Narrative Strategist · Creative Director · Movement Communicator

Stephanie
Keane

I build narratives that move people —
from beauty campaigns to climate justice.

Fifteen years across commercial creative, global brand campaigns, and mission-driven advocacy have taught me one thing: the most powerful stories emerge from the people most impacted — whether that's a consumer, a community, or a movement. I bring the full spectrum of creative and strategic craft to every room I'm in.

"The best narratives don't just reach audiences — they change what people believe is possible."

15+ Years in Narrative,
Creative & Strategy
8 Industries Across
Commercial & Nonprofit
20+ Global Markets
Reached
$9.7M Global ROI
Delivered
Hermosa Beach, CA · Available for Opportunities
Beauty Packaging Entertainment Pharmaceutical Gaming Music Videos Art Direction Nonprofit & Civic Narrative Strategy Campaign Execution Movement Building Climate Justice Creative Direction Brand Storytelling Beauty Packaging Entertainment Pharmaceutical Gaming Music Videos Art Direction Nonprofit & Civic Narrative Strategy Campaign Execution Movement Building Climate Justice Creative Direction Brand Storytelling

I make complex truths feel.

"Authoritative without being cold. Urgent without being alarmist. Joyful without being naive. Rooted in community without being insular."

My work begins with a simple premise: the best stories are already happening. Whether it's a beauty brand with a genuine mission, a community fighting for environmental justice, or a civic campaign trying to shift public understanding — the job of a narrative strategist is not to invent stories. It's to build the architecture that lets the right ones travel.

Over 15 years, I've built that architecture across commercial creative, global brand campaigns, and mission-driven advocacy. I've shaped visual culture for beauty, packaging, entertainment, gaming, music, and art. I've run nonprofit and civic campaigns for women's shelters, transit authorities, and community organizations. And I've led the teams and built the systems that make it all sustainable at scale.

The through line is simple: I understand how stories travel — through media ecosystems, cultural moments, and the quiet power of the right voice at the right moment. That's the craft. And it's the work I'm here to do.

01 · Grounded
Rooted in Real Stakes

From frontline communities to global consumers — the most durable narratives emerge from lived experience, not top-down messaging frameworks.

02 · Resonant
Emotionally Intelligent

Science, policy, data, and product value only travel when they feel. I translate complexity into humanity — without losing rigor or accountability.

03 · Bold
Confident Point of View

No hedging, no jargon. Clear ideas, sharp language, and the courage to say what the work is actually about — whether the audience is a consumer or a community.

04 · Full Spectrum
Commercial Craft + Mission Drive

Rare fluency across both worlds — from $8M beauty launches to women's shelter campaigns. The skills transfer. The values stay consistent.

What I Bring
to the Table

15+
01
Narrative Strategy & Framing

Designing multi-year narrative architectures that build influence beyond individual campaigns — for brands, organizations, and movements. I build frames that make complex ideas legible, urgent, and action-oriented.

02
Creative Direction & Visual Storytelling

A decade+ directing visual media, video campaigns, motion graphics, packaging, and AR activations across global platforms — giving me rare fluency in how images and stories work together to create meaning and drive behavior.

03
Campaign Design & Execution

End-to-end leadership from creative brief through distribution strategy, partner activation, and performance measurement. I design with a clear theory of how stories spread — across platforms, media ecosystems, and cultural moments.

04
Civic & Nonprofit Communications

Deep experience translating community-centered missions into public campaigns — from women's shelters and transit authorities to environmental justice foundations. Strategic, culturally accountable, and built to last beyond the campaign cycle.

05
Brand Voice & Organizational Identity

Clarifying and evolving messaging systems, brand voice, editorial standards, and public positioning — ensuring a mission or brand lands clearly and consistently across every touchpoint, from packaging to platform to press.

06
Partnerships & Cultural Influence

Building high-profile relationships across media, entertainment, brands, creators, and influencers — with a practitioner's understanding of how culture is made and how narratives cross sectors to reach new audiences.

07
Digital, Social & Emerging Platforms

Fluency across digital ecosystems, social platforms, and influencer landscapes — including TikTok, Instagram, and AR activations — with a clear-eyed view of how ideas actually travel in today's fragmented media environment.

08
Media & Public Relations

Earned media strategy, brand visibility, spokesperson development, and proactive relationship-building across commercial and mission-driven contexts. Led campaigns reaching 1.6M+ cross-platform views with sustained engagement.

09
Team & Vendor Leadership

Trust-based, hands-on management of global teams (50+ across 5 countries), agency relationships, and consultant networks — with clear expectations, accountability structures, and genuine care for the people doing the work.

Experience & Impact

2023 – Present
Ongoing · Nonprofit

Director of Marketing & Creative Strategy

Samuel Lawrence Foundation · San Diego, CA

Leading narrative strategy and communications for a philanthropy at the intersection of environmental justice, public health, and community advocacy. Turning science and policy into stories that emerge from — and return power to — the communities living the stakes.

