As Creative Director at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, I developed the People First brand around humanizing four major pain points in the Charleston region, and worked with people from the community who experience these challenges on a daily basis. From attainable housing to affordable childcare, equitable education to safe regional transportation, I aimed to create a clean, bold, and approachable aesthetic that felt more personal than a typical capital campaign might. I worked with the marketing team to develop the brand identity and all collateral, identify individuals in the community, conduct interviews, create videos and photos, and produce a successful launch event in April 2024 that attracted hundreds of high profile attendees and elected officials, as well as local news outlets and social media influencers. In its first months, the campaign raised over $1,000,000 in gifts toward its goal.
Behind the Barn is a self-driven concept I developed for Athlextux, a top-end public relations company serving Olympic-level equestrian athletes and event organizers. Its goal is to shine a light on the personalities of the athletes, not only to give fans someone to root for, but also to humanize a very competitive sport. 2024 marked my fourth year directing, shooting, and editing the customary 12 pieces prior to the Kentucky Three-Day Event, which is the largest Three-Day Eventing competition in the United States each year, and broadcasted around the globe. I worked closely with competition executives and marketing teams to produce a series of 12 videos published throughout the five days of competition, which generated more than $30,000 in advertising and sponsorships, and garnered more than 120,000 views during the competition.
As the organization’s head of design, I led a team of on-site and remote graphic designers, photographers, and videographers to produce a series of upscale city guides published in more than 70 markets across the United States, as well as a series of digital stories showcasing the authenticity and earnestness of the small business owners who make up the "Scouted" community. By developing and personally teaching a refined and practical brand onboarding course, I trained photographers and designers to embrace the unique aesthetic within the pages of the each guide, which increased the brand's overall brand and desirability. During my time as Art Director, the franchise expanded from 59 markets to 74. In addition to serving as a leader, I enjoyed daily hands-on production work designing pages, shooting photography, and editing digital images.
Chamber Ties was a marketing campaign I pitched and produced as the Creative Director at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. It was an effort to introduce more storytelling into our brand outreach strategies. I collaborated closely with the marketing team to identify and bring some of the organization's most active members together to share their stories about how small moments led to big impacts. From the series of five videos, I also produced print ads, radio spots, billboards, and television ads. I led all creative aspects from video to photography and design. The sales and membership teams have successfully used the campaign to help attract and onboard new members, and also introduce the Chamber brand as welcoming, approachable, and inclusive.
Hawkes Learning is an eLearning publication house that provides reliable course materials in print and online with exemplary service in the shared pursuit of student success. As Creatives Services Manager, I lead a team of 8 designers to collaborate with in-house and consulted subject matter experts to transform complex and precise lesson materials into aesthetically engaging print pieces with clear narratives. With thoughtful template design, informed and authentic art direction, and meticulous process management, I inspired my team to efficiently produce thousands of error free pages within deadline and under budget, and even enjoyed jumping in and designing pages myself on an almost daily basis. In addition to elevating design aesthetic and selecting top-end, one-of-a-kind photography and artwork to thoughtfully illustrate the subject matter, one of my major contributions during my time at Hawkes was building a bridge between my creative team and the development team. Working together, we streamline production processes, improved communication, cut labor hours, and elevated company culture through collaboration.
In 2023, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 250th anniversary. As the nations oldest continually-operating chamber of commerce, the honor of visually bringing its complex and impactful story to life fell upon me as Creative Director. I worked with the entire organization, including its board of directors and past and present Chief Executive Officers, to ensure the visuals and mediums we embraced accurately captured the authentic soul, diversity, challenges, and victories of the region and the Chamber's impact on key events over the past two and a half centuries. To produce a commemorative brand, a coffee table book, collectable swag, an engagement feature video the drew tears to the eyes of the Chamber's CEO, and a grand end-of-year celebration where we transformed an historic bus depot into a living cultural celebration, I relied not only on Chamber leadership, but also on diverse input from dozens of luminaries within the Charleston community.
EQ Media utilizes strategic marketing and communications to help both freshly-launched and established equestrian brands grow. In 2023, I was contracted to produce a series of competition coverage videos for an internationally recognized facility in Florida. I worked closely with an on-site marketing team to capture first-hand perspectives from a variety of participants and athletes, from novice competitors to Olympians, to promote the unique experience offered by the competition and facility.
The Chronicle of the Horse is an award-winning sport horse journal published bi-weekly. It has delivered news to the equestrian community since 1937. As Art Director, I introduced a modernized aesthetic to a timeless news brand. I worked closely with the editorial team to produce a more outspoken and candid tone, while also maintaining its heritage and unique, trusted foundation within the equestrian lifestyle. In 2016, I accepted an award from American Horse Publications on behalf of the magazine for outstanding cover design. Untacked is its award-winning bi-monthly lifestyle magazine. I also led design, developed templates, laid out articles, executed cover shoots, and edited photography for this publication. I worked closely with editorial and sales teams to operate efficiently and attract a wider consumer base, ensuring all artwork spoke with a unified voice. In 2016, I accepted two awards from American Horse Publications for outstanding cover design on behalf of the brand.
Sometimes my greatest peace comes from watching creatures in their natural environments, especially in coastal ecosystems like the one we live in here in Charleston. It is one of the richest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet, and I feel incredibly blessed to call it home. I enjoy venturing out with my camera most mornings at first light and am fortunate to be able to visit some of my favorite wading birds in my own neighborhood as well. With a mission of breaking up the constant franticness of modern life and bringing some peace into people's homes, offices, and shops, I launched Birds of the Lowcountry in the fall of 2023 and sell gallery-quality work online, as well as in galleries in the Charleston metro area. One of my photos was recently a finalist in Charleston Magazine's 2024 Readers' Choice photography contest. Since beginning this endeavor, I have earned an active following of more than 1,100 followers on Instagram in just under a year.

Instagram: @birdsofthelowcounty
I've always found something to admire about every person I've ever met—it's why I love making portraits, and it's why I launched Kind Light Charleston; a local portrait and headshot service, in 2022. It's my opportunity to capture the light I see in people, because I believe there's a kind light in everyone. I also believe kindness matters most. It's not easy getting in front of a camera, and I tend to be pretty hard on myself. I know a lot of other people do, too. That's why, as a photographer, it's my job to create a fun, light-hearted, judgement-free space where you feel free to see the best in yourself. It's not about fitting into some standard of beauty or success, it's about capturing depth and dimension in a two-dimentional medium. It's about shaping your body and expressions to focus on what you want to say and how you want to be seen. With this extra-curricular endeavor, and as Creative Director for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, I save the organization thousands of dollars each year and enhanced its brand by producing complimentary headshots of the entire staff.

Instagram: @kindlightcharleston
While I started in this organization as a graphic designer, I worked my way up to launching and leading the production of a fully integrated video community that averaged more than 500,000 views annually as its first Multimedia Producer. I also led design for its award-winning monthly member magazine and worked closely with the Director of Communications to helped develop communications strategies, marketing campaigns, and sponsorship opportunities.