I don't write values
for organizations.
I excavate them.

The problem

Dorman Products had grown into a multi-segment enterprise spanning three brands — Dorman Products, Dayton Parts, and Super ATV. Contributors at acquired companies felt unintegrated. Legacy teams were writing their own mission statements. A 4,000-person global workforce was fragmenting.

My role

End-to-end creative strategy lead — I designed and led a structured stakeholder questionnaire across all three segments, recruited 24 contributors spanning operations to VP, synthesized the findings, developed the framework, and returned to validate with the source.

The outcome

The Values launched enterprise-wide to immediate, resounding reception. For employees at Dayton Parts and Super ATV, it was the first time they had been asked what they believed — and the first time the answer had been built into something the entire company would carry.

Why it matters

Employer branding at the enterprise level is rarely a design problem. It's an organizational trust problem. This project succeeded because the process matched the promise. We didn't write values for the company — we excavated the values already inside it.

The challenge

AIGA Philadelphia needed more than a leader — it needed a builder. The chapter was operating without a stable financial foundation, a clear strategic direction, or a consistent framework for delivering value to its ~3,000-person community. Seven years as a volunteer — across four board positions, culminating in a two-year term as President — gave me the opportunity to address all three, from the inside out.

My role

I earned every position in sequence — Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, then President, serving a two-year term in the top role. Seven years of progressively deeper involvement meant that by the time I held the president's seat, I understood every lever in the organization. I led a 16-person volunteer team, owned the chapter's three-year strategic plan, managed a $16,300 annual budget, and was accountable to both the local community and AIGA National.

The approach

I built the chapter's strategy around three phases: create a strong foundation in Year 1, demonstrate and show value in Years 1–2, then grow community presence and membership from Year 2 forward. Each phase had attainable goals per functional group — programming, finance, communications — so that a volunteer team with no direct reporting structure could actually execute against them.

The outcome

Revenue grew 60% year-over-year. The chapter ran 30 events in a single fiscal year, drawing 900+ attendees. Over two years: $10,500 in scholarships awarded, 148 student portfolios reviewed, 138 people mentored, 160 students professionally published. Community communications reached 5,000 email subscribers at a 36% open rate — well above industry standard.

Why it matters

Volunteer leadership is a different kind of proof. No one has to follow you. No one has to show up. The work either earns people's time and trust, or it doesn't. Building an organization that people choose to be part of — and measuring that choice in scholarships, mentorship hours, and packed events — is some of the most honest creative leadership I've done.

The problem

Across all three Dorman segments — Dorman Products, Dayton Parts, and Super ATV — the digital properties were carrying significant exposure. Accessibility scores were sitting between 60 and 80 percent, leaving a meaningful portion of users unable to fully access our sites and leaving the organization open to litigation. The harder truth was simpler: we were excluding people. That was reason enough to act.

My role

I drove this initiative from the first conversation to the final install. That meant making the case internally — translating accessibility risk into language that resonated with legal, finance, and leadership — then leading vendor research, building the recommendation, presenting it for approval, and overseeing implementation across all three segments.

The process

The work moved in four stages. First, advocate and educate — helping stakeholders understand both the legal exposure and the human cost of inaccessible digital experiences. Second, vendor research — evaluating several accessibility solutions against our multi-segment enterprise needs. Third, recommendation — presenting UserWay as the right fit and building the case for adoption. Fourth, implementation — coordinating installation across all three brand sites.

The outcome

Within six months, all three segment sites achieved WCAG compliance. Accessibility scores moved from 60–80% to a range of 90–98% across the portfolio. The litigation risk that had been mounting quietly was eliminated. And the work didn't stop at compliance — the accessibility data we now collect is actively informing how we design future assets, so that inclusivity becomes part of the creation process, not a retrofit applied after the fact.

Why it matters

Accessibility work often gets framed as a legal problem. I treated it as a design problem — and a values problem. The organizations that build for everyone don't do it because they're afraid of being sued. They do it because they've decided that no one gets left out. Getting there requires someone willing to advocate before there's urgency, research before there's consensus, and execute before there's a crisis. That's what this was.