Analog Ava: Building Things With Her Hands in a Digital World

Most of Ava’s day happens on a screen. She’s a Senior Director of Content Innovation and Production at Udemy, leading a team whose work moves between premium video courses, the future of online education tooling with product and engineering partners, and the occasional educational TikTok or YouTube series. The remit is wide on purpose.

“My team is nimble, moves quickly, and helps meet company content innovation goals.”

But ask her where she finds her center, and the answer isn’t in a dashboard.

A career built on breaking things down

Ava studied Photography at Parsons School of Design. To pay her way through, she started fixing computers for Apple at the Genius Bar. First in SoHo, then in San Francisco.

It turned out to be a strangely formative job.

"Teaching people to use and troubleshoot their own devices was the perfect crash course in empathy for the learner, and in breaking down complex systems into digestible lessons."

That instinct — taking something dense and making it land — became the throughline of everything that came next. A small ad agency in San Francisco, where she produced commercial and documentary work for Google, Airbnb, and local nonprofits. Then her first edtech role, producing instructional videos at Creativebug.com. When Creativebug was acquired, she connected with the co-founders of MasterClass while they were still in stealth, and joined as their first Senior Creative Producer.

A few years later, she moved to New York to build Outlier.org alongside Aaron Rasmussen, MasterClass’s co-founder and one of her closest friends and mentors.

“It was the most challenging and rewarding experience of my career.”

Everything she learned there — about building quality content, strong brands, and great student experiences — is what she brings to Udemy now.

Analog Ava

For someone whose job lives on the internet, Ava is unusually devoted to the world off of it.

"I love the internet. I LOVE the internet. But making things with my hands — sewing, knitting, building, decorating — is what gives me energy and centers me."

She calls this version of herself Analog Ava, and she’s alive and well. The sewing machine, the knitting needles, the half-finished project on the table — they’re not a hobby in the side-hustle sense. They’re the counterweight that makes the rest of the work possible.

The 5pm walk

Ask Ava about her favorite part of the day, and the answer is immediate.

“Picking my kid up from school.”

One of the best things about working remotely, she says, is that the school pickup is built into her life now. Her son’s school is a ten-minute walk from her office. At 5pm, she and her husband walk over to collect him from aftercare.

“I’ve become addicted to seeing his face light up when we walk into the school yard. I know it won’t always be this way, so I’m soaking up the toddler joy while I can.”