work experience

Freelance Art and Branding Director

June 2016 - present

clients include: Collins Aerospace, Trane Technologies, The Plus Collective, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation, The Patio Farmer, MODE, Kelso Communications, Wily

Director of Communications
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation

January 2022 - present

Assistant Director, Advancement
Council for Children’s Rights

November 2018 - January 2022

Director of Communications
Friendship Trays

October 2016 - October 2018

Creative Director
Theory House: The Agency Built for Retail

January 2013 - June 2016

clients include: GUNK, Bojangles, Delta Faucets, Klein Tools, The Fresh Market, Food Lion, Landeavor, Liquid Wrench, Office Depot Max, Belk

Creative Director and Partner
Karro Bean Design House

October 2007 – December 2012

clients include: Showmars, Carolinas HealthCare System (Atrium), United Way of Central Carolinas

Associate Creative Director
LGA

September 1999 – September 2007

clients include: Novant Health, BB&T, Blum, Arts & Science Council, Transamerica Reinsurance

skills, talents and achievements

Created new and strategically-sound brands for clients covering key deliverables such as:

• Positioning Statement

• Naming

• Brand Voice

• Brand Design including logo, color palette, typography, etc.

Concepted, wrote, designed, art directed and produced compelling and thoughtful omni-channel campaigns based on targeted strategic briefs (e.g., advertising campaigns including print, outdoor, digital, and broadcast; social media tactics; in-store messaging)

Wrote and developed dynamic client presentations offering strategic support and creative rational to generate enthusiasm and collaboration and strengthen our partnership

Managed, directed and trained a team of designers, writers, illustrators, photographers, web developers, programmers and videographers, both in-house and freelance and both domestically and internationally, employing a unique combination of humor, intuition and creative advocacy

Led brand-building workshops including tactical exercises to glean the most information from the group while also strengthening relationships within the team

Identified key creative goals for building a highly-strategic campaign, tirelessly searching for the essential core of the product/brand/company

Encouraged “beyond the brief” thinking within my teams including social media and guerrilla tactics

Developed sell-through decks for internal clients to engender enthusiasm, support and ownership for pre-launch creative endeavors

Education

University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA

B.A., Art History/Studio Art, 1993
Concentration: Museum Studies
Internships: Smithsonian Institute and The Frick Collection
Senior Thesis: “Late-Rococo French Artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard and The Frick Collection”

Massachusetts College of Art
Boston, MA

Coursework in design and typography, 1995

associations and awards

AIGA, member since 1995, and Charlotte chapter president, 2006

Local and Regional Gold and Silver ADDY Awards including Best In Show for Copywriting

PRINT magazine regional design annual

Former board member, Charlotte Mecklenburg Food Policy Council

Former board member, The Plus Collective