  • Turned complex environmental and public health science into community-facing narratives and scalable campaign tools — social kits, newsletters, and multimedia storytelling.
  • Built digital content systems aligned with cultural trends and advocacy goals — fast ideation cycles with real community accountability baked in from the start.
  • Translated policy wins into design-forward campaigns that made measurable impact legible and shareable across platforms and communities.
  • Developed a frontline-first narrative framework now used across the Foundation's program communications and partner organizations.
Portfolio Categories
Nonprofit Climate Civic Campaigns Community Advocacy
Frontline Advocacy Narrative Climate
2024 – 2025
Civic & Nonprofit Creative

Creative Director

Lee Andrews Group · Los Angeles, CA

Recruited to lead creative strategy and brand storytelling for an agency serving civic, nonprofit, and social impact clients across Los Angeles. Brought commercial creative fluency to mission-driven briefs — running campaigns for organizations doing essential work in the community, from domestic violence shelters to public transit authorities to women's health networks.

  • Women's shelter campaigns — built narrative frameworks that centered survivor voices while driving donor engagement and public awareness without exploiting or oversimplifying complex stories.
  • Metro / transit authority campaigns — translated public infrastructure and mobility equity into accessible, culturally resonant community communications across multilingual Los Angeles audiences.
  • Women's health and community advocacy clients — developed visual and written brand identities that made mission legible and actionable for diverse, underserved audiences.
  • 22% increase in audience engagement through cultural insight integration — across digital, video, and experiential touchpoints for civic tech and SaaS clients.
  • Omnichannel campaign storytelling with global creative team localization — from strategic brief through final distribution and performance measurement.
Portfolio Categories
Nonprofit Civic Campaigns Women's Advocacy Transit / Metro Community Social Impact
Civic Nonprofit Community Campaigns
2023 – 2024
Global Production

Executive Post Producer, Creative Editorial

Omnicom / Designory · Los Angeles, CA

Led global narrative campaigns for Fortune 500 clients across pharmaceutical, automotive, and technology sectors. Managed a distributed creative team of 50+ across five countries — building the operational and creative infrastructure for campaigns at genuine global scale.

  • 18.29% ROI increase ($8.2M → $9.7M) through strategic global campaign implementation and narrative alignment across markets.
  • Teva Pharmaceuticals — global campaigns translating clinical complexity into human, patient-centered storytelling for international audiences across 15+ markets.
  • HP, Nissan, Honda global campaigns — aligning creative narrative with stakeholder strategy and cultural context across diverse markets simultaneously.
  • Developed and won pitch decks securing executive alignment and significant client investment for new global campaign mandates.
Portfolio Categories
Pharmaceutical Entertainment Global Campaigns Tech
Global Leadership Scale Pharma
2021 – 2023
Mission-Driven Beauty Brand

Associate Creative Director, Video

Beautycounter · Santa Monica, CA

Directed multimedia content and creative strategy for a mission-driven clean beauty brand — where product storytelling and values-based advocacy had to work together seamlessly. The rare commercial context where brand narrative and legislative advocacy were genuinely aligned, and where the creative had to do both at once.

  • CTR increased from 0.05% to 1.5% — 30x growth — through organic storytelling strategy on an $80K budget.
  • 78% YoY EMV increase ($1.8M → $3.2M) through influencer narrative strategy rooted in authentic brand voice and genuine community trust.
  • $8M+ beauty launches across Ulta retail and digital channels — from narrative brief through creative production and full-funnel distribution.
  • Led brand advocacy communications integrating legislative campaigns with product launches — turning policy wins into consumer brand moments.
Portfolio Categories
Beauty Packaging Brand Campaigns Influencer
Beauty Mission Influencer Brand
2018 – 2020
Global Beauty Media

Director, Global Media

Smashbox — Estée Lauder Companies · Santa Monica, CA

Directed global creative for a major Estée Lauder brand — overseeing packaging direction, campaign visuals, and social content across international markets. Led full-funnel campaigns with cross-platform reach and creative consistency across diverse global audiences and retail environments.

  • 1.6M+ cross-platform views for major product launches — driven by narrative-led influencer strategy with authentic brand alignment and cultural relevance.
  • Global packaging direction — maintaining brand consistency across international markets while building in cultural relevance for each regional context.
  • Rare full-funnel creative ownership at global scale — from retail packaging concept through digital campaign distribution and performance analysis.
Portfolio Categories
Beauty Packaging Global Media Campaigns
Global Beauty Packaging Media
2017 – 2018
Global Entertainment

Product Creative Specialist

Netflix · Hollywood, CA

Shaped narrative strategy for Netflix Originals across 20+ global markets — including Mindhunter and GLOW. Applied data insights and A/B testing to optimize creative performance across languages, platforms, and cultural contexts. This is what "how narratives travel" looks like at genuine scale.

