anniversary

Today, January 14, 2020, marks 1-year of being employed at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) 🥳

This year flew by, and I spent some time reflecting what transpired, what I learned, and some milestones that happened.

For context, this is the third full-time job I’ve had post-college (circa 2006), and from 2016 - 2018 I was consulting + working from home as a brand and marketing strategist for people and organizations in the wellness, tech, startup, retail, government, HR, and supply chain industries.

What I learned & experienced:


• Directing and leading the marketing, advertising, and brand direction of the Office of Open Studies has engaged more brain muscles than in years past, which means that I continuously have to synthesize a ton of information, to make informed decisions - quickly.

• Stability & structure feels great. For a free-flowing libra, the thought of having a structure coming off a 3-year work-from-home lifestyle actually made me nervous, but little did I know this was precisely what I needed. Also, knowing I’ll have a paycheck every two weeks, and have generous health and employee benefits definitely eased anxieties I’ve had previously and provides brain space to work on other fun & meaningful side-projects. This opportunity is not lost on me.

• It’s refreshing and motivating to work with an agency that speaks my language. Shoutout to Mission Media. They push me to be better and to share my big, bold & crazy ideas.

• I am constantly in awe and inspired by student & alumni work. Deyane Moses, Morel Doucet, Stephanie Bulante, and Sara Hagstrom, and Zoe (a 5th grader in our YPS program!) to name a few.

• Recruiting and encouraging young people (K-12) to participate in programs, providing scholarship opportunities, and reviewing said applications is extremely hard. Factoring in and running in to the difficulties of the education system in Baltimore, transportation issues, housing issues, etc. Every policy that fails to create & provide equality and justice for our most vulnerable communities is connected and it’s a constant reminder that it is my duty to help reduce barriers for students to experience quality art & design education.

• I work with some of the smartest and hard-working folks in the higher-ed, research & policy, and creative space, and feel incredibly lucky + grateful.

• I also realize that I also work in a museum, with exhibitions constantly in rotation throughout the year. If I ever feel the need to get out of the office and go for a walk on campus, I’m more than likely to see new art displayed.

• Deciding which art & design events to attend, and ultimately saying no to talks, discussions, and gallery openings is really, really hard.

• The need to continue to level up in this career is ever more present, so I’m keeping my eyes and ears open for an executive coach with a focus in the higher-ed and/or marketing space… is that you? :)

Milestones in year one:

• Re-engaged our social media presence (follow @micaopenstudies on FB, IG and Twitter)

• Sealed fruitful partnerships with Technical.ly, (cool) progeny, World IA DC, Bloomberg Arts Internship Program & Young Audiences, Wide Angle Youth Media

• Produced two videos and an article:

  • Design Light Installation to convey Lodz Ghetto Population for the Holocaust Museum (video in post-production)

  • Young People’s Studios at MICA

  • Why two eminent Baltimore higher-ed institutions collaborated to create this unique dual-degree program

• Learned how to use InDesign by enrolling in MICAs non-degree learning program

• Provided mentorship for MICAs UP/Start Venture Competition. I worked with each venture, and in depth with Lucky Pocket Press. Although they didn’t receive funding through UP/Start, the business, marketing & brand framework I helped them design was the foundation that helped them reach (and exceed) their Kickstarter goal: raising over $14K for their artist collective ✨

• Co-Wrote the Brand & Marketing chapter for the forthcoming 3rd edition of The Business of Art with the Center for Cultural Innovation; publication date sometime this year

This year also challenged me in more ways than one. I had to learn & re-learn ways to stay in productive flow, how to stop doing work after 5p, how to balance a social life, get over imposter syndrome, speak up during meetings to challenge ideas & implement new ways of thinking and doing work with our communities, and constantly remind myself that I am the best fit person to be in this role at this institution.

All that to say, I am extremely excited for what’s ahead and I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface.

displaying diversity

I'm proud, yet not surprised that Eric Woolworth, President of Business Operations of The HEAT Group, released a statement on celebrating diversity in their workplace. Miami is a melting pot of cultures, ideas, genders, races, etc. and this was definitely apparent when I worked in their front office a few years back. As more CEOs are stepping up to recognize disparities within their offices, and how to address them, in every industry from tech to entertainment and sports, there's value that's being added in creating a culture of empathy to future employees.

For a little over 10 months, I've been freelancing and working part-time gigs, still on the job hunt for a full-time position, seeking places that are not only in line with my ethos, but those who actually represent a wide range of cultures, genders, and races.

Worth noting, I understand that there is privilege here. I moved back home with my parents - rent free - in order to rebuild and focus on what I truly want to do. Their sacrifices over the years have allowed me to be in the position that I'm in, and I am forever grateful.

While narrowing down what I want to do and who I want to be, there are a few must-haves, or rather red flags I look for, that come into play when I'm researching companies to work for. Maybe this is a generational thing, but if I click on an about us page and can't find any information (pics, bios, team members) on who works at said company, I'm more hesitant to inquire more information and/or apply.

Somewhere along their press or blog or mission/values page(s), I'd want to see who and what they stand for. Granted, there are companies that claim they are diverse and inclusive because it looks good on paper, and others who want to publicly address that they aren't at an ideal quota of diversity measures, but to have zero information about creating inclusivity or caring about people that are different from the executive and leadership staff is another red flag.

My hope is that as more people in power and leadership positions step up and claim what they are or aren't doing as it relates to creating a diverse workforce - publicly -  will foster an equality diverse pipeline of talent who are willing to introduce new ideas, that could very well mean improving the bottom line,  to the existing environment.