PROFESSIONAL CV
CORE SKILL SETS:
Developing Creative Brain Capital
Human Creative Potential for Artificial Intelligence
Creativity as Performance Driver in Corporate Innovation Teams
Creative Placehealing
Cross-Sector Collaboration Strategies
Arts in Corporate Innovation
Arts in Entrepreneurship
Strategic & Cultural Foresight
Multi-dimensional Trends & Pattern Recognition
Quantum Storytelling & WonderLabs
Keynotes & Workshop Facilitation
Human-Side R&D for Maximizing Investments in Technology & Future of Work
Culture Analytics for Innovation
Workplace Cultural Wellbeing
Creative Leadership Strategies for Systems Change
Cultural Communication
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Based in Denver, Colorado, I am a Culture Futurist, artist/poet, entrepreneur, researcher and analytics innovator, bridging the creative industries, brain science, and technology with the future of work. With over 30 years of experience in executive leadership, artistic innovation, and research across healthcare, social innovation, academia, and the creative economy, I have led high-impact projects for Fortune 100 companies, top-tier cardiovascular programs, city governments, rural communities, large philanthropy organizations, family offices, universities, and national arts organizations.
Recognized by Southern Living Magazine as one of the “50 People Changing the Face of the South” for co-founding IDEAS xLab, I use my neurodiversity as a strategic leadership advantage. As a pioneering researcher, I led a National Science Foundation-funded team that was awarded the Epic Trailblazer Award for advancing cultural analytics in workforce development.
In 2022, concerned that American innovation was losing its sense of wonder, I launched a two-year national journey. I traveled across dozens of states and met with hundreds of leaders from Appalachian school rooms to Capitol Hill power rooms, and from Silicon Valley C-suites to South Florida art studios, asking a single question: “What’s holding your organization’s creativity back?”
In 2024, I assembled a team of leaders across arts, science, and business to build Creativity America : a national partnership movement for the future of creative work. Working with partners in both private and public sectors, we are developing a new model for economic growth that integrates the foresight of artists with the strategic execution of business leaders in what we call the Wonder Economy.
A gay, neurodiverse, eighth-generation Appalachian from Breathitt County, Kentucky, I have learned to leverage, not hide, these parts of who I am to help organizations grow. My core skills and strengths lie in building and leading innovation teams of varying scales and complexities to unlock their human creative potential across three critical fronts:
Advancing enterprise innovation through applied scientific research and arts-led discovery.
Building cultural wellbeing in innovation teams.
Enhancing storytelling capabilities through the integration of technology with human flourishing in product development, marketing, and consumption.
A few key achievements demonstrating my unique leadership capabilities in cross-sector performance success:
3x Growth in Cardiovascular Systems Innovation: Directed digital and delivery transformation initiatives in a world-class healthcare system, coordinating networks of hundreds of interdisciplinary technical professionals and producing annual revenues exceeding $100 million.
Award-Winning Arts & Health Project Teams: Built and led teams that bridged government, Fortune 100 companies, and creatives across multiple states, earning international and national accolades.
Successful Non-Profit Leadership: Co-founded an artist-led non-profit startup, securing millions in grants and growing it into a nationally recognized organization.
NSF-Sponsored Research Excellence: Curated an interdisciplinary research team at R1 university, achieving recognition through trailblazer awards and technology transfer agreements for innovative intellectual property developed under my leadership.
National/International Leadership at Intersection of Arts, Science, and Business: Selected to serve on the National Board of Directors of Americans for the Arts, co-chair of its CEO Search Committee, and chosen to serve in executive strategy and coaching roles within various international brain sciences initiatives to advance next generation approaches for evolutionary performance and long-term sustainability.
RECENT ROLES
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Creative Executive in Residence (August 2025 – Present)
Founder, Creativity America, a national partnership movement for the future of creative work. Working across public and private sectors, its mission is to apply the science of team creativity to culture and commerce in the age of AI. Our vision: an America where creativity is the currency of progress and artists are core to every innovation team.
University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO
Research Associate Professor & Director, Imaginator Academy, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (August 2022-August 2025) / Associate Dean of Transdisciplinary Research & Innovation, College of Arts & Media (2021-2022)
Co-chairing Global Creativity Sciences Committee for the Brain Capital Alliance. Leading formation of an international network of entrepreneurs, companies, scientists, artists, creatives, and innovators to transform brain sciences research on creativity into cultural intelligence and strategic foresight for solving business innovation challenges.
