I believe every brand can connect people and inspire purposeful living. As a brand strategist and creative leader, I build authentic connections through storytelling, innovation, and meaningful partnerships. Blending data-driven insights with creative intuition, I aim to craft strategies that inspire loyalty and empower teams. My goal is to create brand experiences that go beyond aesthetics — cultivating real connections and lasting impact.
skills
professional
Brand Marketing & Strategy
Brand Positioning & Differentiation
Market Research
KPI Development & Performance Tracking
Creative Campaign Development
Brand Experience Design
Creative Operations
Branding & Identity
Social Media Strategy
technical
Adobe Creative Suite
Figma
UI/UX Design
Digital Asset Management
Photo Editing
Video Editing
Email Design
Google Suite
Slack
education
missouri state
university
BS Print + Internet Journalism, Art Minor
2010 to 2014
courses
lifelabs learning:
training for leaders, managers, executives
Manager Core 1
+ Effective 1-1s
+ Coaching Skills
+ Feedback Skills
+ Productivity and Prioritization
Manager Core 2
+ Leading Change
+ Meetings Mastery
+ People Development
+ Strategic Thinking
experience
city lifestyle
Brand Director
August 2024 to Present
+ Developed brand personas and core messaging pillars, reinforcing community values and a unified brand identity.
+ Integrated brand values across all touchpoints to create a cohesive and purpose-driven experience.
+ Built an accessible video library of publisher testimonials, enhancing recruitment with authentic success stories.
+ Led a comprehensive office redesign to visually reflect our brand identity and create a cohesive environment reflecting our brand's mission.
+ Developed a product for a new sponsored content offering, creating opportunities for deeper brand partnerships and expanded revenue streams.
+ Created a tiered recognition program to celebrate milestones, aimed at building brand loyalty and advocacy among partners.
Creative Director
March 2023 to August 2024
+ Established and trained teams on a new Ad Design Philosophy prioritizing high-quality visuals, audience connection, and long-term brand loyalty.
+ Created customizable design solutions for small businesses, providing high-quality, self-serve ads that empower local brands.
+ Authored guidelines on visual hierarchy, design integrity, and seasonal aesthetics to maintain premium brand positioning across all ad content.
+ Implemented a comprehensive ads review and training process that improved ad quality by 200% in a 3-month period.
minted
Creative Director, Wedding + Stationery
May 2021 to January 2023
+ Led creative direction for the entire wedding business, overseeing project management, marketing design, e-commerce updates, trade show booths, partnership materials, and print collateral.
+ Collaborated with senior leadership to implement streamlined systems, including a project management tool, templated marketing assets, and a cohesive cross-channel campaign process.
+ Directed creative for key partnerships with brands like BHLDN, Loverly, MasterClass, and BRIDES.
+ Mentored Minted's creative studio team, supporting full-time and contract designers in skill and career development.
+ Partnered with photo studio and producers to oversee the creation and post-production of all campaign photography.
+ Led Minted's largest e-commerce season, Q4 holiday, managing creative across emails, direct mail, onsite assets, social media, and display campaigns in close coordination with brand team producers.
Art Director, Wholesale + Greeting Cards
March 2021 to May 2021
+ Directed creative strategy and execution for greeting cards and wholesale businesses, spanning print and digital assets including emails, social media, onsite content, Target signage, trade booths, mailers, and brand packaging.
+ Led cross-channel campaigns including for eco-friendly production and Pride Month, delivering cohesive assets from landing pages to social to best tell the brand story.
+ Oversaw creative direction for the launch of Minted + West Elm's furniture collaboration, producing materials such as lookbooks, signage, product tags, emails, press kits, and social media content.
city lifestyle
Creative Director
September 2018 to March 2021
+ Led UI/UX design and all creative brand development for CityLifestyle.com's new digital platform, from initial concept through production, including wireframes, mockups, prototypes, QA, and design systems.
+ Collaborated closely with stakeholders, business analysts, and development teams to ensure a cohesive user experience across all components.
+ Created print and digital marketing materials, including media kits, social assets, one-sheets, and emails, to deliver a unified brand message across campaigns.
+ Designed a Super Bowl giveaway campaign that grew our social media audience from 2K to 30K in just four days.
Editorial Manager
August 2016 to September 2018
+ Managed the corporate editorial team and systems, collaborating with leadership to create brand guidelines and develop editorial concepts for all Lifestyle brand magazines.
+ Produced and designed monthly national content spreads (1-5 pages) for use across Lifestyle magazines.
+ Implemented a templated layout approach that yielded a 92% increase in individual capacity for the graphic design team & created a turnkey system for local content teams.
Graphic Designer
September 2015 to August 2016
missouri lawyers media
Graphic Designer
December 2014 to September 2015
the kansas city star
Sports Clerk
September 2014 to November 2014
kc magazine/kc business
Editorial Intern
May 2014 to August 2014