Selected Case Studies
Architecting Systems. Producing Culture. Moving Cities.
Coming up with ideas is easy. Nurturing ideas from concept to a resourced project and, ultimately, a sustained movement people will believe in… well, that is hard. It takes skills, a craftsman’s work ethic, and practice. Lots of practice.
For nearly three decades, my work has lived at the intersection of executive leadership, operational excellence, public-private partnership governance, and narrative change.
Whether taking a grassroots political mandate into City Hall, modernizing non-profit enterprises, or using cinematic storytelling to shift a city’s national image, the objective remains the same: to design the tables, systems, and narratives that bring bold visions to life.
Below is a representative sample of that work—spanning civic innovation, public-private partnerships, audience communication strategy, and board and policy governance.
The Academy of Civic Engagement: Rebuilding Civic Infrastructure Through Civic Innovation
My Role: Founder & Strategist
Following a historic election, Birmingham faced a critical dilemma: how do you bring the raw, passionate energy of a grassroots movement inside City Hall without politicizing it? We conducted an audit of every civic on-ramp across the city and engineered the Academy of Civic Engagement (ACE)—a barrier-free, 7-week cohort that demystified municipal government and built lasting neural networks between 99 neighborhoods.
Key Outcome: 1,600+ resident-graduates across all 99 neighborhoods, producing a new pipeline of city councilors, school board members, and active community leaders.
As Goes The South: Expanding Narrative, Repositioning The Brand
My Role: Co-Founder, Southern Futures Project; Co-Executive Producer
For sixty years, Birmingham’s national narrative was trapped in a black-and-white loop of 1963 trauma-to-triumph. Believing that narrative is civic infrastructure, we produced As Goes The South—an experimental 4K "City Symphony" that pushed past historical themes in favor of modern Black collective power, urbanism and immigrant voices, and emerging young leaders.
Key Outcome: Premiered to 600+ hometown residents, 25-screen national tour, earned selection in 5 national film festivals, and established a new asset-based narrative model for regional workforce positioning.
Relax, It’s Handled: Entrepreneurship, Executive Operations & Governance
My Role: Founder & Principal
Across Alabama, high-profile associations and non-profit boards were stalling due to operational drift—wasting executive volunteer hours debating napkin colors instead of driving governance and fundraising. I co-founded Alabama’s first specialized association management firm, bringing corporate P&L discipline, scalable project management, and revenue diversification to mission-driven boards.
Key Outcome: Raised millions for client organizations over an 8-year span, earned the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Blue Ribbon Award, and culminated in a successful enterprise exit.
The Young Professionals Summit: Organizing a Generation
My Role: Founding Producer, Program Architect, Audience & Community Organizer
As legacy print subscriptions declined, Alabama Media Group needed to pivot toward an active monthly membership model. I designed the first-ever statewide Young Professionals Summit—deploying a 4-region event footprint, commissioning a landmark 3,500-respondent millennial market research survey, and providing direct career assets to emerging leaders statewide.
Key Outcome: Transformed a legacy media company into an active civic convener, generating critical consumer data for sales teams while organizing a cohort of young leaders who now run the state's civic institutions.
The Election of Randall Woodfin: Coalition Building and Campaign Leadership
My Role: Campaign Manager
Challenging a 40-year incumbent with virtually zero funding and minimal initial name recognition, conventional political wisdom said a Woodfin victory was impossible without legacy machine endorsements. We took a contrarian path: bypassing political gatekeepers to build a youth-driven ground game that knocked on over 50,000 doors and built authentic coalitions among small business owners, teachers, elders, among others.
Key Outcome: Won 57 of 69 precincts in a 17-point landslide—establishing a durable multi-generational governing coalition that expanded across three consecutive terms.