Your journey towards being more human-centered starts here.

The live cohort Humanity-Centered Masterclass® is a dynamic, one-of-a-kind course designed to help you build the life-changing foundation necessary to be more human-centered — for you and the people your work impacts.

Ps. It's one of the main reasons FastCompany named us one of the top 10 most innovative design companies of 2021💙

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OUR PURPOSE
We help professionals who are disillusioned with the status quo in the UX and Tech Industry feel more capable and supported by providing the tools and language to better advocate for people within profit-driven systems.
sign up today for our September 2023 cohort:

The Humanity-Centered Masterclass®

Join our Fall 2023 Cohort and learn the foundational skills needed to lead a more equitable, trauma-informed, and truly human-centered life with other professionals who get you.

Early bird sign ups get immediate access to the HmntyCntrd Community and all its events!

When: Sundays from 1pm-3pm ET

Cohort Kickoff Date: Friday Sept 8th

Live Cohort Dates: Sept 10th, Sept 17th, Sept 24th, Oct 1st, Oct 8th
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Come For The Course

We offer a 5-week live dynamic course that helps professionals in UX & Tech deepen their awareness and practices in navigating deeper human-centered topics with humility, openness and courage so that we can understand how to craft equitable, inclusive experiences, know how to navigate topics that don’t have easy or obvious answers and transform the status quo of what it means to be human-centered in our professional & personal lives.

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Stay For The Community

Be a part of a growing online community (on a private, ad-free platform) of growth-oriented professionals, monthly discussion themes, curated resources, new & innovative voices, guest speakers, thought-provoking conversations, professional networking and more!

Early bird sign ups get immediate access to the HmntyCntrd Community and all its events!

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We’ve Worked with Professionals at These Companies (And More!)
MEET THE FOUNDER OF HMNTYCNTRD®

Hello,
I'm Vivianne Castillo!

I bring 10+ years of psychology and research experience spanning multiple contexts, cultures, and industries, and my work and opinions in this space have been written about in Slate, Fortune, ELLE Magazine, Fast Company, and the Huffington Post.

I’ve always struggled with the jargon and cliches of our industry around being human-centered. Coming from a counseling and human services background, where I tackled issues like shame, empathy, vulnerability and compassion, I recognize that while we can’t control what is happening around us, we can control what’s happening within us and how we proactively work and address deeply human problems to improve the world around us for the better.

By joining HmntyCntrd, you become a member of a community that is the future of our field, a community that will create new conversations, opportunities, and practices that will deepen and revolutionize the way human-centered experiences are defined.

My hope for this experience is to bring together UX and Tech professionals who want to move beyond the jargon and cliches of our industry so that we can create an equitable, inclusive and more humanity-centered future. 

Here's to choosing courage over comfort.
A LITTLE ABOUT OUR FACILITATORS

Our Approach To UX Is Holistic

The Humanity-Centered Masterclass® is made possible by a small team of amazing people dedicated to challenging the status quo within UX and Tech through intentional, practical & thoughtful support to its members.

Vivianne Castillo, Alba Villamil, Behzod Sirjani, & Lauren Celenza leverage their multidisciplinary expertise across counseling, sociology, UX, and innovation consulting to create unique tools and training that support all aspects of your personal and professional development.

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MEET THE facilitators
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Vivianne Castillo
FOUNDER, FACILITATOR
Vivianne Castillo
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FOUNDER, FACILITATOR

Vivianne Castillo is the Founder of HmntyCntrd and brings 8+ years of psychology and research experience spanning multiple contexts, cultures, and industries and her work and opinions have been written about in Slate, Fortune, Huffington Post, Fast Company, ELLE Magazine. She has a strong track record influencing executives, educating others on trauma-informed care, & empowering others to challenge the status quo at Fortune 500 companies. She credits her previous experience as a human services professional, her multi-cultural upbringing, and her love for cognitive behavioral psychology as major influences on her approach to entrepreneurship, organizational design, and innovation.

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Alba Villamil
PARTNER, FACILITATOR
Alba Villamil
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PARTNER, FACILITATOR

Alba is one of our Facilitators and spearheads research initiatives that help us better serve the community. She is an independent User Experience Researcher who specializes in designing for the social sector. Her projects focus on underserved populations such as refugees, low-income parents, and formerly incarcerated youth. In addition to working with community organizations, she has also worked on projects with the Harvard Kennedy School and Rochester City School District.

