I use positioning, storytelling, and creative processes and tools to solve real-world challenges.
WHERE IT COMES FROM
Architecture critic Mario Labó described what Italian designer-manufacturer Adriano Olivetti wanted to build: “[a] place of work ruled by progress, guided by justice, and fired by the light of beauty” (T Magazine, New York Times). For me, Labó’s line names what I do as a builder at the nexus of creative expression, technology, rights, economic mobility, and democracy strengthening: my work as a social entrepreneur.
Pre-pandemic, I put this to work as co-founder and Director of Creativity of the Mexican social impact venture Colectivo Cine Social, using cinema to strengthen civil society at film experiences garnering global media attention. I did it as founder of regular professional networking happenings called El Zorro Supper Club CDMX. Before this in Washington, DC, I used creativity as a tool for good when a start-up executive leveraging virtual reality for impact, when a lawyer volunteering to use tech and art to confront gentrification, or when an AmeriCorps VISTA using activist art to empower citizens and civil society to break the cycle of extreme poverty in Cleveland, Ohio.
I do this now as co-founder of a shared value ecosystem initiative for sustainably developing deindustrialized areas of the US. I use it as the lead executive producer of a 2027 feature documentary on identity, legacy, and sustainable impact. And I did so as Senior Advisor to the Mexican NGO PSYDEH from 2013 to 2025, helping our staff, local partners and global corporate allies to see creativity as a value proposition, core to a working environment, impact programming, and marketing.
STUDIO H
As an artist, my Studio H specializes in beautiful utility, whether it’s creative impact (attention activism and social impact), visual media, liquid art (spirits), or mixed-glass ceramics. My award-winning art is made in the USA and Mexico and showcased in film, exhibitions, and attention-building experiences.
CREATIVE IMPACT AS VALUE PROPOSITION
Creative impact is a core PSYDEH value proposition: we view creative processes and expressions as essential tools for building the relationships needed to make a sustainable impact. Every aspect of our work reflects this value proposition in action. For example, creativity embodies question-thinking and active listening (generative looping), essential to a learner’s mind that sees the other, embraces wonder, and recognizes possibility.
CREATIVE IMPACT IN PROGRAMMING
With 2021-2025 programming, PSYDEH uses technology to enhance creative endeavors to drive economic development, women empowerment and democracy strengthening. This includes organizing women producing handmade artisan goods to supply global demand for the authentic, as well as storytelling as a leadership development mechanism, a recognition and power winning tool, and a feedback giving and taking instrument. As I explain in my Feedback Labs article “To know is to be known…”:
“There is power in telling our stories: Who we are, what we think of ourselves and others, and what they think of us. All of these elements shape our world view. Learning to tell and share our stories helps us know better and communicate our [truth]. Sharing stories also informs how others view us and interpret what we share, i.e., marketing. They bind us to one another. And narrative training improves our ability to give actionable feedback. Yet, we often lack the skills, experience, and platform we need to own and tell our narratives.”
In 2019, our rural and Indigenous women partners shared how their stories and narrative traditions are crucial to their heritage and their daily lives, yet these are often exploited, misrepresented, and misunderstood by both Mexicans and foreigners. Our response was a 2020-2021 narratives e-book initiative in English and Spanish we call “Narrativas” (Stories). It has 68 “narrative-oriented” portraits and 31 stories of women leaders and their network of collectives, all told directly or arranged by the women themselves. This product attracted the digital experience company Adobe as a transformative partner.
CREATIVE IMPACT IN MARKETING
PSYDEH uses visual media to promote the stories behind our necessarily complicated work to the world. See for example the 2027 feature documentary, this 2023 video ad for new company partners, this six-part 2022 series explaining PSYDEH’s impact in women staff and partners’ own words, or this 2023 case study on our award-winning (2023 Anthem Award, Bronze) transformative partnership with the global tech company Viasat. Our capability in this area has been recognized by Fast Company and in articles by Diginomica and Adobe.