Co-curated the Cross Atlantic Creativity Congress for scientists and experience makers. Congress was inspired by the artist Joseph Beuys' concept of social sculpture, which views society as a democratic work of art.
Led culture strategy for data collection instrument and analytics design of Colorado’s Small Business Resiliency Index. This index measures and predicts the resilience of small businesses across Colorado, providing valuable insights to enhance their sustainability and growth.
Developed creative industries innovation initiative to support the university's 2030 strategic plan. Aligned market innovation potential with research of professional creatives across visual arts, film, television, music, entertainment, and media forensics.
Culture Leads LLC, Denver, CO
Co-Founder (2020-Present)
Small LLC established to hold intellectual property of books, artworks and other creative works from my personal endeavors.
University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, Louisville, KY
Assistant Professor, Health Management & Systems Sciences (2018-2021)
Revised PhD Innovation Capstone for Health Management & Information Sciences.
Served as Principal Investigator for multiple projects within the National Science Foundation Sponsored Center for Health Organization Transformation.
Awarded the University of Louisville Trailblazer Award for Research & Innovation for leading the research team that invented the Cultural Wellbeing Index.
Voted “Faculty Favorite” Teaching Award by Students for Innovative Curriculum Design in Public Health Law & Ethics.
IDEAS xLab, Louisville, KY (Non-Profit)
Co-Founder + CEO (2013-2018) / Strategy Advisor (2018-Present)
Co-developed and launched multiple arts and culture innovation initiatives across several states and secured millions in funding. 2013-2018
Created a public health innovation model designated as a World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments’ International Best Practice for Creative Placemaking. 2018
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Prize. 2016
Pyramid Award of Excellence in the Art of Vision, Center for Nonprofit Excellence. 2014
EARLIER CAREER
Creative Development Director & Artist in Residence - Residency Unlimited, New York, NY. 2012-2013
Cultural Producer and Artist. 2007-2011
Founder & CEO – IDEArchitects, Arts & Healthcare Consulting. 2004-2007
Director of Queen's Heart & Vascular Center - Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu, HI. 2003-2004
Region Director for Cardiovascular Services - Tenet Healthcare, New Orleans, LA. 2001-2003
Administrator - Ochsner Heart & Vascular Center, New Orleans, LA. 1997-2001
Director of Network Development - Ochsner Health Plan, New Orleans, LA. 1996-1997
EDUCATION
MFA - Art Studio | Social Sculpture - University of Kentucky
MHA - Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
JD - Tulane University
BA - Theatrical Directing and Art Studio - Transylvania University
CERTIFICATIONS
Certified Strategist - Section 4
Improving Business Through a Culture of Health - HarvardX
Lean Startup for Social Impact - Acumen
Aspen Executive Seminar
SELECT APPOINTMENTS & HONORS
National Board of Directors, Americans for the Arts, 2023 - Present
Co-Chair, CEO Search Committee, 2024-Present
Executive Committee & Director at Large, 2024- Present
Visionary, Path to Public Innovation Initiative within the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities Program, 2024
National Advisory Board, Business Collaborative for Brain Health, 2024-Present
Lead Organizer, Work to Wonder Track (Plenary Session + Workshop) for the U.S. Department of State’s Cities Summit of the Americas. 2023
University of Colorado Denver Representative for Biennial of Americas, Mexico City Art Week (2023) and Concordia Americas Summit, Miami (2022)
Global Advisory Board, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association, 2022-Present
Lead Culture Strategist for Energize Colorado’s Small Business Resiliency Index, 2021-2023
Member, Brookings Working Group on America’s Crisis of Despair and Economic Recovery, 2021
Epic Trailblazer Award for Research & Innovation, University of Louisville, 2021
Top 10 Business-Arts Partnerships in the U.S., Americans for the Arts (Multiple Years)
Underestimated People of Purpose, 2021
Humana, Inc., 2017
General Electric, 2015
Bingham Fellow, Leadership Louisville, 2016
Southern Living Magazine, 50 People Changing the Face of the South, 2014
SELECT RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Lead Co-Author, Leadership Horizons in Culture Futurism & Creative Placehealing, Trauma Informed Placemaking Textbook, Routledge. 2024
Co-Author/Curator, Cross Atlantic Creativity Congress, Salzburg, Austria. 2023
Co-Author, 7 Steps for Igniting the Brain Capital Industrial Strategy, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. 2023
Co-Author, Brain Capital is Key to a Sustainable Future, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. 2024
Co-Author, Toward a Comprehensive Brain Deal to Harness the Potential of Artificial Intelligence, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, 2023
Co-Author, How Cities Can Boost Brain Capital, Psychiatric Times. 2023
Co-Chair, Roundtable Series on Creativity & Brain Capital, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association, Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sample report available here. 2022-2023
Co-Developer & Culture Lead, Colorado Small Business Resiliency Index Whitepaper. Energize Colorado. 2022.
