Work that
made a difference.
Music Festival
More than two decades of inconsistent brand expressions: multiple logo incarnations, style guides created by outside consultants and left unused, individual contributors working without coordination or strategic direction. The organization had never had a dedicated marketing director. There was effort, but no system.
Built the Festival's marketing infrastructure from the ground up across a six-week season: established brand consistency, coordinated vendors and media partners under unified direction, activated regional and digital channels, and negotiated in-kind partnerships that significantly extended the marketing budget. Managed relationships with print, broadcast, and digital partners simultaneously while maintaining creative oversight across all public-facing materials.
Delivered the Festival's first formal marketing ROI report to the board, documenting negotiated in-kind value, earned media equivalency, and partner contributions across every campaign activity. Measurable increase in ticket sales over the prior season. The framework gave the organization its first clear picture of what marketing leadership actually produces.
"The most valuable thing wasn't any single campaign. It was giving the board language to understand what marketing investment actually returns, so the conversation could move from 'how much did we spend' to 'what did we get.'"
Santa Fe
One of the Southwest's most significant contemporary art institutions, running major international biennials, but without dedicated digital infrastructure to extend the reach and documentation of each exhibition beyond the physical space.
Spearheaded the creation of dedicated micro-websites for four consecutive SITE Biennials, collaborating directly with internationally acclaimed curators Robert Storr (2004), Klaus Ottmann (2006), Lance Fung (2008), and Sarah King and Daniel Belasco (2010). Held multiple institutional roles simultaneously: preparator, audiovisual technician, web developer, developing a complete inside-out understanding of how a major cultural institution actually operates.
A sustained digital presence across four biennial cycles, produced in close collaboration with curators working at the highest international level. The experience built a foundation in institutional communications that no outside consultant could have developed, rooted in years of genuine operational knowledge.
"Working inside SITE across four biennials taught me how cultural institutions actually function. The gap between what appears in a press release and what happens in the building shapes every client relationship I have."
NEXT100
The 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus was approaching, a globally significant cultural moment centered in Weimar, Germany, culminating in the opening of a new national museum. A program was needed that could honor the centenary with artistic integrity and institutional credibility. Nothing existed.
Founded Bauhaus NEXT100 as a nonprofit arts organization, hired and managed a team, secured institutional relationships, and produced a series of events culminating in the official opening program for the new Bauhaus Museum in Weimar on April 6, 2019. Coordinated musical performances, curatorial programming, and public communications across an international context, on a fixed, immovable deadline.
A successful public program for one of the most significant cultural openings in recent European history, drawing a large and diverse international audience. Built an organization from nothing: legal structure, team, programming, communications, and delivered on the highest-stakes deadline imaginable.
"Building NEXT100 from scratch, in a foreign country, in a foreign language, under international scrutiny, clarified something essential: the skills that make a good curator and the skills that make a good marketing director are not as different as people think. Both require knowing your audience, building trust, and making something coherent out of complexity."