Hey there.
About Me
The work on this site is an intentional snapshot of nearly ten years in branding and marketing. You’ll find campaigns for industrial clients, dynamic brand voices, odes to my first love (journalism), brand narrative and EVP work, and pretty much everything in between. I’m proud of it all — and there’s plenty more where this came from.
Beyond what you’ve seen on my resume, there’s a few other things you should know about me:
I believe stories should move people, not just grab them.
I think belief and conviction are excellent outcomes, but make for terrible inputs.
I want to know everything. Seriously, I’ve never been very good at staying in my lane.
I am not afraid of failure. I cheer for the White Sox, Illini, and Chicago Bears (and no, I’m not ready to talk about it).
I DO have thoughts about generative AI and brand
I’m ready for whatever’s next.
I’ll be honest with you: even after all this time, it’s hard to believe this is a job — let alone MY job. I fell into strategy and writing after a stint as a writing tutor in college, and I hope I never fall out. That’s a credit not just to how fun the job is, but to the leaders, mentors, and colleagues who have been there for me every step of the way. Everything on this site represents the brilliance and talent of numerous others. If you ever want to know who did what, please reach out — I’d be honored to connect you.
My Perspective
When people ask what I do for a living, I never tell them I’m a writer. Instead, I describe it more like marketing, or maybe sales. I pitch potential. I sell promise.
Because at its core, that’s what a brand is: a promise. It’s “freedom,” or “rebellion,” or “simplicity.” “Advancement,” “ingenuity,” “trust.” But promises —true as they may be — lose their luster when spoken aloud. They feel inauthentic, unattainable, maybe both. They have no allure. They spark no curiosity.
That’s where I come in. It’s my job to uncover and isolate the unspoken promise at the core of every brand—that singular strand of DNA that dictates a brand’s every move. And then to tell the story that promise inspires.
This story is multi-sensory. It encompasses the way something looks, the color and shape of an ad. It accounts for the way people feel — the flutter or pounding of a heart that comes along with reading a line. It’s the way my team and I move eyes across a screen, the distinctive sound of a name we’ve coined, now spoken aloud.
These interactions shape a person’s perception of the world around them. They do the same for a brand. These are signals of who a brand is. What they stand for. Why they matter. Taken together, they communicate a promise far more expansive and authentic than I could ever hope to articulate in a paragraph, let alone a single sentence. Which is probably why “writer” has never felt quite right.