At my core, I’m a journalist—a storyteller. My other titles and roles—strategist, creative director, producer—are filtered through that lens. This perspective drives my passion for shaping and sharing the stories of organizations that choose to make a difference in the world.

The stories we produce at Intersection Studio are based on “the big picture.” The narratives are informed by the people in an organization, what they believe, and their vision for the future. Only then do products or services have a relevant context.

This expression of organizational identity or brand enables leadership teams to build energy and momentum. It gives employees clarity, purpose, and agency to serve customers, and attracts customers who are engaged and aligned with your brand’s values.

Take a look at any leadership brand and you’ll find they have energy and momentum because their purpose is driven by deep empathy and understanding for the needs of their customers and the employees who serve them.

How do you get there?

The Intersection Studio practice employs a broad tool-kit first developed at a prior company I co-founded and lead. Our clients were funded by venture capital firms, and operated by CEOs who were under intense pressure to be first to market. In addition to expedience, real success could only be achieved by designing organizations and brands that said something true and felt human when you touched them. To do this, we had to organize and synchronize multidisciplinary teams. We had to develop a process for mining the collective intelligence of our people.

I took the learnings from this work into Intersection Studio where I am Chief Creative Officer and President. At Intersection Studio, I’ve seen this approach rapidly bring coherence and energy to startups, legacy businesses and nonprofits alike. I’ve witnessed the achievement of ambitious goals through declarative and compelling storytelling that unpacks the earnest motivations that live at the soul of great organizations.

Emotion follows motion. It’s easier to jump onto a moving train than onto one that’s standing still. As business guru Simon Senak has famously evangelized, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” True that.

_Background

^{BA Journalism, University of Michigan}

^{Screenwriting Studies, UCLA and USC}

<sup>Executive Education Certificate—The Power of Collaborative Intelligence,
    USC Marshall School of Business

Creative Director/Writer in the the advertising world
    (Campbell Ewald, Ketchum, McCann +)

Board Member, FullCircle, ArtCenter College of Design</sup>

<sup>Advisory to the Board, California Desert Coalition

Former Board Member, Mojave Desert Land Trust</sup>

The work we do here at Intersection Studio is always grounded in inquiry. Finding the human and visceral truth inside of an organization is what makes each project alive and interesting. My formal training and experience is rooted in the arts. I am a composer, musician, producer, writer, and educator (more about that below). The correlation between my art background and the brand work we do is this: we are always looking for creative and new solutions to the problems we are helping our clients solve. It’s all a process of questions, answers, trial and error—and I know how to move that process along.

As Creative Director at Intersection Studio, I function as a kind of artist in residence. I’m comfortable with beginning a journey that might not have a clear destination. My work is about creating and designing a destination—a future—that enables a project to impact the world. I like to be provocative with the truth—the truth inside of an organization, a brand. And then share that perspective through a brand voice using language, photographs, film, audio, and design.

This type of storytelling is expressed through answering some simple questions about the beliefs and values of an organization. Why are you doing this work? What is your vision for the future, and what might that future look like? What is the meaning and the purpose around the work you do, and the services you offer?

The answers to these questions allow us to communicate with authenticity and care—the keys to finding your true audience.

_{Artistic Projects}

<sup>Documentary Film Scores
Composer 
    In Our Son’s Name (PBS, 2016)
    Raising Ryland (CNN Films, 2015)
    Cesar’s Last Fast (Sundance Film Festival, 2014)

Interactive Concerts, and Installations

Writer/Music Director/Performer/Host
    A Journey Through Minimalism, LA Philharmonic (2019)

Composer
    Trance for Brass Ensemble and Spoken Word. Peter J. Harris, poet.
    Grand Performances, Los Angeles (2018)

Composer/Curator
    Sleepless, Walt Disney Concert Hall (2017)

Installation Designer
    Rhythm Maze, Music Center of L.A. County (2016)

Composer/Game Designer
    Have a Seat, Interactive Music Installation, 
    Music Center of L.A. County (2015)</sup>