ABOUT ME
I am an entrepreneurial minded creator with a passion for community, connection, and empowering makers everywhere to thrive.
Hey, I’m Ryan. Thanks for stopping by! I’m a creative director, author, artist, & multimedia producer with over 20 years of publishing, design & marketing industry experience. I love all things “creativity” and am passionate about building innovative products & services, developing new communities, and empowering others to leverage the power of creativity and technology so they can thrive in our fast-paced, ever-changing world.
TLDR: If you can see it or hear it, I can probably make it. I help position individuals & organizations as leaders in their industries through the power of creative media, visual storytelling, and community development.
Cultivating creativity, intentional education, and new experiences are important parts of everything I do. Throughout my career, I have had the life-changing privilege of working with diverse teams of amazing, brilliant creators and leaders from all around the world. The things I create have all been in some way influenced by the people I’ve met, the challenges I’ve faced, and the experiences I’ve had so far. My goal is always to inspire those who see what I make to create their own things, because I find a kind of peace in creative expression that I do not find elsewhere and believe the world is a better place when people are leaning into their creativity.
Each step on the path has brought its own share of challenges…from working as a creative / marketing director at a large community center when the pandemic threw the whole world into a tailspin, to the ups and downs of running our design agency for over a decade and publishing several books while navigating intense life situations. In the midst of those challenges, I have always endeavored to be intentional about looking for buried treasure along the way. That treasure can always be found in the form of new connections and friendships formed, new perspectives and skills gained, and new opportunities unlocked.
SKILLSET OVERVIEW
Below is a broad overview of some skills that I’ve worked to develop over the last 20+ years as I’ve pursued a “creative career.” If you have any questions or would like more information about what you see here, feel free to reach out and connect. I’d love to hear what you’re wanting to build if there are ways that I can help.
To all with whom I have shared parts of this journey so far, I am beyond grateful to you. You have given me so many incredible opportunities to learn from, partner, collaborate, and co-create with you as my former colleagues and clients. Thank you for your guidance, your wisdom, and your friendship along the way.
- 20+ years as a multi-discipline creator of multimedia with extensive background in business development, design, publishing, community building, event planning, & marketing
- 15+ years in leadership / management roles working with businesses, non-profits, startups, authors, speakers, & founders
- 15+ years as a public speaker / community organizer
- 10+ years as a founder/CEO
- Early adopter, initial private beta tester, & thorough understanding of cutting edge artificial intelligence generative art technology like Stable Diffusion & Midjourney - created over 80,000 unique AIgenerated images in 7 months. Moderator on Stable Diffusion Discord community
- Strategic, big picture, & results focused leader that excels in simplifying large amounts of informationinto practical, prioritized solutions
- Relentless, resourceful optimist that brings ideas quickly from initial concept to reality with innovative new techniques & tools
- Deep understanding of how to connect with others, promote adoption of new ideas, & use available resources to make a big impact
- Adept project manager with keen eye for improving workflows, systems, & organizational processes through automation, UI/UX design, research, & customer service
- Excellent written, verbal, & visual communicator who thrives when working with creative teams to develop innovative ways of solving complex problems
- Prolific graphic, video, & web designer with wide range of skills & experience across many industries, mediums, hardware, & software
SOFTWARE PROFICIENCIES
- Operating Systems: MacOS, iOS, Microsoft Windows
- Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Bridge, Creative Cloud Express, iOS mobile apps - 20+ years experience using Adobe software
- Artificial Intelligence Tools: Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Wombo, Dall-E 2, GPT-3
- Creative, Design & Development: WordPress, Procreate, Figma, GarageBand, Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, Descript, Squarespace, Wix
- E-Commerce & Finance: Etsy, Shopify, Gumroad, Stripe, Paypal, Wave
- Marketing, Podcasting, & Social Media: Mailchimp, Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), Riverside, Spotify, Anchor.fm, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
- Project, Communication, & Community Management: Zapier, Dropbox, Trello, Asana, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Office Suite, Google Docs / Drive Suite, Evernote, Typeform, Airtable, HelpScout, ProcessKit
