Change making
FOR BETTER
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL & GOVERNANCE
Client: Boomerang Agency / Publicis Groupe
For Better is a company-wide ESG program aimed at integrating social & environmental sustainability values, actions, business activities, goals, and metrics across all levels of the organization.
In 2019, I was tasked with building For Better from scratch for Boomerang Agency. With co-leads Skip Rosamilia and Lara Mikocki, I developed an integrated ESG program and strategy around pillars of People, Environment, and Industry Leadership. We employed a multi-pronged delivery model to simultaneously guide behind-the-scenes operational changes, stimulate community engagement, learning & buy-in, introduce “better business” offerings & portfolio tools, and design a tailored measurement & reporting scheme.
In 2022, after a merger with Publicis Groupe, we expanded For Better to the Groupe’s Dutch branch and became involved with multinational strategy.
As co-lead of For Better, I advised on short- & long-term impact strategy at Board level, managed 50+ employees involved in our Impact Teams cohort, spoke at numerous events, and facilitated trainings, creative processes, and a culture shift towards striving for a triple bottom line.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY &
INCLUSION COMPASS
Client: WWF (& others)
As more and more clients request assistance incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion principles into their organizations, I have worked to provide DEI workshops and consultation that go beyond one-off (and often ineffective) “implicit bias trainings.” The DEI Compass approach fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation of the interlinked aspects of DEI, offers concrete tools to build actionable internally- and externally-facing DEI strategies in alignment with organizational mission, identity, and business activities, and, above all, is tailored in an accessible, interactive, and meaningful manner to improving the lived experience of all members of the community.
THE DROP: NEUROAESTHETICS
& PERSUASIVE POWER
Client: Conservatorium van Amsterdam
The Drop is an interactive, 8-module series of lectures, workshops, and classroom experiments developed for Masters students at the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music. It is a journey from molecule to music, from personal purpose to global influence, from neuroaesthetics to persuasive power.
Together, we mine the meanings and mechanisms of persuasion in art and artistry. We uncover the neurological underpinnings of “being moved” and unpack the good, the bad, and the ugly of the strategic communication tactics that attract an audience. We define what it means to truly connect with an audience, debate whether we should care at all, and dream of activating that audience towards something larger than ourselves. We dive deep into the body-brain-mind pathways that turn a collection of random sounds into music that gives people the feels and learn to consciously craft a persuasive musical experience. We even get to know our own brainwaves with live EEG and track the raw emotional impact of your songs in our brain activity.
Because in the end, it is this deep understanding of yourself, your art, and your audience — whether you decide to create for them, with them, against them, or despite them — that will ultimately give you agency.
THE NEURODIVERGENT NOW
PLATFORM & KNOWLEDGE HUB
Client: VIA x Publicis
In 2022, I co-created The Neurodivergent Now: a cross-organizational platform on a mission to build a creative industry where the next generation of neurodivergent talent can thrive.
The initiative, co-sponsored by Publicis Groupe and the Dutch Association for Advertising & Media (VIA), aimed to recognize neurodivergent attributes as beautiful strengths (e.g. creativity, problem-solving ability, organizational skills, etc.) — and create the conditions necessary for these qualities to be revealed in the workplace.
The platform hosted events (including talks & next-gen talent lunches), collaborations with partners such as The Neurodiversity Foundation, Dyslexia Speaks, ADHD Babes, etc., and a in-depth Neurodiversity Knowledge Report: our curated guide to recent and relevant research around neurodiversity in the workplace — particularly as it pertains to the creative industries to which so many Neurodivergent individuals are drawn.
ATTENTIONAL EFFICIENCY &
EFFORT IN EXPERT DANCERS
Client: Harvard Vision Sciences Lab
Humans fluctuate naturally between two attentional states – characterized in some literature as good "on-task attention" and bad "mind wandering." However, these states can also be characterized in terms of attentional effort available (high vs. low). In this study, conducted as my thesis while at Harvard, we asked whether dancers have gained perceptual expertise that enables them to perform complex tasks even with divided attention or while in a "mind-wandering" state.
We employed novel combinations of methods in these experiments: including behavioral, Kinect sensor & ML-training, and fMRI. Our results suggest a) that it may be adaptive (even optimal) to perform low-effort tasks in a mind-wandering state, and b) that expertise may enable co-activation of attentional networks previously thought to operate in opposition.
THE BRANDPRINT
Client: Icon Hub
Thriving along a triple bottom line requires a holistic, comprehensive, and inclusive blueprint. The Brandprint is a purpose branding offering, developed with collaborator Skip Rosamilia, that enables clients to tether their organizational vision, mission, identity, and purpose to both business activities and social and environmental impact activities. It provides a solid and compelling foundation to inform strategic decision-making at all levels of the company and serves as a basis for credible and potent internal and external communications.
