My Story

I went to Southern Illinois University to become a photography professor. Art, design, communication, technology — photography seemed to pull it all together. I loved the darkroom. The way light and chemistry created something permanent from a moment. I loved teaching, too — sharing knowledge and watching someone else grow, nothing better. But life had other plans.

My son was born my senior year. I needed to earn a living, so I became a jeweler. It was creative work, precise work, satisfying work, but pretty isolating. At the end of the day, I had something shiny to show for it. When that company closed, I went back to school for digital media at Illinois State University. I was building on the same foundation — art, design, communication, technology — just with new tools. That's where I met Professor McHale. That's where I learned that stories matter more than facts, and clarity matters above all.

I was hired as a designer at Electrolux. Six months later, I was promoted to Creative Director. That shift from designer to CD forced me to think about systems, not just pixels. I couldn't personally execute every piece of creative anymore — I had to build the machine that made great creative possible. I built DAM systems. I implemented Workfront for project management. I discovered that good design isn't just opinion — it's science. I used 3M's Visual Attention Service to prove that design decisions could be empirically validated. Eye-tracking simulation software showed stakeholders that design wasn't just "what feels right" — it was measurable, testable, scientific. I led creative for Electrolux, Frigidaire, Eureka, 3M, Arm & Hammer — guiding projects from concept to completion across global markets.

At Sealed Air, my role evolved from storytelling to building the infrastructure for storytelling. When I first started at Sealed Air, I was back to creative design. I came up with ads. I made Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day Videos. The team grew. My Creative Director discovered my technical capabilities and saw how well I worked with IT building systems. My role changed. I led the strategic building and operations of systems that deliver product information and marketing assets across multiple channels. PIM systems. DAM platforms. 3D visualization pipelines. I became the person who makes the creative work possible at scale. I was awarded the 2025 Akeneo Champions Global Ambassador award for my work with PIM implementation and promotion. I operationalized AEM Assets with Adobe Dynamic Media, integrating DAM with AEM Sites, Magento, Marketo, Workfront, and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Now I'm building an AI agentic ABM platform while I look for my next opportunity. I'm combining everything — the creative vision, the systems thinking, the technical skills — to explore what's next. I've learned that I'm highly versatile, resilient, and I never stop looking for ways to add value and to learn and grow. I'm a salesman, a marketer, a technologist, a designer, an artist, a teacher, a dad joke teller, and I love to be part of a team. I've been better at telling stories for my employers than telling my own. This site is my attempt to change that.