Design is easy. People are hard: Stakeholder Management in the Age of AI

Join us for an engaging hands-on stakeholder management workshop with Lucy (Darby) Jackson!

Workshop Overview: AI can generate screens, flows, and prototypes in seconds. But it can’t run a kickoff meeting, calm a nervous VP, or resolve tension between a PM and an engineer. That’s where you become irreplaceable.

Join SoCal UX Designers for an engaging, hands-on workshop led by Lucy (Darby) Jackson, where you’ll learn the human side of design: building trust, managing stakeholders, and translating design into business impact.

Through guided exercises and discussions, you’ll practice the real skills that separate good designers from great ones.

What you'll learn:

• How UX priorities shift across startups, mid-size, and enterprise organizations
• How to map stakeholders and uncover “hidden org charts”
• How to translate design into the language of PMs, engineers, and executives
• How to “brand” your UX projects with soundbites that stick

Agenda (Subject to change):

• 6:00 PM – Doors open, networking & refreshments
• 6:30 PM – Welcome & introductions
• 6:40–7:15 PM – Interactive workshop with Lucy: Stakeholder mapping + translation exercises
• 7:15–7:20 PM – Short break
• 7:20–7:35 PM – Branding & trust-building exercises
• 7:35–8:00 PM – Facilitated discussion & open Q&A
• 8:00–8:30 PM – Networking & wrap-up
• 8:30–9:45 PM – Open networking, clean up, & vacate the venue

Important Info:

• A $10 ticket fee will need to be paid via our Buy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/socaluxdesigners
• This goes towards pizza, snacks, and light refreshments. Any leftover funds will go back into keeping the group running.
• Please note there's a small platform fee of about 61 cents. Your ticket will be ~$10.61 each.
• Questions for our guest? Include them in your RSVP, or in this Google form: https://forms.gle/7XmHESTMXRhVt47J9
• Bring Your Laptop: This includes hands-on interactive portions, so please bring your own laptop with Figma installed if you wish to participate.
• Arrive Early: To ensure we start on time, please arrive a bit early to find parking and get set up. Doors open at 6:00 and we'll officially begin at 6:30.
• Ticket sales end September 15 at 6:00 PM to help get an accurate count for guests and food/beverages.

Please only RSVP yes if you are fully committed to joining us, as seating is limited. We look forward to seeing you there, this is one Meetup you won't want to miss!

About our speaker:Lucy (Darby) Jackson is a Lead UX Designer at Indeed and founder of Darby Design Co, a remote design studio. Since 2012, she’s helped startup founders, small business owners and enterprise teams bring human‑centered design to their business strategy. She’s a mom of three, obsessed with systems thinking, and always looking for book recommendations.

About the location:The Irvine Ranch Water District offers a free community meeting room located at 15500 Sand Canyon Ave, Irvine, CA 92618. Please arrive early to ensure you find the correct room on time (see photo for reference). Need help finding us? Send a message in our Discord group (here) or in case you really need help, call Benji at (424) 260-5889.

Irvine Ranch Water District makes its facilities available for use by residents and nonprofit organizations merely as a public service, but does not, by allowing this use, endorse or support the purpose of the event or its sponsor.

Also check out other Arts events in Irvine, Workshops in Irvine, Meetups in Irvine.