Esther Lee

Esther’s 10+ year career has been marked by stints at prestigious institutions like the Cooper Hewitt Museum and as a Fulbright Design Research Grant recipient where she spent a year working in the surrounding villages of Cusco, Peru. She spent her early to mid-career years working as a designer, focusing on material and textile design for commercial interiors before pivoting to product design at a San Francisco-based audio streaming startup.

Now as a Designer/Researcher at Civilla, Esther continues to bring her experience in design to work alongside the Washington team as they streamline public benefits delivery across the state.

Esther is originally from Los Angeles and moved east to attend the Rhode Island School of Design where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Outside of work, she’s typically reading at least five books or attempting to recreate her grandmother’s Korean recipes.