- Typing Speed ~ 110 WPM
RECENT WORK EXPERIENCE
(Click each position below to expand and see details)
💡 Founder & Creative Director @ Reformation Designs (June 2011 – present)
💼 Multimedia production & business consulting agency that hasserved 150+ clients
- Prior clients include: Jack Canfield, Jim Kwik, Morgan James Publishing, Destiny Image Publishing, SBDC Oregon, Chemeketa Community College, Marissa Brassfield, & Rick Frishman
✍🏼 Wrote, designed, & published two books for startups & creators
- Stop Wasting Time & Burning Money: How to Crush Procrastination & Live the Life of Your Dreams (2016)
- The Science of Getting Rich: How to Manifest & Monetize Your Ideas (2022)
🎨 Produced and published thousands of original creations across many art forms, mediums and techniques
- Examples include: 150+ blog posts, articles, e-mail digests, & educational resources for startups, creators, and entrepreneurs; videos, websites, graphics, audio production, UI/UX design, automated business systems, 3D models, and more
🎙 Produced three seasons of The Creative Revolution Podcast
- Interviewed creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, authors, and makers from all over the world about their creative process and how they persist through challenges
- Interviews included Dan Piraro (Bizarro Comics), Shashi Jain (Intel Innovation Manager)& Aman Segal (Hollywood film producer)
- Utilized green screen and open source video streaming technology to record and stream interviews in real time while taking audience questions during Q&A sessions
- Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch on YouTube
🛒 Created The Reformation Designs Shop
- Unique online store with original custom designed merchandise, including activewear clothing, home decor, backpacks, all-over print hoodies, yoga pants, hats, coffee mugs, swimsuits, and more.
- Utilizes automation and print-on-demand systems for efficiency and sustainability
- Visit RDShop.biz here
🧠 Founded & Launched Startup Accelerator Meetup Group with over 50 regular attendees
- Planned, designed, and coordinated monthly meetups for local entrepreneurs and business owners in Salem, Oregon area
- Collaborated and partnered with the City of Salem and strategic economic development partners to bring together and cultivate new business opportunities for the region
- Hosted / emceed events interviewing founders about their business endeavors and provided forum for audience Q&A to learn from and connect directly with local business leaders
- Connected local businesses with available resources, education opportunities, funding, and facilitated connections across industries
- Helped facilitate creation of makerspace through connections made at monthly events
💾 Relevant technical / software experience:
- Adobe Creative Suite - (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Bridge, Audition, Character Animator), Slack, Discord, Descript, Zapier, Open Broadcaster Studio, Mailchimp, WordPress, Trello, Figma, Dropbox, Google Docs/Sheets & more
Locations: Remote, San Jose CA, Salem OR, & Pittsburgh PA
🎬 Production Manager @ Daily Content Machine (March 2021 – June 2022)
✅ Managed global, remote team of 20+ writers, multimedia producers, & quality assurance specialists working in an ever-changing deadline and process-driven environment
- Provided creative direction, approval, & feedback as needed on scripts, videos, graphics, + multimedia prior to publication
- Conducted regular and thorough UI/UX systems analysis of production process & automation of tedious tasks
💰 Average subscription fee for provided service offering ~ $5k/month
- Collaborated with high-profile business leadership executives, influencers, and authors with millions of followers and subscribers and their teams
- Clients included Pat Flynn from SmartPassiveIncome.com, Nathan Barry of ConvertKit.com, FittInsider.com, Mastin Kipp, Bunnell Idea Group, and more
✉️ Served as main point of contact and customer service to our clients and their decision making team members
- Led large amount of project, file, & client management, gathering regular feedback from clients & team to improve existing production process & product
- Regularly reviewed and improved team communication practices to maximize efficiency for clients and our team members while minimizing their workload
⚙️ Weekly assistance with designing, improving, and iterating on production processes/systems and workflow
- Developed custom automated new lead / employee intake systems
- Interacted daily with CEO to review and discuss pertinent high-level decisions, creative direction, and production process improvements
- Reviewed & organized large amounts of information into easy to understand action steps and usable data points
💾 Relevant technical / software experience:
- Adobe Creative Suite - (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects), Slack, Descript, Zapier, ProcessKit, Airtable, HelpScout, Riverside, WordPress, Trello, Dropbox, Google Docs/Sheets & more
Locations: Remote, Salem OR, & Pittsburgh PA
📢 Creative / Marketing Director @ Kroc Community Center (August 2019 - March 2021)
✏️ Led creative team for 8,000+ member community center with $6MM annual budget.
