Hi, I’m Kathryn Hopper 👋🏼
I’m a content designer and information architecture expert who transforms complex digital ecosystems into structured, user-friendly experiences. With a deep background in design, user research, taxonomy development, content modeling and structured metadata, I help organizations enhance content findability, improve user engagement, and drive scalable digital growth. My work ensures users, search engines and AI-powered assistants can navigate and retrieve accurate information.
Core skills
- Content & Writing: Crafting website copy, button text, error messages and user guides
- AI Integration: Using AI tools to create and maintain content aligned with style and voice
- User Research: Testing content with real users, surveys, and interviews using Optimal Workshop and Dovetail
- Design: Creating interactive wireframes and pageflows in Figma and Adobe
- Data & Analytics: Measuring content success in Google Analytics, and Google Search Console
- Data Visualization: Bringing data to life using Looker Studio and Tableau
- Project Management: Collaborating to make deadlines using Confluence, Jira and Teams
- Accessibility: Making content work for everyone and managing multiple languages
- Web platforms: Working in Drupal and WordPress content management systems
Professional experience
Senior Web Strategist | Internal Revenue Service, Office of Online Services
Washington, D.C. | May 2021-September 2025
Strategic Content and Design Leadership for Large-Scale Federal Programs
- Led comprehensive content and design planning for IRS Online Services, developing scalable frameworks and governance systems to ensure consistent content, Section 508 accessibility compliance and plain language standards.
- Directed content creation and navigation for a central tax-filing guide, connecting 20 key pages, achieving 103.7 million views in the first month (28% of total site traffic) and earning the 2024 Service to the Citizen award for user-centered content excellence.
- Led a team that built a taxonomy for first-time tax filers, creating the foundation for a centralized, scalable taxonomy designed to improve content findability and deliver a more intuitive experience for new filers across IRS.gov and related platforms.
Analytics-Driven Strategy & Audience Engagement
- Implemented analytics, user testing and stakeholder feedback to inform content strategy for a commissioner-led effort to improve tax scams and fraud awareness. Led creation of a new tax scams webpage that drew more than 325,000 pageviews in the first three months.
- Executed SEO strategies for key webpages, achieving a 36% increase in Google search click-through rates.
Team Leadership & Workflow Management
- Managed and mentored a 12-person content team, developing talent while delivering high-quality work across multiple concurrent government projects under tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Built content governance frameworks, including review workflows, approval processes, contribution guidelines and reusable patterns, ensuring editorial consistency and quality standards across all platforms.
UX Designer and Web Content Editor | The University of Texas at Dallas, Office of Marketing and Communication
Richardson, TX | October 2016-May 2021
- Led a redesign of the Office of International Education website and social media campaigns, driving a 24% increase in international student enrollment through enhanced user journey optimization and social media engagement.
- Developed and maintained the university’s editorial style guide, ensuring consistent voice and tone across communication channels.
- Partnered with research and development teams to create an interactive website supporting campus collaboration and knowledge-sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Delivered major digital transformation initiatives, including a site redesign, achieving a 31% increase in total enrollment through strategic content improvements, accessibility enhancements, and optimized user flows based on analytics and user feedback.
- Established content testing and iteration practices based on accessibility standards, user research, analytics and performance data to drive continuous improvement and increase audience engagement across communications channels.
Editorial Director | The University of Texas at Arlington, Office of Marketing and Communication
Arlington, TX | May 2014-September 2016
- Led comprehensive content system implementation for healthcare education programs, developing strategic frameworks supporting 10% enrollment growth while ensuring regulatory compliance and accessibility standards for diverse student populations.
- Managed creative and technical teams to create user-focused content strategies for large institutional platforms, implementing structured content and governance practices, ensuring consistent messaging across touchpoints.
- Built scalable content operations resulting in a 20% increase in campaign engagement through coordinated digital communications.
Senior Writer and Editor | Texas Christian University, Office of Marketing and Communication
Fort Worth, TX | January 2009-May 2014
- Developed strategic content across digital platforms, supporting a 36% increase in first-year applications through cohesive content strategy and social media optimization.
- Provided training to faculty and staff on communications and content best practices, fostering knowledge sharing and editorial consistency.
Recent Projects
Content Strategist and Designer | United States Digital Response | November 2025-Present
- Conducting comprehensive content audit for a major city elections website, assessing CMS organization, duplication, content gaps and improvement opportunities
- Developing content strategy frameworks and information architecture plans (navigation structures, content hierarchies, page-level recommendations) to improve public access to civic information
- Facilitating stakeholder workshops to gather requirements, align priorities, and translate complex needs into actionable deliverables and reusable guidance
- Documenting recommendations and decisions to support clear handoffs and long-term sustainability
Product Designer and Developer, Reusable QA & Operation Toolkit | Hopper Content | November 2025-Present
- Building GitHub-based repository of reusable scripts/templates that standardize content QA and accelerate repeatable delivery
- Developing plain-language and style guide checks to flag readability, consistency and compliance issues across drafts and pages
- Creating tools for content audits and user-journey checks to surface duplication, gaps, broken pathways and friction across multi-page experiences
- Documenting usage with clear READMEs and examples to support adoption, iteration and handoff in distributed teams
Education
Master of Science in Marketing | The University of Texas at Dallas
Coursework in advanced analytics and data visualization. Study abroad in Japan
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies | Duke University
Coursework in environmental studies, economics and documentary photography
Bachelor of Arts in English | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Coursework in journalism, computer science and French
Professional certifications
- UX and Design in an AI World | Maven
- Nielsen Norman Group UX Certification in Interaction Design (includes AI experience design)
- Content Design Certification | Content Design London
- Google Analytics 4 Certified