Meet Kenji Bohlin (and the Newest Lineup Offering)

Feb 11

Kenji Bohlin is a maker.

That’s part of what drew him to Lineup. At the time, he worked as a UX designer and product manager for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB).

“Lineup was an opportunity to build something new,” Kenji said. “I had spent nearly 15 years in the nonprofit space at that point, so I was intrigued by the challenge of creating a product that needed to be scaled for commercial use. At the same time, in my nonprofit experience, I saw the far-reaching potential for a tool like Lineup.”

Kenji has been part of the Lineup team since it launched in 2017. Now, as Lineup’s Director of User Experience, he has the opportunity to contribute to the company's next major chapter as it expands its capabilities with Lineup Credentialing.

We sat down with Kenji to talk about what makes Lineup unique, the new Lineup Credentialing tool, and how it complements Lineup Teams.

Q&A with Kenji

Lineup: What’s your role at Lineup today?

Kenji Bohlin (KB): As a Product Manager, I work with both developers and other stakeholders to figure out what product we want to build, and then I help build the road map to get that done. This ranges from shaping which features we should prioritize to working with the design team on prototypes. During my time at NCARB, I developed a strong interest and passion in user experience, or UX, design. It’s something I bring into my work today because the development plan I create ensures what we build aligns with users’ needs and improves their overall experience.

Lineup: As someone who has been part of Lineup since the beginning, what’s something that makes this tool unique?

KB: At its core, Lineup is a people management system. It creates individual profiles, monitors their roles and contributions, and helps organizations understand who their people are and what they bring to the table. A lot of organizations manage this kind of information inefficiently and insecurely, such as having everything scattered across spreadsheets, sharing personal information through email, or simply lacking a full understanding of their volunteer and SME pools. I believe that Lineup's capability to centralize and streamline this complicated process is what truly sets it apart.

Lineup: What’s something unique you’ve noticed about the tool and how it can be impactful in people’s lives?

KB: All our clients are at their own place in the process, and that’s okay. I think that’s one of the cool things about Lineup and how our team works with you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a team of two or part of an organization with 20,000 people in your system. It’s awesome to hear them say, “this changed the way I worked and gave me so much time back.”

Lineup: How would you describe Lineup Credentialing?

KB: Lineup Credentialing offers organizations a no-code solution for managing licenses and certifications. Unlike traditional systems, it allows users to configure and adapt processes without relying on consultants or developers. It’s really unique in that sense.

Lineup: What inspired the addition of credentialing to Lineup’s offerings?

KB: The idea stemmed from necessity. At first, the idea of adding credentialing under the Lineup umbrella seemed daunting. But the more we sat with it, we realized that credentialing could align perfectly with Lineup's core functionality of managing people

Credentialing also addressed a growing need in the volunteer management space. Organizations often require vetting processes to validate a person’s qualifications for roles like exam writing or committee leadership. Credentialing integrates seamlessly into Lineup, making it a natural evolution for the platform.

Lineup: How do Lineup Teams and Lineup Credentialing complement each other?

KB: Both modules serve different needs but can work in complementary ways. Lineup Teams excels in managing volunteers, committees, and subject matter experts, while Credentialing focuses on tracking certifications, licenses, and qualifications. For organizations running certification programs, having both in one system provides a holistic view of individuals, from their credentials to their contributions in team environments.