- Provided creative direction and oversight of center-wide rebrand and new website design / launch
- Led special projects assigned by Center Director & interacted regularly with territory and center leadership
- Collaborated with leadership team to envision, plan, design, & facilitate large center-wide changes in building layout, architecture, & appearance
- Strategized with center director on implementation of 4DX Leadership Principles program
💰 Advocated for expansion of department staffing, resources, equipment, and budget
- Worked with leadership team and territory leadership team to create new positions within marketing department
- Replaced equipment, computers, tablets, and cameras in order to dramatically improve quality of content production
- Worked with center leadership to advocate for higher wages for staff members through budget reconciliation / reevaluation and minimizing wasteful spending
🎬 Directed & produced promotional and fundraising videos, flyers, posters, mailers, graphics, social media campaigns, business cards, etc.
- Conducted complete overhaul of design and signage aesthetic throughout center (95,000 sq. ft) & feedback on all publications and marketing materials
- Scripted, filmed, produced and edited fundraising video for large community event to raise funding for local homeless and food shelter (see video here)
📈 Managed community center social media accounts, mailing list, content strategy, ad campaigns, and assisted with planning and execution of large events
- Collaborated with leadership team in planning, marketing, and execution of regional and statewide events, in real time and asynchronously / remotely
- Conducted large community fundraising events and marketing campaigns through paid and organic social media marketing
- Navigated member / customer challenges, assisted in resolving complex matters with staff members
⚠️ Coordinated & designed PR, marketing, and community responses throughout COVID-19 pandemic, Oregon wildfires & ice storms
- Utilized local media outlets, social media, etc. to inform public about available emergency resources and communicated safety measures through digital and print media
- Worked remotely through pandemic while keeping staff and customers aware of opportunities to support the community through the emergencies we collectively navigated
⚙️ Advocated for, developed, designed, and implemented new systems / processes to enhance productivity and simplify project management across departments
- Conducted thorough systems analysis of customer intake and departmental design request processes & improved / automated tasks where possible
- Implemented new center-wide digital marketing platform to inform center members about events and relevant, timely information
- Implemented new SMS text message communication system (Community.com) to improve real-time communication between the center and community members
💾 Relevant technical / software experience:
- Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects), Slack, Community.com Online Marketing Platform, Microsoft Office Suite, Google Docs/Sheets & more
Location: Salem OR
EDUCATION
SBDC Small Business Management I & II
Oregon SBDC, Chemeketa Center for Business & Industry October 2015 - June 2017 in Salem, OR
Completed initial & advanced level business management programs, learning the ropes of small business accounting, charging appropriately for your products and services, business building and infrastructure
BACHELOR OF ARTS
University of Pittsburgh - Aug. 2002 – Dec. 2006 in Pittsburgh, PA
Study focuses: English Writing, Psychology, Communication, Film, Psychology, Graphic Design, Computer Science
Founding member of Delta Chi Fraternity, Pittsburgh chapter: Served as recruitment chair, philanthropy & fundraising chair, executive board member, alumni chair and chapter secretary
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