My Resume
Summary
Creative Director with over 25 successful years working in diverse organizational settings, including large scale global and domestic in-house teams, agencies and higher education as well as numerous individual clients throughout the U.S. on branding and website design. Excels in leading and motivating cross-functional teams, fostering a collaborative and creative work environment. Known and promoted for financial/business acumen, improving operational efficiency and utilizing customer insights to drive the strategic plan.
Values hands-on leadership, a sense of humor balanced with humility and a commitment to recognizing the best ideas from all parts of the team. The leader that colleagues, management and clients count on to take calculated risks, experiment and support the team’s producing great work- a win-win for all involved.
Selected Competencies
Management
- Intuitive ability to see the big picture and strategize accordingly
- Financial acuity to meet budget requirements by forecasting and managing expenses
- Ability to build lasting relationships across all levels of an organization and with clients
- Manage cross-functional teams across the globe, ranging from entry to director-level, and collaborate with local marketing teams, program management, operations, finance and corporate marketing
- Evaluate research and devise creative strategies based on those data outcomes
- Spearhead, conceptualize and maintain creative vision throughout the program lifecycle
- Deliver competency-based performance evaluations and constructive feedback to encourage growth
- Exhibit resilience under pressure and deadlines
Creative
- Holistic vision for aligning creative with company and brand mission
- Facilitate creative brainstorming as a structured and repeatable process to drive creative thinking and idea generation
- Demonstrated experience in copywriting/editing and digital photography
Technical
- Comprehensive knowledge of design thinking and UX design principles (Google UX Design Professional Certification, in-progress)
- Certified Web Developer
- Knowledge of WCAG and accessibility requirements
Selected Career Accomplishments
Promoted to establish and lead Creative for new in-house marketing agency at Pearson Education. Managed a team of designers, copywriters and external consultants, tasked with delivery of marketing campaigns across 19+ global business units and promulgation of new brand standards globally. Collaborated closely with project management function and in-country marketing teams to implement and lead identity standards, supporting the brand architecture shift from "house of brands" to "branded house". Fostered a collaborative and supportive team ethos. Directed creative strategy on all major campaigns.
RESULTS: Expedited a fully operational team under limited time constraints, driving nearly 300 discrete project requests over a one-year period. Combated evolving market and budgetary challenges, by capitalizing on ways to make global campaign assets scalable across multiple channels and identifying efficiencies wherever possible to maximize output.
Recruited by Suffolk University to develop and expand the web design course curriculum based on my graduate thesis work in the area. Course material intended to promote critical thinking and improve student confidence in the digital arena.
RESULTS: Instituted in 2018, and still utilized today, modernized web design curriculum to promote fluency in coding languages and continue to integrate new technologies as they arise. Generate consistently high marks on student course evaluations and enabled more graduating students to find employment in the digital design space.
Launched Honeycomb Collaborative to provide research-informed strategies in response to changing needs of organizations during the pandemic. Partnered with former colleagues in qualitative and quantitative research to conduct client projects. Designed and built website, email marketing campaigns and social media content. Programmed an automated project estimating calculator, implemented proposal writing and project management systems to make project initiation less time-consuming and more profitable. Designed and implemented operational systems for financials/budget management and end-of-year reporting. Directed all creative initiatives from concept to completion.
RESULTS: Signed 17 new clients — many with repeating contracts — in less than 2 years, totaling more than $650,000 dollars in gross profits. Spearheaded 8 branding projects for clients during this time as well.
Experience
Pearson Education, Boston, MA (06/2011 - 10/2019)
Senior Manager, Creative Lead, Corporate Global Brand
Advertising and Promotion Manager, Creative Lead - Pearson Higher Ed
Advertising and Promotion Manager, Creative Lead - Teacher Education and Student Success
Suffolk University, Boston, MA (09/2012 - Present) Senior Lecturer, Graphic Design
The Boston Herald, Boston, MA (10/2004 - 06/2011) Promotions Manager (Senior Art Director)
Gravitate Design, Long Island, NY (2003 - 2004) Art Director
Strategic Insights, Raleigh, NC (2000 - 2003) Art Director
Education
Suffolk University, Boston, MA, Master of Arts
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, Completed Coursework towards Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) (Transferred due to family reasons)
State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo, Geneseo, NY, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Oxford University, New College, Oxford, UK Semester Abroad
Additional Experience
Honeycomb Collaborative, Boston, MA (01/2021 - Present) Partner, Head of Creative
Black Dog Dzine (2003 - Present) Sole Proprietor
St Paul/Parkman Condominium Trust (2005 - 2020), President
Powderhound Condominium Association (2010 - 2021), President
Industry Awards
Awarded 6 ADDY awards for excellence in design
Awarded Society of Newspaper Design Award of Excellence
Awarded Pica Award for excellence in design