Storytelling

Background

By uncovering my late father’s screenplay from the ‘90s, I explore his work-free, free-love quest for happiness in this genre-bending feature film.

Approach

• Launched successful Kickstarter campaign, gaining the support and partnership of over 250 backers.

• Managed large crew and completed all principal photography, the film will be the first to premiere at PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater.

• Received a RACC project grant in 2019 to support film completion, and was featured at Oregon film festivals, winning Best Documentary at one.

Storytelling

Background

Google Play wanted to create case studies based on how apps Duolingo and MyFitnessPal create sustainable engagement among their hundreds of millions of respective users. For these multimedia case studies, I managed the overall content strategy, provided creative direction to the illustrator, graphic designer, and copy editor, and eagerly rolled up my sleeves to pen the core stories.

Approach

• The Duolingo and MyFitnessPal stories were published as articles on Medium and presented widely to developer audiences at conferences in London, New York City, Amsterdam, and beyond.

• For each story, I also developed corresponding discussion guides, workshop materials, and third-party media pitches, which Google Play's PR team is currently using.

Results

• Google is expanding its series by developing additional stories on how app developers can learn best practices from one another, supported by my strategy recommendations.

Strategy

Background

The Surfrider Foundation wanted to increase collaboration among coastal conservation leaders and combat brain drain, whereby potential leaders move from the rural coast of Washington to the cities.

Approach

• Designed and facilitated the Surfrider Leadership Academy, teaching principles of design thinking and community organizing to a diverse set of coastal stakeholders.

• Managed advisory board, curriculum, identity, and community outreach, graduating three cohorts of conservation leaders and setting a model for additional Surfrider chapters to replicate.

Results

• Alumni have since moved into leadership roles at leading conservation organizations, using their skills to lobby in DC and earning the program a near 10 average Net Promoter Score.

Strategy, Storytelling

Background

I produced and directed several videos for IKEA, which were created primarily for internal use with their employees. One project explored ways to engage their IKEA FAMILY members in how to live a more sustainable life at home. For the project, I worked on both the strategy and the storytelling surrounding it.

Approach

• My video was used internally at IKEA to share prototype ideas for how their brand loyalty program could be used to engage millions of customers in sustainability efforts (IKEA uses 1% of the world's lumber so the potential for impact is huge).

• IKEA also prides itself on conveying ideas simply, so it was important to distill these prototypes into easy-to-grasp terms. I'm proud to have contributed to both developing these concepts and telling the story around them.

Results

• While more work is available upon request, you can check out the process behind the initiative that changed how IKEA thinks about sustainability in this video I produced, directed, and edited for Context Partners.

Strategy, Storytelling

Background

Prior to working with me, The Roddenberry Foundation  (the family foundation of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry) did not have a strong identity in the philanthropy space. The Roddenberry Prize was set to be the first offering with high visibility but before we could launch it, we needed to figure out how to leverage the fervor of Star Trek fans and link it to the possibility envisioned by social innovators.

Approach

• As the Creative Lead helping to design and launch The Roddenberry Prize and The Roddenberry Fellowship, I first developed a campaign, deploying tactics ranging from focus groups to animated GIFs to find out what Star Trek fans saw as the promise of the Roddenberry legacy.

• I oversaw creative direction across the projects, including the creation of an online impact report and direction of numerous short videos.

Results

• With insights in hand, the refreshed identity I developed allowed The Roddenberry Foundation to continue launching successful initiatives with a cohesive message. Here’s a look behind the design of the first year of the prize.

Storytelling

Background

Based on at least some true facts surrounding the disappearance of a young girl from California in 1992, Lilly explores the fuzziness around what people say happened and what may have happened.

While I love growing as a storyteller, I include this older work because it reflects my continuous interest in exploring where fact and fiction crash, and interesting opportunities emerge.

Approach

• I directed, shot, and edited the short film, which combines footage from multiple super 8 film stocks and digital video.

Results

• This film was first screened at an event I organized on a farm in Virginia in October 2010 and was later selected as part of the Nevada City Film Festival in 2015.