MBA
Fifteen years of work in the places most designers don't go: invisible logistics systems, post-merger workforces, regulated operations, and organizations that don't yet know they need service design. The methodology is consistent — go to the ground, understand the actual system, build something that works inside it. The outcomes are measurable.
"What looks like a technology gap is usually a diagnostic failure. What looks like dysfunction is usually a human system without the infrastructure to function. I start there."
Cara A. Brown is a Principal Service Designer and Design Strategist with more than fifteen years of experience designing end-to-end service systems for complex, high-stakes environments. Her practice is grounded in a simple but rigorous premise: most organizational failures are not technology problems or even resource problems — they are diagnostic failures. When you understand the actual system, you can design something that works inside it.
She has applied that practice across enterprise logistics, post-merger workforce integration, regulated financial operations, public sector innovation, and nonprofit organizational transformation. At Kroger, she redesigned a $270M-exposure trailer tracking initiative dormant for three years, turned a driver NPS of −36 into +49 across 34 distribution centers, and co-led a 15-element Transportation Strategy that aligned $24M in annual technology investment — later adopted by Deloitte and cited as an organizational standard by 84.51°.
At GardaWorld, she transformed a failed culture slogan into a fully operational post-M&A integration system across a 20,000-person bilingual workforce, reducing employee theft from 20% to 0.5% in three months. At TheRealReal, she redesigned authentication and operational workflows across five e-commerce centers during COVID-19. At EOYDC, she built a grant-winning methodology that helped secure $35M+ in resources in eight months.
She holds an MBA in Design Strategy from the California College of the Arts (ranked #2 graduate design program globally) and a BBA in International Business & Marketing from Howard University. She founded Alanne International, an independent design strategy consultancy, in 2001 — and has led engagements ranging from Fortune 500 transformation programs to civic design sprints selected by the Mayor of Oakland for real-world implementation.
Cara A. Brown is a service design leader with 15+ years transforming invisible organizational systems into measurable customer experiences. Her work spans enterprise logistics, regulated operations, public sector, and nonprofit delivery. She is the founder of Alanne International. MBA, Design Strategy — California College of the Arts, ranked #2 globally.
Ranked #2 Graduate Design Program Globally · 2014