It’s a long story and it starts back in middle school when I was handed a punk rock mix tape from one of the coolest kids in my class

I played that mix tape a thousand times growing up. I still have it somewhere at my mom’s house.

Ever since that History class, punk rock has instilled certain ideologies in me; to fight for just causes, to question authority, and the DIY ethos.

I found design by accident as a teen. I was making my own shirts, stickers, and zines—designing without knowing that I was designing. At the same time, the web was becoming a thing. Because of this, I pursued an AAS degree in “IT/Web Development” (aka web design), graduating in early 2002. After that, I co-founded a web design company called “New Global Media”. What a name!

We dissolved NGM on good terms. This made me want to seek out design even more. In the fall of 2003, I went to Virginia Commonwealth University to get a BFA in graphic design. I got out in 2008 to try and start my career again. Although, this proved to be a little challenging with a recession going on…

Nonetheless, I knew I wanted to bring those punk rock ideologies I held close to my heart into my new career path; fighting for causes I care about, questioning existing systems, and creating my own projects.

I’ve had my eye on Project M while I was in design school. Because of the recession, I figured I’d apply. And just like that, my life changed. I got accepted to the June 2009 session and those four weeks in Greensboro, AL changed the trajectory of my professional and personal life.

Fighting for causes I care about, questioning existing systems, and creating my own projects

Thanks to John Bielenberg (now a good friend and mentor) and others, I’ve incorporated the Think Wrong process into a lot of my work while doubling down on those punk rock ideologies.

Because of my time with Project M, I reached a number of design pinnacles that every designer works so hard reach; driving around with a 20-foot shipping container across the US, building a bamboo bike and riding it 3,000+ miles from AL to CA, stuffing sheep hair into used panty hoses, and dancing to really good techno in Frankfurt, Germany. I feel like I can retire now.

Intermission🍿

Take a break. Stretch. Grab a snack. Come back when you’re ready.

After Project M made me unemployable (jk jk), I set off on this freelance journey. For about three and a half years, I called ~20 places “home”, living out of two bags with a bike and a laptop. This allowed me to take on projects that helped build out my social innovation design portfolio as well as working with, and befriending, a ton of amazing and talented people. I learned a number of things during all of this; the art of facilitation, my love for design strategy, and the importance of building relationships with colleagues.

Design, climate,
social good, education,
& punk rock

Fast forward to 2016, I co-founded The Determined, a design strategy and creative consulting studio that collaborated with climate-focused organizations on branding, messaging, marketing, and innovation strategy.

It’s cool to finally bridge all of my interests together (design, climate, social good, education, and punk rock) to pursue my life’s work. It hasn’t been easy, and it still isn’t, but it’s super fucking fulling.

These days, I’m calling myself a climate designer. I’m using my creative talents to take climate action. I wrote a blog post that goes deeper into all of this. Co-founding Climate Designers and seeing it grow into a global community has been truly inspiring.

With this new decade upon us, I feel like we need more designers to use their creative talents, in some way, to address our climate crisis

This is why my friends and I wrote the updated version of the First Things First 2020 manifesto. Here’s more about the FTF manifesto.

Oh, and I still listen to punk, I still advise for Project M, and I still teach part-time at CCA.


See?… Long story.

Interested in taking climate action in your creative career?

Random facts

  • Entered my first half-marathon trail race and won

  • Ran a 50k on trails starting at Mt. Tam to Pt. Reyes just to see if I could do it

  • Lived in 20+ places over the course of 3.5 years

  • Visited about 2/3 of the 280+ state parks in California

  • Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) certified