About

I believe that the people closest to the problems have the answers to solving it

What is Understory?

The space in a forest below the tree canopy with shrubs, herbs, grasses, decomposing trees and new growth. Metaphorically, it’s also the sum of entangled and everchanging narratives, histories, and ideas that are rooted in a place and out of plain sight.

Jane Ouillette is a skilled facilitator, researcher, and service designer with nearly a decade of experience using human-centred design to help people work together and create change. A curiosity to understand complex systems and a love for creative problem solving has led her career from mechanical engineering, then public policy and now service design and social innovation. She offers the tools and knowledge to help you create a shared vision amongst a diverse group and integrate lived experience into strategies and solutions. Her approach to collaboration demonstrates a commitment to deep listening, public participation, decolonization, and anti-racism.

My Experience

Prior to founding Understory Consulting, Jane was a Senior Service Designer with Davis Pier Consulting in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She worked primarily with non-profit and government clients to design public programs and community-based services. She played the following roles on project teams:

  • User Experience (UX) Researcher & Designer

  • Community Engagement Lead

  • Project Manager

  • Evaluator

  • Workshop Facilitator

  • Digital Service Designer

  • Advisor on practices that promote equity, inclusion, & anti-racism

  • Advisor on methods for community engagement

Jane has received formal training in the following areas:

2022: Just Facilitation, Equity Meets Design

2020: Developmental Evaluation for Social Impact, Coady Institute

2018: Foundations in Design Thinking, IDEO.org

2018: Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University