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Lauren Celenza
GUEST FACILITATOR
Lauren Celenza
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GUEST FACILITATOR

Lauren is one of our Guest Facilitators and is a designer, writer, and educator. Her essays and commentaries on design, tech, and the workplace have appeared in Forbes, Fortune, and In These Times, among others. She’s the author of Tech Without Losing Your Soul, a newsletter examining the societal dilemmas facing tech workers today. She’s an adjunct design professor at Harbour.Space University in Barcelona, a new school for emerging tech makers. Formerly, Lauren served as a Design Lead at Google Maps and the World Resources Institute, leading global projects on inclusive mapping and land restoration. Her work generally involves researching and designing new technology and industry practices that demonstrate an ethic of care for our environments, our communities, and ourselves.

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Behzod Sirjani
GUEST FACILITATOR
Behzod Sirjani
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GUEST FACILITATOR

Behzod is one of our Facilitators and is an independent researcher and consultant who helps people bring rigor to their curiosity. He currently runs Yet Another Studio, where he works with organizations to develop intentional, responsible, and sustainable practices of learning.

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What's Inside The Course

CHECK FOR ANY GOOSEBUMPS, FIST PUMPS, OR OH YEAHS AS YOU READ!
LET’S DO IT
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Module 1
Community Core Principles

Our core principles lie in creating a better future for ourselves and our industry.

Before we begin the work of transforming the status quo of what it means for UX professionals to be human-centered in our work, our industry, and our personal lives, we must first cover skills and practices that will help us engage in deeper conversations, new opportunities, and new growth.

FACILITATOR
Vivianne
Module 2
The Barriers & Resistances To Cultural Humility & Competencies

Cultural humility is rooted in a deep awareness and respect toward individuals of other cultures. But to do this, we face the challenges of our own cultural biases and prejudices, as well as the fact that we cannot possibly know everything about other cultures.

What we can do, though, is approach learning about the experiences as a lifelong goal and process that helps us grow personally and professionally. We’ll cover topics like emotional resistance (e.g. anxiety, defensiveness, anger, guilt, remorse, etc), how to handle emotional responses to self-revelations and accountability, the impact shame and guilt has on our growth journeys, and more.

FACILITATOR
Vivianne
Module 3
The Pervasiveness of Fear & the Scarcity Mindset in UX

UX professionals commonly engage with the topic of "enough,” whether it’s self-oriented as in “Am I having good enough?” or project-oriented as in “Will this have enough impact?” These questions can be worth engaging in because we should be reflective and critical of ourselves and our practice. However they can be problematic when they are driven by fear and a scarcity mindset. In this module, we acknowledge the impact that fear and a scarcity mindset can have on us and our practices and identify ways that we can overcome these feelings to adopt an abundance mindset. We will discuss ways that an abundance mindset enables you, your team, and your organization to be more human-centered, and share strategies for cultivating this mindset in your own practice.

FACILITATOR
Behzod
Module 4
The New Challenges of Ethical Research & Design

As the design industry has evolved, so have our ethical challenges. How do we ensure that our tools and processes don’t expose users to more harm than good? How do we balance stakeholder needs with our desire to produce more inclusive, equitable designs? How do we hold ourselves accountable for past and current work? We’ll explore resources you can use to develop your own professional ethical stance with context and systems in mind.

FACILITATOR
Alba
Module 5
Designing with Compassion: How to Overcome Common Fears in Tech Products and AI

Advancements in technology and AI can generate new information, access, and efficiency in our lives, but what happens when they create fear, anxiety, and harm? Fear can emerge when technology pressures us, overwhelms us, misleads us, and more. How does identity and privilege play a role in the way fear emerges when engaging with technology? What does it take to redesign products and services in compassionate ways? In this module, we’ll unpack eight scenarios of fear that challenge a healthy relationship to technology and AI. We'll cover the strategies and tools you need to enable you, your team, and your organization to create more trauma-informed, transparent, and compassionate digital experiences.