Co-Author, I've Lost My Callouses: A Phenomenological Investigation of Music Therapists Who Left the Profession. Journal of Music Therapy. 2022
Lead Co-Author, A Framework for Integrating Arts, Science, and Social Justice into Culturally Responsive Public Health Communication and Innovation Designs, Health Promotion Practice Journal. 2021
Principal Investigator & Co-Author, Quantitative and Qualitative Measures to Assess Organizational Inclusion: A Systematic Review, Journal of Business Diversity. 2021
Principal Investigator & Co-Author, Cultural Wellbeing Index: A Dynamic Cultural Analytics Process for Measuring and Managing Organizational Inclusion as an Antecedent Condition of Employee Wellbeing and Innovation Capacity, Journal of Organizational Psychology. 2021
SELECT KEYNOTES & TALKS
Is Innovation Grief Healthcare’s Biggest Challenge?, Prime Health Innovation Summit, November 2024
Futurist Insights: Unlocking Human Creative Potential in Teams & Systems, International Leadership Association, Future Forward Leadership Summit. August 2024
Creativity America, Weave with MIT Media Lab. May 2024
The Future of Creativity in the American Enterprise, New York Public Radio Session for UN Brain Week, United Nations General Assembly. September 2023
Cultural Wellbeing and Creativity, The Wellbeing Project Summit with Omega Institute & Harlem Wellness Center. September 2023
Merging Arts with Creativity Sciences for Entrepreneurial Action, American Psychological Association’s Division 10 Working Session with Americans for the Arts. Washington, DC, August 2023
Creative Brain Capital, 3rd International Conference of Possibility Studies, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland. July 2023
Creative Brain Capital, Brain Capital Week Silicon Valley, Santa Clara University. June 2023
Wonder Out Loud is a Powerful Thing, Arts Midwest Leadership Retreat. May 2023
The Future of Creativity, CREACT4MED North African/Southern Europe Mediterranean Conference, Barcelona, Spain. November 2022
Reclaiming a Sense of Wonder in the American Enterprise, U.S. Department of State’s Cities Summit of the Americas, Denver, CO. April 2023
Social Prescribing with Arts, Colorado Business Committee for the Arts at the Denver Natural History & Science Museum, 2023
Courageous Imagination in Public Health (+ Workshop), Colorado Public Health Summit. 2022
Culture Futurism, Wellbeing and Economic Development, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association, CREACT4MED Annual Conference. 2021 (Virtual)
Emerging Role of the Arts in Innovation Across Industry Sectors, Yangtze River Art Week, Tsinghua University Cultural and Creative Development Research Institute, Chongqing, China. 2021 (Virtual)
Reimagining How We Gather to Learn, Work and Celebrate in a COVID-19 World, Aspen Institute, National Convening for Aspen Challenge w/ Bezos Family Foundation. 2020 (Virtual)
How Culture Shapes Population Health, High Tech-Human Health Summit, Aarhus, Denmark. 2018
PERSONAL PASSION PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT
Miss Myrtle & The Razzle Dazzle Belle Bang Bluegrass Band - Children’s book about systems change advocacy, creativity, culture, and health equity.
Innovation Grief: neuro kudzu mixtape - Book of poetry excavating earned wisdom from navigating personal and professional identities across fifty years as a GenX, neurodiverse, queer person from Appalachia working across the American enterprise. This hybrid business leadership book is an innovation on the traditional approach to such books, translating multidisciplinary research into poetry and prose to act as a compass for innovation in the Wonder Economy.