A look at how I approach storytelling, clarity, and communication across writing, strategy, and brand work.
Every project starts the same way: listening before creating. Whether I’m refining a brand message, launching a campaign, producing content, or helping a founder articulate what they actually do, my work is rooted in strategic communication.
Portfolio Work
A series of editorial features translating complex academic and business topics into accessible, engaging stories for a broad audience.
The Challenge: How do you take research-heavy information and make it meaningful to readers who aren’t experts?
My Role: I interviewed sources, shaped narrative, and translated complex ideas into clear, compelling storytelling that felt human and readable.
The result: The work made academic content more accessible, increased reader engagement, and helped position the publication as both insightful and approachable.
ASU’s the W. P. Carey School of Business
PHX FRAY
I pitched topics, interviewed sources, and wrote articles for the Phoenix Fray Magazine.
Messaging & Communications Strategy
I build communication plans, campaigns, and messaging systems designed to help brands connect more clearly with their audiences.
This includes:
positioning and narrative development
campaign messaging
audience-focused content strategy
Video Creation and Editing
Northwest Masonry Institute
For this project, I worked with pre-existing footage and assets to create a cohesive, story-driven video highlighting excellence in Masonry Awards.
My role focused on shaping the narrative, refining the flow, and ensuring the final piece communicated clearly, felt engaging, and aligned with the brand’s overall message.
Brand Storytelling & Rebrand Case Study: SamzSweetz → Kvell Bakery
Overview
Five years after launching her business as SamzSweetz, Sam reached a natural turning point. What began as a passion for baking evolved into something far more layered: a business rooted in tradition, storytelling, and community connection.
Through the my work at MadlyCreative LLC, I launched a pilot program called the She Says It studio. Through the studio, we explored whether her original brand still reflected who she had become and who she was becoming next.
The Starting Point
Sam came into the program as a skilled artisan baker with a loyal following and a clear love for her craft. But like many growing entrepreneurs, her brand identity hadn’t fully caught up with her evolution.
SamzSweetz represented where she started, but not the full scope of what her work had grown into. The goal wasn’t to “fix” the business. It was to understand it more deeply.
The Process
We began with foundational brand storytelling work: guided workbook exercises and strategic conversations focused on uncovering:
Core values and motivations
Customer relationships and emotional impact
The role her work played beyond the product itself
Long-term vision and desired legacy
Through this process, a clearer identity emerged. Sam’s work wasn’t just about baking, it is about preserving tradition, creating moments of joy, and bringing people together through food and story.
She began to recognize herself not only as an artisan, but also as a:
Storyteller
Community builder
Keeper of tradition
This shift in language became the foundation for everything that followed.
The Rebrand Direction
From this point of clarity, the conversation around a rebrand naturally surfaced. The name Kvell emerged as the next chapter—capturing the emotional essence of the brand: pride, joy, heritage, and celebration. Every detail of her identity is rooted in meaning. The warm orange in the visual direction evoked the golden tops of challah, while also reflecting Sam’s Arizona roots (the warmth of the Phoenix Valley, desert sunsets, and her naturally welcoming presence).
The Outcome
Together, we refined Sam’s brand positioning around three core identity pillars:
Storyteller
Community Builder
Artisan Baker
While baking remains the heart of the business, the brand now communicates something larger: the emotional and cultural impact of her work.
Kvell is not just a bakery brand, it is a storytelling-led business rooted in tradition, connection, and pride in craft.
Final Reflection
This rebrand is not about changing who Sam is. It is about naming it. Through structured storytelling work, Sam gained the clarity and confidence to step fully into an identity that had already been taking shape through her work.
Sargent Lending
Sargent Lending, a leader in the Puget Sound mortgage space, needed a consistent, recognizable marketing presence that could build trust with prospective homebuyers while supporting ongoing lead generation in a competitive mortgage market.
My Role
Business Development Manager
Brand Strategy
Campaign Development
Content Strategy
Copywriting
Email Marketing
Social Media Strategy
Brand Management
Recruitment Marketing
Results
Established a more cohesive and recognizable brand presence across digital marketing channels.
Increased consistency in messaging through campaign-based marketing.
Strengthened communication with both prospective clients and referral partners.
Created scalable marketing assets that could be reused across multiple initiatives.
Helped position Sargent Lending as a knowledgeable, approachable resource throughout the homebuying journey.
Projects
Let’s Get You Home: A campaign centered on making the home buying process feel approachable and achievable.
Home Is Where the Heart Is: A storytelling-driven campaign that connected homeownership with personal milestones and community.
Monthly market updates: Educational content designed to keep clients informed about changing mortgage and housing trends.
Recruitment branding: Marketing materials that communicated Sargent Lending’s culture and helped attract talent.