Deirdre Hirschtritt is a Qualitative UX Research Manager at Code for America. For the past 3 years, she’s been working on interdisciplinary teams to help expand access to social safety net benefits like SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid, and TANF across multiple states. One of her favorite projects has been contributing to the new application of record for Minnesota’s SNAP and cash programs, MNbenefits, which has served over half a million people to date.

Deirdre has been working in public sector work since her time as a corps member with Teach for America. Her passion for expanding access to information led her to pursue an M.S. in Information at the University of Michigan. At U of M, she completed a 2-year fellowship at the University of Michigan Library, working on projects to increase the accessibility of library instruction. Prior to joining Code for America, Deirdre was a user researcher with EchoUser, a UX consultancy, offering research support and strategy to a variety of clients, from Autodesk to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Outside of work, Deirdre can be found at dance classes, hiking around the Bay Area, and baking cookies.