Brand Story Coaching

Let’s Tell Your Story

Are you a creative, entrepreneur, world builder, or change-maker struggling to tell your own story in order to connect with clients, customers, or a larger audience?

Do you have tons of seemingly random stops on your life path and are wondering — “What’s the through-line?”

Are you trying to “sell” yourself and feeling the ick of “How do I talk about myself?”

I can help, and I love this work. Together we’ll map your life and journey and craft a personal mission and vision statement. We’ll hone your key messages, audiences, and platforms. We’ll start with your ‘why’ and land your ‘what’ and ‘how,’ keeping your unique voice and purpose at the center.

“Joanna is the whole package: a fantastic writer, a terrific problem-solver, and someone you genuinely want to spend time around. I’d work with her again in a heartbeat.”
— Dana Staskerz, Communications Director, Nike

Who Am I?

THESE ARE FACTS:
 

  • Eight years as a journalist for The Seattle Times

  • Seven years as the Communications Manager for one of the largest regional theaters in the country

  • Five years as a communications consultant and visual designer for companies like Nike, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wells Fargo, City of Seattle, the Washington State Arts Alliance, The National New Play Network, Kleinfelder, and PeopleFirm

  • Winner of the Keene Prize for Literature

  • MFA from The University of Texas at Austin

  • Six years leading story development for Meow Wolf

  • Training in reiki, energy healing, and Tantra (Wait, what? How does this stuff relate?)

Facts are fine, but it's hard to feel emotionally connected to a fact.

STORIES MAKE US CARE.  
 

In 2013, I left my job as a communications consultant for Nike to move to Texas and get my masters degree in playwriting from The University of Texas at Austin. I imagined my colleagues in the corporate world would think I was crazy, but everyone cheered me on. Come back when you're done, they said. The business world needs better stories. 

I agree.

After finishing graduate school, I began to pair my love of storytelling with my passion for communications and branding. I spent 6 years leading story direction for Meow Wolf. I loved that work, but I realized something was missing for me: integration of personal growth and transformation in my day-to-day.

In 2021, a new path of personal and spiritual awakening opened. As I began to realize how disconnected I was from my own body and intuition and began to heal that disconnection, my understanding of my life’s work shifted. I am serving as a story consultant and coach again because I want to support projects, companies, and humans who are actively motivated to change and expand. We’re not just working together to craft your brand… we’re helping discover and articulate your life’s purpose and telling THAT story.

Let's get started. 

“Joanna was great to work with. She has great ideas and helped me to think about my business in ways that I thought were creative and fresh. Highly recommend her!”
— Jason Phelps, artist and teacher