Today it’s official that I’m leaving my current role at Vanguard as of June 25, and starting in a new role as Principal User Experience Architect at Macquarium.

I know everybody says “it’s with mixed feelings” that they do such a thing, but for me it’s definitely not a cliche. Vanguard has been an excellent employer, and for the last 6 1/2 years I’ve been there, I’ve always been able to say I worked there with a great deal of pride. It has some of the smartest, most dedicated user-experience design professionals I’ve ever met, and I’ll miss all of them, as well as the business and technology people I’ve worked closely with over the years.

I’m excited, however, to be starting work with Macquarium on June 28. On a personal level, it’s a great opportunity to work in the the region where I live (Charlotte and environs) as well as Atlanta, where the company is headquartered, and where I grew up, and have a lot of family I haven’t gotten to see as often as I’d like. On the professional side, Macquarium is tackling some fascinating design challenges that fit my interests and ambitions very well at this point in my life. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into that juicy work.

I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog for quite a while, partly because leading up to this (very recently emerging) development, I also spoke at a couple of conferences, and got married … it’s been a busy 2010 so far. I’m hoping to be more active here at Inkblurt in the near future … but no promises… I don’t want to jinx it.