generative & Agentic AI Implementation, n8n, Claude, Gemini.
Technical: HTML/CSS, LMS Customization (Canvas/Moodle), Multi-platform Integration.
F.A.Q
F.A.Q
What does your design process look like?
What does your design process look like?
I start with behavior and outcomes, not content or screens. Before designing anything, I partner with SMEs and stakeholders to understand what learners are actually trying to do, where they get stuck, what they avoid, and what drives or blocks progress in real contexts. I use a mix of UX research, stakeholder interviews, and behavioral analysis to map those patterns. From there, I design multi-modal learning flows that directly support those behaviors, rather than simply organizing information.
One of the frameworks I use is action mapping, which helps ensure that every piece of content connects to a real-world behavior or decision. This is often where I simplify or remove content that doesn’t contribute to measurable outcomes. From there, I move into prototyping early, testing frequently, and building modular systems that can scale. The goal is always the same: reduce friction, improve clarity, and design for real behavior change, not just content delivery.
How do you actually use AI in your work?
How do you actually use AI in your work?
I use AI as part of the system design, not as an add-on feature. There is an important distinction between AI-enabled and AI-native products. In my work, this means designing learning experiences where AI supports realistic scenario role-play, personalization, safety, and adaptability as part of the core experience. The tools vary depending on context (e.g., automation workflows, LLM-based systems, or agent-based designs), but the principle stays the same: AI must serve the learning outcome, not the other way around.
What's it like to work with you?
What's it like to work with you?
I'm told I make complex things feel manageable, which I think comes from spending years translating between languages, as well as engineers, designers, researchers, and business stakeholders who all speak slightly different languages 😉. I work well in ambiguity; I ask questions early so I can move fast later. I adapt gracefully when priorities shift. I care deeply about the quality of the work, and I bring that same rigor to how I collaborate: actively seeking and providing candid, constructive feedback, sharing best practices, and mentoring junior designers to raise the bar across the team.
Do you need a visa?
Do you need a visa?
I'm both a US and an European (Spain) citizen, so no sponsorship needed in either side of the Atlantic. I work on
Where are you located / What is your timezone?
Where are you located / What is your timezone?
My schedule is aligned with standard U.S. business hours (EST and CST). I am fully accustomed to overlapping seamlessly with stateside teams for synchronous meetings, and I have complete flexibility to adapt to my team’s core collaborative hours, stakeholders' needs, and project deadlines.
Let’s build the future, by design.
Let’s build the future, by design.
I am always looking to collaborate with teams that prioritize human outcomes as much as technical milestones. Whether you’re navigating a 0→1 launch, scaling your Product Ops, or integrating a behavioral lens into your AI strategy, I’m ready to help you architect what’s next.
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