Cultural Strategist, Creative Catalyst & Interdisciplinary Artist

I am a cultural strategist, brand storyteller, and creative leader with a deep-rooted history in shaping cultural experiences, building communities, and driving brand engagement. From an early age, I have been captivated by the forces that shape culture—how ideas spread, how communities form, and how storytelling, commerce, and design intersect to create movements.

My work spans multiple disciplines, including marketing, media, product design, and contemporary art, giving me a rare ability to translate between creative worlds. As an interdisciplinary thinker, I have built and led creative initiatives in global brands, museums, and grassroots movements, always with an eye toward systems thinking, cultural impact, and strategic storytelling.

The Curious Kid Who Became a Cultural Thinkdoer

My love of culture began as a child, flipping through stacks of books from the local library, carrying around a road atlas and an almanac, and collecting magazines like Nickelodeon Magazine, Disney Adventures, and TV Guide—not just for the stories, but for the ads, design, and branding that shaped them. Even then, I was studying the mechanics of culture, fascinated by the interplay of media, entertainment, and commerce.

My curiosity only grew in high school, where I took a robust business program, completing two years of Marketing alongside coursework in Sales, Entrepreneurship, and Sports & Entertainment Marketing. As a member of DECA, a national marketing association, I began to apply my understanding of branding, consumer psychology, and storytelling in real-world competitions. These experiences cemented my ability to study systems, analyze cultural trends, and think strategically about engagement and influence.

The Early Foundations: Studying Media, Markets & Community Systems

In college at the University of Minnesota, I actively embedded myself in creative and business ecosystems to gain a holistic understanding of how industries operate:

• Marketing Coordinator at the Minnesota Daily (University Newspaper):
  • Hands-on experience in media marketing, audience engagement, and the revenue models behind journalism
  • Learned how sales powered editorial decisions, print advertising, and circulation strategies
    
    
• Recruitment Intern at Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities:
  • First exposure to the nonprofit sector, fundraising strategies, and grassroots community engagement
  • Developed public outreach skills through event tabling, donor relations, and volunteer recruitment

I graduated with a degree in Psychology, but my education was deeply interdisciplinary, taking courses in mass communication, entrepreneurship, cultural psychology, and visual arts. This mix of behavioral science, media studies, and creative practice laid the foundation for my systems-based approach to culture—where everything, from consumer trends to community movements, could be studied, deconstructed, and activated.

Immersing in Industry: Advertising, Media & Product Design

My post-college career began with a series of embedded experiences inside the advertising, media, and design worlds, giving me firsthand insight into how brands, cultural institutions, and corporations shape narratives and consumer behavior:

• Martin Williams (Advertising Agency) – Internship
  • First deep dive into how national advertising campaigns are built
  • Exposure to brand strategy, media buying, and creative development
    
    
• Carmichael Lynch (Creative Agency) – PR, Social, and Design Studio
  • Learned to integrate brand storytelling across PR, design, and digital content
  • Created 30 Days of Creativity, a global creative campaign inspiring daily artistic challenges
    
    
• Target Corporation – Contractor within Product Design & Development 
  • Embedded within Owned Brand teams, studying how major retailers design, source, and manufacture for a 45+ brand portfolio
  • Observed the full lifecycle of product development, from apparel to home goods to consumer packaged goods

Through these experiences, I gained an insider’s understanding of how brands create, market, and distribute products and stories at scale. This hands-on knowledge would later fuel my work in museum branding, immersive experiences, and cultural storytelling.

Building Culture: Grassroots Movements, Experiential Art & Media Innovation

While working inside corporate and agency environments, I simultaneously built my own creative platforms, bridging grassroots culture with high-level strategy:

• Co-founded MPLS.TV (2009):
  • A DIY, community-driven video and content network, pioneering local digital media before YouTube became mainstream
  • Showcased underground art, music, and countercultural storytelling
    
    
• Created Forever Young Dance Parties, MPLSzine, and Pizza Camp:
  • Forever Young: An all-ages nostalgia-fueled dance party
  • MPLSzine: A crowdsourced digital magazine spotlighting Twin Cities creatives
  • Pizza Camp: An absurd, yet sincere, summer camp experience centered on pizza culture

Each of these projects was a living experiment in cultural engagement, blending elements of community-building, brand storytelling, and experiential marketing before these terms became industry buzzwords.

Leading Cultural Institutions: Museums, Immersive Experiences & Strategic Brand Work

I transitioned from independent creative work to leading marketing, branding, and engagement strategies at major cultural institutions, shaping the public perception of some of the most forward-thinking organizations:

• Walker Art Center (Social Media & Community Manager) – Developed the museum’s early digital engagement strategies
  
  
• Meow Wolf (Marketing Creative/Content Director) – Defined brand storytelling, content strategy, and experiential marketing for immersive art
  
  
• Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (Director of Marketing & Communications) – Led audience engagement and brand strategy
  
  
• Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Director of Marketing & Community Engagement) – Focused on community-driven branding and outreach
  
  
• WNDR Museum (Senior Director of Brand & Engagement) – Integrated experiential marketing, brand partnerships, and digital storytelling

Each role reinforced my ability to translate between artistic, commercial, and community-driven perspectives, ensuring that creative brands resonate with real people in meaningful ways.

Cultural Strategy & Future-Focused Work

Today, I continue to work at the intersection of culture, brand strategy, and creative leadership, helping organizations identify cultural shifts, develop audience-first engagement strategies, and craft compelling brand narratives.

My expertise spans:
✅ Trend Forecasting & Consumer Insights – Understanding where culture is going next

✅ Brand Storytelling & Narrative Strategy – Crafting engaging, mission-driven messaging

✅ Community-Driven Marketing – Designing platforms, experiences, and campaigns that bring people together

✅ Creative Ecosystem Building – Developing multi-disciplinary approaches to brand and content development

As a Cultural Thinkdoer, I continue to explore how creativity, commerce, and community intersect, building the next generation of brand experiences, immersive storytelling, and cultural engagement.