Leadership // Organization // Project Management // Brand Development // Creative Direction // Graphic Design // Point of Contact // Program Initiation // Partner Onboarding // Private Label // QA, Regulation & Compliance // Photoshoots // Budgets
Hello! I’m Les :)
Design is my training and passion, yet I’ve made a full, joyful career out of being high-functioning and versatile beyond creating graphics. Working for start-ups, building marketing assets and leading production, I manage multiple brands and projects with distinct identities and varied target audiences. Understanding broader goals and thinking across scope, I love organizing info, defining structure and making systems more efficient. I also demonstrate a strong proven track record of having an extraordinary capacity to lead with intention and empathy.
I Bring To The Table
+ 20+ years serving a wide industry range
+ A multi-faceted “department-of-one” skillset spanning several functional roles
+ Flexible and positive attitude within rapidly changing and ambiguous conditions
+ Diplomatic awareness, thoughtful approach and clear communication
Predictable consistency builds trust. Crafting clean visual communications makes it easy for a consumer to recognize a product, connect with its personality and feel like they’ll get what they expect. Developing confident brand culture goes further than the packaging, requiring high attention to detail for its content, materials and the entire production process—from being a napkin sketch to advertising online, becoming an item at the local grocery store and finally landing in your customer's home.
Current Work That Makes Me Proud
+ Two years on the CRCA Central Park racing board and mentoring the Women’s Beginners’ Race Clinic. Century Road Club Association is the oldest and largest road racing organization in the USA (since 1898). 12 volunteers organize and provide safe, fair and equitable bicycle racing for 400 athletes per season.
+ Founder, Captain and Creative Director of Angels NYC CC. Angels is a sponsored WTFNB bike team supporting the goals of several healthy athletes at a variety of levels. We ride, race and volunteer together. Featured in To Be Determine’s race teams journal The Definitive Guide to WTFNB Race Teams in NYC.
+ Co-founding and co-leading Dawn Patrol in Prospect Park. Dawn Patrol is a weekly women's ride which builds community and empowers athletes to join local teams or clubs, start racing competitively and dream bigger about their capabilities.
+ Coach/Youth Mentor at Star Track’s Girls’ program on Mondays. Star Track teaches kids and young adults how to safely build competitive skills, using fixed gear track racing as a vehicle for building confidence and discipline. Every week, 200 kids are welcomed to practice from Monday-Thursday and race on Saturday.
Past Work That Sounds Fake
In 2017, I worked with UnLAB (Kate McKinnon) at MIT on R&D for Lockheed Martin Skunkworks (Charles Chase). We conducted research on the intersection of PTSD affects on Vietnam war veterans, surfing and wave pool technology with industry experts and waterparks nationwide. I attended Kelly Slater's Future Classic wave pool debut at Surf Ranch in Lemoore, CA, meeting the top 20 surfers in the world. Our partners included: American Wave Machines, California Surf Museum, Kelly Slater Wave Co., Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation, LUNAR Design, McKinsey & Co., NLand Surf Park, Surf Ranch, US Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. All work is protected by NDA.
AI // Humanitarianism // Ocean Therapy // Tech
UnLAB at MIT for Lockheed Martin Skunk Works (American Wave Machines, California Surf Museum, Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation, Kelly Slater Wave Co. & Surf Ranch, LUNAR Design & McKinsey Design, NLand Surf, US Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton)
Agriculture // Regenerative Farming // Foodservice // B2B, B2C, D2C // Private Label
Cooks Venture (Chef Hak’s for Whole Foods, Force of Nature Meats, FreshDirect, Imperfect Foods, Kettle & Fire, Thrive Market, Trader Joe’s); Natural State Rabbit (Blue Ridge Rabbit Meat Co., Sweet Caroline’s)
Agriculture // Animal Welfare Compliance
ASPCA Shop With Your Heart, Arkansas Made, Certified Humane, FSIS (Food Safety & Inspection Service), FoodID, GAP (Global Animal Partnership), Non-GMO Project, USDA (United States Dept. of Agriculture)
Apparel // Wholesale // Blank Imprintable // B2B // Private Label
Gildan Brands (Alstyle, Anvil, New Balance); Anvil Private Label (Adidas, Billabong, Nike, Quicksilver)
Blockchain // Crypto // Tech
Pulse Lab (AirWire, CryptoCurve, The Internet Foundation, MetaMe)
Community // Animal Rescue
Greenpoint Cats
Community // Public Infrastructure
Transportation Alternatives
Community // Sports // Cycling // Surfing // Athletic Lifestyle
Angels NYC CC Race Team, Bicycle Film Festival, CRCA, Chris Padfield Photography, Continental/Ostroy Race Team, Dawn Patrol, Fiona Maria & Functional Sports Nutrition Lab, Hummingbird Fuels, Leg Day Substack, Les Make A Deal, NYC Ghost Bike Project, Rapha, Revolutions Per, Rewd Bags, Skratch Labs/Ostroy Race Team, Specialized/Hilltop Williamsburg, Specialized UWS, Star Track, Zwift
Interior Design // Architecture
G2 Design, RHD Projects
Music: Physical Format // Digital Format // Merch // Museum
The Eight Track Museum, Kraftjerkz Records, Sentimentalist Magazine, Tom Tom Club
NYC Women-Owned Business for All Industries // PR // Small & Local Business // Healthcare
Studio Kenney (Edelman PR, Myrtle Ave Bklyn, Risalto Health)
Restaurant Customer Service
Red Bamboo
Wellness // Meditation
Daily Pause
Featured By Art Director’s Club, Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas Museum of Art, Grand Central Station, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts BFA Graphic Design with Honors, GPA 3.9
+ Rhodes Family Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement
+ Portfolio Top 10% of graduating class
+ Silas H. Rhodes Merit scholarship
+ SVA Graphic Design Dept. scholarship
+ Type Director’s Club scholarship
+ Graphis Annual talent nomination
+ Print Magazine talent nomination
+ Dean’s List all years
Software Mac Proficient, Adobe Creative Suite (Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Acrobat), Asana / Monday, Microsoft Office Suite
Trusted & Supported By
AllMatters, Bicycle Film Festival, Continental Tires, Dank Brooklyn, Fiona Maria/Functional Sports Nutrition Lab, Hummingbird Fuels, Leg Day Substack, NeverSecond, Ostroy NYC, Rewd Bags, Revolutions Per Bikefit Studio, Ride Up Grades, Roberta's Pizza, Skratch Labs, Specialized/Hilltop Williamsburg