Mallery Heise
Mallery Heise (she, her) - Design Mentor
Color fiend. Sun seeker. Kaftan enthusiast.
As a design mentor Mallery is keen to bring out the designer in everyone. She is interested in exploring the intersections of aesthetic and useful design, and is looking to bring along as many learners as possible.
Prior to the Academy, Mallery had lived a lifetime in the hospitality industry, working all over the U.S. and Caribbean, designing food and beverage user experiences. Service minded, she values the parallels between hospitality and user centered design.
A biochemistry major, Mallery’s interests lean more toward the natural world. When not in the Academy, you can find her poking around the wilderness for mushrooms, peat bogs, and Michigan native wildflowers. She may also be found at the theater, underwater, or lusting after vintage clothing.
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What would your fellow mentors say your greatest strengths are?
I am told I am engaging, can read the room, and am curious and bold. I am most myself when ideating or helping others to look for challenge solutions.
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If you were to offer students one piece of advice as they start their journey at the Academy, what would it be?
Forget all of the stories you have told yourself about what you can and cannot do. No labels, no limits.
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Have you always wanted to work in tech? What is your personal history with tech?
I never imagined there could be a space for me in tech. I wanted to be at least ten other things and none of those were tech related. That’s the exciting part though, because now I understand that tech is for everyone.
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What was your experience with coding, tech, iOS, or entrepreneurship before the Academy?
Before the Academy, outside of programming items into restaurant point of sale terminals, using design software to make menus, and being an Apple enthusiast, I had very little exposure to these technologies.
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What made you want to be a mentor? What are you most excited about?
Wanting to be a mentor mostly comes from a place of gratitude for all of the people in my life who have taken the time to share knowledge with me, give me advice, and keep me on the straight and narrow. As a graduate of the Apple developer Academy, I’m delighted to share what I’ve learned with others, and to hopefully spark enthusiasm for user centered design.
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Where are you from and where do you live now?
I grew up in Jackson, Michigan, and have lived all over the U.S. and the West Indies. In 2015, I moved from Ann Arbor to midtown Detroit.