Real-time overdose tracking for the state of Texas.
Public health platform design
Led UX design for a statewide overdose response platform — built to address a crisis killing 110,000 Americans annually. TxCOPE connects historically siloed community organizations through real-time incident reporting, supply tracking, and coordinated response tools across Texas.
Role:
Senior Product Designer
Tools:
Figma
Domain:
2022 -2023
Team:
UT Austin · Eviden · Google
1,039+
Overdoses
reported
23
Outreach orgs
onboarded
5
Integrated
data sources
50+
Lives saved via
real-time response
May
2024
Austin, Texas — Mass Overdose Event
The platform was tested in the worst possible way.
In May 2024, Austin experienced its largest overdose surge in nearly a decade — 51 confirmed overdoses, 8 suspected fatalities. TxCOPE's real-time alerts showed the incident map and predicted path from San Antonio to Dallas, enabling outreach organizations to mobilize Naloxone and supplies faster than ever. EMS Assistant Chief Stephen White: "That day would have been the deadliest day in the history of Austin, Texas. And it wasn't, because they were ready."
The Product
3 Primary Features. One Mission.
Designed across a consumer-facing mobile app, an organizational admin portal, and a real-time public health dashboard — each serving a distinct user, all connected by the same data infrastructure.
In Their Words
"The people at Eviden who have worked on TxCOPE literally saved lives this week. Together, we saved lives."
Dr. Kasey Claborn - Director, Addiction Research Institute · University of Texas at Austin
“Finally a platform we can use to better understand the needs of our communities and assists with accurate data collection on overdoses for the first time ever! Huge win for Texas outreach workers!”
“This program is going to be so vital to giving us the data we need to show that there is an actual problem in our community that needs to be addressed.”
Built With
UT Austin
Addiction Research Institute:
Eviden
Digital Transformation Partner
Google Cloud Platform
Design Principles
Three pillars shaped every design decision.
Working with vulnerable populations in crisis contexts demands a different design standard.
Accessibility
Intuitive and available to all — designed for frontline outreach workers, not tech-savvy admins. Every flow tested for clarity under pressure.
Safety
Privacy-first architecture. Data security and harm reduction baked into every interaction model, not bolted on afterward.
Sensitivity
Empathy-driven design throughout — non-judgmental language, inclusive visuals, and trauma-informed UX patterns across all touchpoints.
Impact
Design that contributed to a statewide shift.
Travis County saw its first sustained decline in opioid overdose deaths in 2024 — down 19% from the prior year. Austin-Travis County EMS credited the distribution of Naloxone and improved real-time coordination as key drivers.
TxCOPE was built to make that coordination possible. The platform is now expanding — with plans to scale beyond Texas under the name COPE, becoming a nationwide and eventually international overdose response infrastructure.
19%
Drop in OD deaths, Travis Co. 2024
Press Coverage
The work was noticed.
KUT · Austin's NPR Station
After leading the state in opioid overdoses, Austin is finally seeing a drop in deaths
Read Article —>
MedCity News
Increasing the Impact of Opioid Settlement Funds by Investing in Health IT Infrastructure
Read Article —>
Press Coverage