Resume

I am an accomplished Art Director and senior-level graphic design management professional with extensive experience creating award-winning visual concepts designed to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. Skilled at combining graphic design expertise with marketing best practices to deliver business solutions on-time and within budget that drives increased brand awareness and revenue. Proven strength building long-term, professional relationships with strategic business partners. I am passionate about developing creative strategy based on business goals and data. I am continually recognized for the ability to deliver exceptional results while working in fast-paced, highly competitive graphic design environments.  

Areas of expertise

Accolades

• Communication Arts recognition for work during my time Exclusive Resorts

• 12 Hermes Awards won for retirement industry in 2018 for participant campaigns

• 36 Hermes Awards won for retirement industry in 2019 for participant campaigns

• 31 Hermes Awards won for retirement industry in 2020 for participant campaigns

• Eddy Awards in 2022: First Place - TREK Campaign, Second Place - Match Campaign

Transamerica - Art Director, Remote
May 2023 - Present

• Lead the development and execution of all sales marketing efforts leading to $1.4B in business retention, and $2.8B in new business in 2024 alone

• Transform conceptual ideas into proof of concept, effectively present and align visions across cross-functional teams

• Nominated and serve as Brand Ambassador and a member of the Brand Creator Group on the Brand Governance Board for the retirement channel

• Designed and produced original, high-impact graphics for sales presentations, campaigns and event booth graphics

• Led performance oversight of designers implementing the new visual identity

• Interpret and execute creative briefs into elevated brand identity and storytelling

• Directed high-impact graphics for campaigns, presentations and social campaigns

• Identified areas of process improvement and worked to get revisions implemented

• Lead partnerships with external creative agencies to develop videos, animations, brochures, flyers and additional digital assets with best-in-class story-telling on-brand messaging

• Work with internal clients to guide strategy for client campaigns

• Lead team of designers who have won 22 awards for under my leadership in 2024

• Foster a culture of innovation and continual improvement

• Managed the successful implementation of the new visual identity directing both internal and external teams rebranding nearly 1k assets

• Oversee the creation over sales finals all with custom creative for new and retention business

• Direct the creative process from end-to-end ensuring creative meets clients vision and mission

• Lead creative strategy execution across multiple channels of business ensuring that design solutions align with business objectives and industry best practices

• Identified process improvements for the asset management system and implemented a new process for uploading files and tagging assets

Transamerica - Lead Graphic Designer, Remote
March 2022 - May 2023

• Create unique and captivating design concepts for plan sponsor clients to achieve their plan goals within required timelines and budget for the client

• Work with internal clients to create animated campaigns resulting in a 40% average open rate and increased click-through rate meeting campaign KPI

• Consistent record of creating award-winning campaigns for TREK, Coca-Cola, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and Campbell among others

• Accurate implementation of brand guidelines ensuring a consistent visual identity across retirement and enterprise channels

• Facilitated cross-functional collaborations with print vendors to ensure high quality deliverables for the sales finals efforts

• Created a subset branding specific to the Prescience campaign

• Proposed and implemented animated email banners for client campaigns

• Developed and established a cohesive brand identity for plan sponsor branding, and created assets that ensure brand consistency for all participant deliverables

• Collaborated directly with channel managers to develop innovative campaigns designed to deliver tailored creative solutions across branding, print, email and online accounts

• Successfully maintained an average of over 100 projects at one time, ensuring projects stay on budget and are delivered within the stated timeline

Empower Retirement - Art Director, Remote
August 2021 - March 2022

• Lead in-person site visits for MEGA clients ($500M-$1B), presenting creative work, rationale, focus group research as well as internal agency processes for custom work

• Art Direct junior designers providing leadership, direction and support to ensure the successful completion of key design-related projects within strict timelines

• Work with leaders from each line of business to understand strategy and create campaigns as appropriate to meet stated goal and drive results

• Develop and manage a broad range of design projects that reinforce the brand promise, as well as increase sales across multiple channels

• Review all creative ensuring each piece meets best practice thinking and resolves communication challenges in the most efficient manner possible

Empower Retirement - Senior Graphic Designer
October 2012 - August 2021

• Hermes Awards, Retirement: Judges evaluate the best creative submissions, and awards are given to the campaigns that stand heads above the others based on creative and notable metrics 12 Hermes Awards won for retirement industry in 2018 for participant campaigns. 36 Hermes Awards won for retirement industry in 2019 for participant campaigns. 31 Hermes Awards won for retirement industry in 2020 for participant campaigns

• Developed a new template for the automated system APPO, where internal clients can tailor documents to their clients specific plan type and needs

• Creative visual language for custom client branding including real estate, non-profit, government and healthcare clients ($500M - $1B) and lead brand development and implementation for new and existing clients

• Design and deliver highly effective and engaging creative pitches, clearly conveying rationale to prospective clients

• Ability to work under strict federally mandated timelines

• Developed the print specifications document for strategists, specialists and designers which was adopted for training on overall onboard processes

Exclusive Resorts - Brand Marketing Designer
March 2005 - December 2011

• Communication Arts recognition for books and brochures

• Project management and creative direction of on location photoshoots in Beaver Creek, CO, Vail, CO, Los Cabos, Mexico and Costa Rica

• Led the concept, design and execution of books to be sent to members, including press checks

• Directed advertising creative for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and the New York Times

• Developed unique event booth materials to be as inviting as living rooms in residence

• Created unexpected event invitations and holiday cards

• Curated and fostered print vendor relationships

• Sourced photographers for photoshoots and negotiated pricing for contract

• Scouted location and directed executive photoshoot

Education

• Union College, Lincoln, NE Communications and Design

• Shaw Academy Certificate of Advanced Graphic Design