What Drives Me
I’m an intellectually curious sort, always asking “What if?” and “How might we?”
A classic T-thinker—writer, creative director, strategist and entrepreneur—I enjoy solving complex challenges and disrupting the status quo.
Photo credit: Bob Martus
I’m collaborating on many projects all the time; mostly I help brands tell stories in powerful, authentic ways. I have a particular expertise in brand strategy, sustainability, corporate social responsibility and purpose-driven lifestyle brands. I’m passionate about helping creators earn more for their art.
I co-founded BBMG, a boutique branding studio that has always punched above its weight, and served as its Chief Creative Officer for many years before exiting successfully. Back in the day, I helped popularize the term “conscious consumer” with groundbreaking research about why we tend to buy so-called “better” products.
I have created global brand platforms for a wide range of companies, including adidas, eBay, Estée Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal Paris, NBCUniversal, PepsiCo, Samsung and Walmart. I’ve positioned new products (or repositioned old ones) for AVEDA, Bonterra Vineyards, CLIF Bar, Eileen Fisher, Finlandia, MillerCoors, Rodale, Seventh Generation and Target.
I was an early advisor to B Labs as they established B Corporations, and my firm became a founding member. I have advised several of the world’s leading “trustmarks”: 1% for the Planet, Fair Trade USA, Forest Stewardship Council and Rainforest Alliance, to name a few.
I prototyped and hosted SXSW’s first Social Good Summit; later I advised SXSW Eco. I concepted, designed and launched a digital consumer insights platform called The Collective, and I produced Five by 5, a series of innovation workshops for emerging brands like Thinx.
Before starting BBMG, I co-founded an early Internet company that, in its quick failure (can you say “dot-bomb”?), taught me many valuable lessons. I worked for a year under Richard Edelman’s purview, heading up corporate affairs for his New York team.
I spent five years in global marketing communications at American Airlines, foundational years with great mentors. I served on the crisis readiness team (flying to the scenes of two tragic accidents) and took pride in spearheading innovative new programs (an “intrapreneur” long before IDEO coined the term).
I started my career in journalism making $12,000 a year and sometimes refer to myself as a “recovering journalist.”
Lately, in addition to consulting several startups, I’ve tried to share a few lessons in the classroom. I mentored several cohorts of social entrepreneurs for NYU’s Catherine T. Reynolds Program and I created and taught foundational courses for the Fashion Institute of Technology, Mercy College, Parsons: The New School of Design and Queens College.
In addition to my bachelor of journalism, I have a B.A. in French Literature and a master’s in Radio-TV-Film, all from the University of Texas at Austin. And I recently completed MIT’s intensive coursework on using XR technologies to make the world a better place. So maybe you can teach an old dog some new tricks.
How I Work
I work fast. I'm not afraid to fail. "Try again. Fail again. Fail better," said the existentialist writer Samuel Beckett, whose actual notebooks I had access to in college.
I believe in listening. Harvesting lots of data. Synthesizing. Brevity is clarity. Stories are powerful. Resonance is connection. Desire is the ultimate motivator.
