I translate complexity into language people can actually use. Not the safe version of the story. The actual one, buried under noise and competing agendas. I find it first, then I build everything around it.
Over twenty years, I have served as chief of staff to a mayor, founded and led a multi-million-dollar creative and strategy agency, directed communications for a defense contractor repositioning for federal growth, and launched a public affairs firm with six retained clients in year one. In every environment, I have operated as the senior communications decision-maker — not a vendor, not a consultant brought in at the end. The person in the room when the strategy is built.
Message, brand, campaign, film, crisis. I don’t separate these. The strongest work happens when all of it moves together, and when the person driving it understands that communication is not a department. It is how organizations survive pressure, earn trust, and change what people believe.
I am pursuing Chief Brand Officer, Chief Communications Officer, and senior creative strategy roles. In-house executive positions and select retained engagements.
Nashville-based firm with two divisions: Parallel Studio handles brand identity, creative production, and narrative strategy; Parallel Civics handles public affairs, advocacy communications, and civic strategy. Six retained clients in year one.
Built Axxeum’s first integrated communications strategy, repositioning the firm from niche aviation contractor to competitive mid-tier defense firm inside the Redstone Arsenal ecosystem.
Founded and scaled one of North Alabama’s most awarded creative and strategy firms. 70+ ADDY awards. 25+ campaigns. 90%+ win rate. Undefeated against incumbents across party lines. Managed cross-functional teams spanning communications, creative production, digital, public affairs, media buying, and client strategy across concurrent accounts.
Senior communications appointee during a period that produced more than $500M in new city revenue and major civic expansion.
When Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin began evaluating sites for its BE-4 rocket engine production facility, Huntsville had one shot. Behind an NDA and a code name, Project Eagle, I produced the bid materials and the film that helped the Rocket City win a $200M+ facility and 300+ high-skill aerospace jobs.
View Case Study →When Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s affair became the dominant political story in the state, I saw an opening no one else did. A chalkboard. A double meaning. A press kit. “Unimpeachable Pale Ale” reached 4.25 million people, hit 30+ markets, and turned a local brewery into a national story with zero paid media.
View Case Study →Tommy Battle entered his 2012 re-election with a dated brand and a mandate to prove Huntsville’s growth was not luck. I developed the campaign identity system, messaging framework, advertising direction, and visual language from the ground up, won 80.6%, then did it again in 2016 at half the cost with 80.7%. The brand outlasted four terms, a gubernatorial run, and became the visual language of a city’s transformation.
View Case Study →Huntsville had become one of the fastest-growing metros in the South. The Chamber’s brand had not kept pace. I built a complete identity system with a new mark, seven-department color architecture, custom iconography, typographic system, and a responsive website designed for global economic development conversations.
View Case Study →Named and branded the adaptive-reuse project that turned a closed Huntsville school into the city’s signature mixed-use entertainment district. The name references the West Huntsville zip code 35805 and the history of the school itself. A decade later, the brand still anchors a development that has catalyzed more than $300 million in additional private investment.
View Case Study →Conceived in 2014 as a vintage-style apparel company rooted in Huntsville’s aerospace mythology. I built the identity, designed the merchandise, shaped the voice, and used campaign thinking to make a local brand feel like it already belonged to the city.
View Case Study →A decade running the whole machine — strategy, creative, message, mail, video, and GOTV as a single integrated operation. 90%+ win rate. A perfect record defeating incumbents. Two Reed Awards.
See the Work →Every film here started with strategy, not a camera. I served as writer, producer, and creative director — responsible for scripting, creative direction, production oversight, stakeholder management, and editorial supervision — accountable for what the work was supposed to accomplish long before anyone called action, and long after the edit was locked.
70+ ADDY Awards total. Three Best of Show wins at the regional American Advertising Awards. Two regional Silver ADDYs — for Unimpeachable Pale Ale and Project Eagle — advancing past the local round to compete against the strongest creative work across the South. Peer-judged. The highest honors in the regional advertising community.
When Alabama’s governor became the dominant political story, I turned the scandal into a small-business marketing win. A chalkboard, a double meaning, and a press kit reached 4.25 million people across 30+ markets with zero paid media.
View Case Study →The cinematic internet commercial that reframed one of North Alabama’s oldest performing arts institutions for a new generation. Best of Show plus Gold ADDYs for Cinematography, Video Editing, and Internet Commercial in the same year.
Watch Film →The launch film for Downtown Huntsville’s new public-private partnership. Built civic pride and momentum around a complete reframing of the city center’s value to residents, businesses, and visitors.
Watch Film →
