Writing
I write about design, healthcare, creativity, adversity, and the role of lived experience in shaping the systems that care for us.
Journal Articles
A Blueprint for 'Care-Centred Al’
Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises to revolutionise how healthcare organisations serve patients but harnessing this technology to design better services is fraught with unknowns and confounders.
May 2024, Touchpoint Service Design Journal, Vol 15(1)
Bridging Design and Product Perspectives:
The role of the customer economics matrix
Introducing the Customer Economics Matrix, a practical tool that aligns service design and product management by balancing customer value with economic viability.
Personal Essay
“When Medicine Just Isn’t Smart Enough”
Featured in the Amazon best-selling anthology The Losses We Keep, “When Medicine Just Isn’t Smart Enough” captures a personal inflection point that reshaped how I think about healthcare systems. It’s about loss, but also about clarity—seeing firsthand how gaps in information, process, and perspective can change a family’s trajectory, and why building smarter, more human-centered solutions matters.
The Losses We Keep: Our Journey of Fertility, Loss, and Never Ending Hope
About Sara Misconish Edwards
I’m a healthcare innovation and design leader who helps organizations deliver care that reflects real lived experience. As Director of Design at the Veale Healthcare Transformation Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, I lead teams that turn complexity into clarity, build trust with clinical partners, and design scalable interventions that improve how care is delivered.
My work sits at the intersection of human-centered design and systems transformation, with a focus on the issues health systems often struggle to confront—violence, inequity, workforce strain, and operational complexity. I’ve built and led high-performing design and product teams, launched 0→1 ventures, and partnered with clinicians, caregivers, and communities to create solutions grounded in dignity and value.
My perspective is shaped by my own journey through infertility and motherhood, which fuels my writing and speaking on creativity, resilience, and designing through adversity. At the heart of everything I do is a belief that good design makes care feel human, safe, and possible.
I live in Cleveland with my husband and our daughter, Birdie—my reminder that the future is something we get to create.
Contact
I’d love to connect.
Reach out for speaking inquiries, collaborations, or general questions.