FACILITATOR
Lauren
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Testimonials

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"OMG! I learned so many new ways of thinking about UX work. I'm focusing more on equity and inclusion in all aspects of my research and design work, making sure I'm taking the lived experiences of others into account. I’m so grateful for HmntyCntrd for giving me the opportunity to see the world in a new way.”
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Jared Spool
Co-Founder & Co-CEO | Center Centre-UIE
“I genuinely believe that the content is unmatched. HmtnyCntrd is doing and has done the best job of taking design from this thing that you can do to make things pretty, to something that you can do to make things effective, and more welcoming, and safe, and courageous.”
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Chase Morris
Product Designer
Honestly, HmntyCntrd's course was the best thing I’ve done in years... Everyone working in product and UX needs to do it.
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Candi Williams
Head of Content Design | Bumble
"One of the best things I've done [this year]. This program challenged my views about UX, empathy, and human centered experiences. It helped me check my practice and find the words to tackle difficult subjects. Plus, I've met with brilliant people. Bravo et merci!”
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Gladys Diandoki
UX Writer
"I was slightly nervous to enter the cohort with a not-so-traditional UX background as I have 8+ years of integrating DEI into talent management systems. I finally feel like I found 'my people.' These people being folx who care about integrating ethics, DEI into design principles and practices... people who challenge the status quo and who seek to build differently - to build for all. The curriculum, the facilitators, and the design of the session simply reflected that.”
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Lindsey Siegel
Manager, Talent Experience @ Salesforce
“It was enriching, enlightening, startling, and hopeful. If you're looking for ways to grow as a person and as a design/tech professional, you couldn't do better than this.”
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Lily Lapidese
Sr. Product Designer
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Frequently Asked Questions

Q
What's included in the live 5-week cohort experience?
A
You'll experience 5 In-Depth Core Modules, live Q&A with your facilitators, personalized small group sessions designed to give you a supportive experience, curated resources, books, podcasts, and articles to spark your growth & creative ambition, life-time membership to the HmntyCntrd Community and its programming / events (including monthly workshops, discussions, etc), and more!
Q
I'm not a UX or tech professional or a student; Is this still for me?
A
Sure! If extending empathy is a part of your job or you're curious about how to help others in more intentional, thoughtful ways, then feel free to join! This course and community is specifically tailored towards UX and Tech professionals, so think of it as a human-centered bootcamp.
Q
My time is limited. When are the modules presented and how much time will I need to set aside each week for the content?
A
Those who want to get the most out of the course should expect to spend ~2.5 hours a week over the course of 5 weeks.
Q
I think I'm in! But what if I join and then realize this isn't for me?
A
Don't worry, we have your back and we want you to be satisfied with your purchase! In the event that you decide your purchase was not the right decision for you, contact us at hello@hmntycntrd.com and let us know that you would like a refund. We will issue you a refund so long as it falls within our refund policy (see our Terms and Conditions page).
Q
Is the online community hosted on Facebook or Slack?
A
Neither! The community is hosted on a platform called Mighty Networks. We want our community to enjoy a noise-free, ad-free space of their own, one that is not owned by big corporations that are powered by ads and motivated to make money from our personal data. Just sayin.
Q
Will there be any pre-work or homework for this?
A
Yes, but don't fret! The pre-work and homework will both be life-giving and growth-oriented. The pre-work will usually consist of engaging with some light reading and the homework will vary with each module and will be a mix of readings, discussions, personal-reflection activities, and more.
Q
How is the content delivered? Are you flexible to different learning style?
A
Don't worry, we got you covered! We know that people have different learning styles, so we deliver the content to you in multiple ways. You can watch the course live and interact with your peers, you can download the slides from the course and review it on your own, you can engage the video/audio recording of the course modules on your own time, or you can read the transcription! There you have it, four different ways for you to enjoy the content and continue on your professional and personal growth journey.
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COME FOR THE COURSE.STAY FOR THE COMMUNITY.

Let's Choose Courage Over Comfort — Together.

Early Bird
Individual Plan
One time payment of:
$549
Enjoy this early bird pricing (a $300 discount) AND early access to the private HmntyCntrd Community!
Save my Seat!
Early Bird
Payment Plan
5 payments of:
$110
Enjoy this early bird pricing (a $300 discount) AND
early access to the private HmntyCntrd Community!
Save My Seat!

Interested in signing up a group? We offer a 10% discount for groups of 4 or more because we believe that teams who go through the process together experience huge growth. Request a quote for your group here.

We offer scholarships for students, laid off workers, anyone who doesn't have access to a professional development budget or if your currency exchange rate is at an extreme difference with the US dollar (e.g. Brazil, India, etc). You can apply for a scholarship
here.

APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP

Need Help Convincing Your Employer?

Check out "How HmntyCntrd® Can Benefit Your Company" and hear why you should join the masterclass from leaders who are dedicated to changing design and tech for good!