Gardener of You: 12 Years in Business, 8 Countries Called Home, Countless People and Processes Supported and Seen Thrive

Welcome, I’m Gaia!

I help businesses and teams cultivate innovation and efficiency by nurturing their processes, strategies, and culture, so that they can thrive and achieve sustainable success in a competitive landscape.

After pursuing a career in physiotherapy, at 21 I vowed to define my own growth path rather than conforming to others’ expectations, and excel at it. Still today, that is my drive and inspiration.

In 2011, I left Venice to attend the Art Direction program at Miami Ad School in Hamburg.

In 2016, after a successful global career in Advertising, I switched to Service Design and volunteered for Makeright, a project by Central Saint Martins’ Design Against Crime Research Lab, equipping inmates with personals and professional skills to help them find employment on release. Volunteering turned into business development for Makeright and SociallyMadeInItaly, looking at local & international scaling-up.

In 2017, seeking to expand my UX expertise, I joined a boutique studio in Munich while doubling as a remote freelancer.

At 31, I joined Backbase in Amsterdam, just a few months before COVID hit. Starting as UX Consultant for the Customer Success Europe hub, in 2.5 years I grew to UX Chapter Lead for Europe and Global Support, spearheading and executing a number of successful initiatives crucial for Operations, Delivery, and Talent Development Excellence in an aggressively ever-changing, fast-paced, complex environment.

Since 2016, I have taken on the role of lecturer and guest speaker, sharing my knowledge on UX Design, UX Management, and Sustainable Growth at several educational institutions, including Miami Ad School Europe, Central Saint Martins’ Design Against Crime Research Lab in London, and Talent Garden in Vienna – and successfully mentored and coached over 70 designers and non-designers through my design practices and other platforms, facilitating their career growth and professional development.

👉 What’s my direction for 2025? Complex Systemic and Socially Sustainable Design, Prompt Engineering, Embodiment Practices, Transformative Coaching.
Ongoing adventures:

• Spaceholding at Conscious Community events
• Prompt Engineering (completing Level 7 of Lakera’s Gandalf Challenge was FUN! 🤩)
• Accredited Diploma in Transformative Coaching with Animas Center for Coaching