Yvonne Gando

I’m a poet at heart with a past life teaching writing and techno-cultural studies at the University of California, Davis, before making the leap into tech. I spent over a decade at Google leading UX teams across a range of transformative products—AR/VR, Hardware, Ads, Social, and Google Assistant to name a few. There, I helped build the foundational design system for Google Assistant and developed a deep appreciation for the craft of conversation design. Today at Salesforce, I bring that systems-thinking and storytelling mindset to cross-cloud AI experiences, where I also lead our Conversation Design team.

At my core, I’m a connector—of people, ideas, and experiences. Whether designing for emerging tech or scaling human-centered interactions across platforms, I bring a strategic lens rooted in empathy, clarity, and cohesion. I’ve been invited to speak about UX across 8 countries (top 3 faves: Poland, Brazil, and Australia), and I’m passionate about mentoring the next generation of designers navigating the evolving landscape of AI and natural language experiences.

You’ll probably find me exploring new corners of the world with my 6-year-old daughter and husband, deep into a Pilates session, or winding down with some delightfully terrible reality TV.