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Poppy, Thor, my wife, Julie, and I split our time between Idaho’s biggest town, Boise, and one of its smallest, Atlanta.

I am the executive director of Surel’s Place, a nonprofit artist residency in the heart of the Surel Mitchell Live-Work-Create District.

I’ve been a university administrator and chief marketing officer; a newspaper reporter, columnist and editor; a public television host and producer; a ski bum; a wine steward; and a rhythm guitar and keyboard player in a rock band (listed in declining order of financial reward).

I hold degrees in anthropology and journalism from the University of California at Santa Barbara and New York University.

CliftonStrengths/Strengsthfinder:
Strategic / Ideation / Individualization/ Communication / Futuristic

“Design is the process of going from an existing condition to a preferred one.”

Milton Glaser

My mission-driven approach:

I think communication amounts to far more than the written word.

I think relationships matter more than just about everything else — more than hierarchy, more than your great ideas.

I think you have to be intentional to get results — and it’s shocking how rare that is in communications and marketing.

I think that if you want engagement, you have to start with authenticity. Who are you, what is your mission, and why does that matter?

I think the best marketing is nothing more than understanding your institutional mission and values, achieving them and amplifying them.

You can see the highlights from my CV here.

Contact me

“There is a kind of poetry in simple fact.”

Edward abbey