Hi, thanks for reading this & your consideration of things included below.
In my capacity as the founder / owner / operator of a creative studio / marketing / communications consultancy, Traverse Agency, I’ve served clients, ranging from global corporations, to nascent startups, small businesses, advertising agencies, and even a rock star (yes, I’d be happy to tell you that story).
I’ve helped clients reach millions of people, build awareness, appreciation, and advocacy. Most usefully, I have helped companies create demand, drive sales, and be acquired.
I’ve also created a disruptive social enterprise, Drink Water, in conjunction with professional snowboarders. It is a protest / response to “energy drink” marketing in action sports. It has been a privilege to share common sense about water, and in doing so, raise over a quarter million dollars for Water.org as they battle the global water crisis.
Professional characteristics
A Curious / Creative / Enthusiastic Leader
Work Experience
Traverse Agency
Founder & Managing Director 2013 - Present
I created Traverse to help clients engage new customers and communities, through digital, experiential, content, product, & sports marketing.
At our biggest, our office of 5 people was inside a former industrial space that also housed the 6000 square foot private skatepark of a professional skateboarder. Our client work ranges from household brands, to venture-backed startups, to owner operated small businesses.
Our sector range has been eclectic, and we’ve always been platform agnostic. The passion is to provide connection and engagement between human beings, communities, and organizations - and the methods to do so should range - depending on brand & business goals, and deep understanding of audiences.
We start with “Why?”
Drink Water
Co-Founder & Managing Director 2013 - Present
A social enterprise, created to promote - you guessed it - drinking water. We launched this in 2011 and were humbled to get New York Times coverage. Since then, we have been privileged to be covered in lots of press, collaborate with Nike on a Go Skate Day activation, produce a number of highly-viewed videos, and amass an social media following of over 100,000. We went to Norway a couple times as the marquee “sponsor” of the Arctic Challenge, the final stop of the World Snowboard Tour. And maybe most productively, we created and hosted snowboard events, called the Rat Race and the Double Tap. At these events, we were lucky to have some of the world’s best snowboarders attend & participate, from olympians, to video stars, and most importantly, some of our favorite riders. It has been an honor. We have an ecommerce website where we sell branded merchandise, not dissimilar to a merch table in the back of a concert. From all of these various verticals, we’ve raised money for, and donated to, Water.org, as they fight the global water crisis.
Education
Lewis & Clark College
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science. May 2004.
Honors: Dean’s Scholar, Balmer Scholar in Political Science, Dean’s List. Additional Coursework Foci: International Affairs, Psychology.
Published co-author & co-presenter of peer-reviewed research: “Call the Cops! (Sometimes): Tests in Moral Action.” Co-presented at two academic conferences in 2003: The International Society of Political Psychology, and The International Association for Media and Communications Research.
Y Combinator / Stanford University
How to Start a Startup. Fall 2014; Original Online Cohort. No degree granted, nor certificate what so ever. This was an online course, taught by an amazing assemblage of some of the most interesting Venture Capitalists, Founders, & Operators ever. It changed the way I thought about value propositions, customer relationships, iteration, & scale.
Public Service
Park City High School
2022 - Present
School Community Council; Chairman & Elected Parent Representative
City of Portland, Oregon
Bureau of Transportation; Budget Advisory Committee
Small Business Advisory Council; Executive Committee
Intention
I’m interested in being a value-add, or better yet, a value-multiplier. My season of entrepreneurship has provided no dearth of lessons! Win, lose, or draw.
I’m ready, for this next season, to join a team, an organization where I can be catalytic, productive, and a compounding creative force.