Invisible Maker

A creative and technical leader with the heart of a maker.

Biography

I am an experienced creative technology leader and life-long maker. I’ve led projects and people across the country and around the world, staying in sync with cross-functional, sometimes global teams to deliver highly creative, custom experiences.

My career officially began back in the early 2000s. Having just graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art + Design, I knew I wanted to work on this "up and coming Internet thing"; I just wasn't sure if I was better on the creative or the technical side. After lucking into a development internship at Carmichael Lynch, I had the opportunity to find out.

Those were the golden years when agencies had great in-house development teams and made all kinds of cool stuff on the web, and the Flash Microsite ruled the era. In the years to come, I would continually straddle the line between art and tech, working closely with agency creatives to bring their vision to life. I left the agency as a tech lead with several years of valuable experience.

Little did I know at the the time this would set the tone for my career to follow. I am often the technical voice in a creative room, and a creative voice in a technical room. Along the way, I also took advantage of any opportunity to sharpen my client management and business skills. Throughout the years I've worked across the country at agencies such as EVB, space150, OLSON, Droga5, Deutsch NY, and Barbarian. I've also collaborated on projects with studios such as Stink Studios, Spinifex Group, and I've even worked on the client side at Target Corporation.

Most recently I was the Director of Experience Technology at The Mill (rest in peace), working globally across all of our studios. My role with The Mill enabled me to build on my creative and technical experience while expanding my skillset into more pitching, capabilities presentations, and being the global resource for all things experiential within The Mill.

I'm always open to finding great projects to collaborate on, and I love to use my extensive experience to demystify challenging briefs and bring great work to life.

Areas of Focus

Technical Leadership
I have over 10 years of experience leading technical and cross-functional teams on a variety of projects, always working closely with the creative team in service of the creative vision. This also extends across organizations, where I've often assumed an educational role as a thought leader for emerging technologies.
Pitch Consulting
I have extensive experience in presenting studio capabilities, and helping decipher those "how the f*ck do we do this?" briefs. From there, I know how to be the technical voice on the pitch team, and demystify the process of bringing the project to life.
Research & Development
The REALLY fun projects usually involve something to be solved first. Figuring out the right combination of technology and techniques to bring a great idea to life.
Speaking Events
I've had opportunities over the years to speak to agencies, colleges, and the occasional Cannes Lions jury. I'm always eager to share my knowledge with interested audiences.