Case Study
Reimagining the Team Retreat
How Human-Centered Design Creates Meaningful Experiences | Noora Health
The team retreat has always been one of the most intricate and meaningful experiences within the organization, a dedicated moment for people to step away from their day-to-day work, come together, and reflect on their shared journey. It creates space for sub-teams to meet the larger organization and connect with the individuals behind the impact, bringing to life the people, stories, and values that shape the culture and drive the mission forward.
More than just a gathering, it is an intentionally crafted experience designed to foster connection, warmth, and belonging, ensuring that every individual feels seen, valued, and deeply connected to a shared purpose and culture.
The Significance of the Retreat
The retreat served as a moment of convergence: past, present, and future.
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Celebrated a decade of global impact
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Created space for reflection and recognition
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Strengthened cross-team collaboration
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Reinforced connection to mission and values
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Energized the organization toward the future goals
By inviting participation across roles and geographies, the retreat emphasized inclusivity, shared ownership, and collective storytelling.
My Role
Leading the Experience: As the Global Expansion and Experience Design Senior Lead and a member of the leadership team, I led the retreat end-to-end, grounding it in a human-centered design approach. I defined the overall experience strategy and design direction, ensuring the retreat was intentional, cohesive, and aligned with Noora Health’s mission and culture.
I worked closely with funders, leadership, and global teams to shape communication and narratives, while also facilitating and hosting key moments. Alongside managing a budget of over 360,000 USD, I led accessibility and inclusion planning and orchestrated team roles to ensure meaningful participation, making sure every detail contributed to a thoughtful and connected experience.
Design Challenge
The challenge was to design a retreat that honored Noora Health’s 10-year journey while looking ahead, creating meaningful engagement across diverse stakeholders, including team members from different cultures, partners, and funders, and balancing celebration, reflection, and strategic planning. The goal was to ensure every participant felt seen, included, and empowered, while making the experience truly co-designed
Approach
We grounded the entire retreat in deep empathy and systems thinking, ensuring decisions were informed by real needs.
Research and Insights
We began by gathering insights through pulse surveys across teams, stakeholder interviews with leaders, funders, and alumni, and analyzing participation patterns from past retreats. This helped us understand needs, expectations, and opportunities for a more meaningful experience.
Experience Design
Using journey mapping before, during, and after the retreat, we prototyped session formats and flow and built an overarching theme and narrative to guide the event. This ensured that every moment was intentional and connected to the retreat’s purpose.
Co-Creation
The retreat was designed collaboratively, with cross-team session ownership, distributed facilitation, and leadership alignment workshops. This approach allowed team members, partners, and funders to contribute actively, making the experience inclusive and representative of diverse perspectives.
Inclusion and Accessibility
Accessibility and inclusion were central to the design, with accessibility audits, attention to health and mobility considerations, and personalized participation roles. This ensured that all participants could fully engage and feel valued throughout the retreat.