  • Cultural framing for diverse global audiences — ensuring stories resonated across vastly different contexts without losing their distinctiveness or power.
  • Full-funnel activations integrating video, web, and influencer marketing for global narrative consistency across 20+ simultaneous markets.
  • Data-driven creative iteration — using A/B testing to refine narrative framing in real time across languages and cultural contexts at scale.
Portfolio Categories
Entertainment Global Media Cultural Narrative
Entertainment Culture Global Media
2006 – 2017
Foundational Creative Work

Senior Producer & Creative Leader

Yahoo! · Viacom · Whooden Studios

A decade+ building foundational fluency in how stories are made, distributed, and received across formats, audiences, and platforms — from motion graphics to branded entertainment to live AR activations. 500+ productions across entertainment, gaming, music video, and art. The craft beneath everything else.

  • Entertainment — on-air and digital promotions for Viacom and Comedy Central, building visual storytelling fluency across broadcast and entertainment media at scale.
  • Gaming — creative production and AR campaigns for Whooden Studios gaming talent including Kryoz, building deep literacy in gaming culture, audience, and platform language.
  • Music video production — directed and produced music video campaigns through Whooden Studios, developing a visual creative language across emerging and established artists.
  • Art direction — visual creative work across commercial, editorial, and fine art contexts, building a design sensibility that informs everything from packaging to campaign concepting.
  • Yahoo! NewFronts presenter — securing investor engagement through narrative-driven programming pitches at the industry's highest-profile digital content showcase.
  • $500K Essie (L'Oréal) live AR activation — blending design innovation with consumer engagement at the intersection of beauty, technology, and live storytelling.
  • 500+ on-air and digital promotions for Comedy Central, AXE, Nintendo, Mountain Dew — building commercial creative stamina and genuine industry breadth across formats.
Portfolio Categories
Entertainment Gaming Music Videos Art Direction Beauty AR / Tech
Entertainment Gaming Music Art Production
15+
Years in Narrative,
Creative & Campaign Work
20+
Global Markets
Reached
78%
YoY Growth Delivered
on Mission-Driven Brand
500+
Productions Across
8 Industries

Where I'm building next.

The thread through everything I've built — from beauty campaigns to gaming productions to civic nonprofit work — is a belief that stories are infrastructure. They determine what feels possible. Who gets to be the hero. What solutions look real. What communities are worth caring about.

The commercial work taught me craft: how to move fast, stay sharp, build for scale, and keep audiences genuinely engaged across every format and platform. The mission-driven work taught me stakes: how to center the people most impacted, build trust across communities, and create narratives that don't just perform — they shift culture.

I'm now focused on bringing both of those things fully together — commercial-grade creative in service of social change. Organizations building at the intersection of equity, community, and systems change are where my full range creates the most distinctive value. I'm drawn especially to climate, environmental justice, health equity, and civic power — the places where narrative and culture are genuinely on the line.

I'm ready to be the creative and strategic leader who builds a narrative engine that's both influential and iconic — while staying deeply accountable to the communities at the center.

🌱

Frontline-First Narrative

I don't amplify from above — I build narrative structures that emerge from and return power to frontline communities. Demonstrated at SLF, Lee Andrews Group, and across civic campaigns.

📡

I Understand How Stories Travel

Netflix (20+ markets), global Omnicom campaigns, TikTok-era advocacy — I've built distribution theory into every campaign I've led, at every scale.

🎬

Deep Creative Industry Networks

Existing relationships across beauty, entertainment, gaming, music, and brand sectors — ready to be leveraged for narrative reach, cultural partnerships, and authentic storytelling.

Strategic + Executional

I hold the vision and roll up my sleeves. I write, edit, brief, and build alongside my team. Every role I've led has needed both — and I bring both.

🤝

Trust-Based Leadership

I lead with accountability, care, and genuine joy in the work. The 50+ person global teams I've managed, and the communities I've served, have felt that difference.

Six Pillars of Narrative Power

01
Frontline Voices

Center the people most impacted. Their stories, their solutions, their leadership — not as subjects, but as the architects of the narrative itself.

Proven at: Samuel Lawrence Foundation · Lee Andrews Group
02
Narrative Strategy

How stories work. Framing, distribution, cultural resonance, and making ideas travel — from grassroots networks to mainstream media cycles to global platforms.

Proven at: Netflix · Omnicom · Beautycounter · SLF
03
Creative Production

Making the work beautiful, distinctive, and craft-driven — across beauty, packaging, entertainment, gaming, music video, art direction, and brand campaigns.

Proven at: Smashbox · Viacom · Whooden · Yahoo!
04
Movement Building

The connective tissue between campaigns, organizations, and sustained culture change — built on trust, community accountability, and genuine partnership.

Proven at: SLF · Lee Andrews Group · Beautycounter
05
Culture & Creative Networks

Deep fluency in arts, visual media, entertainment, and brand culture — with networks across industries that can activate for storytelling, partnerships, and reach.

Proven at: Netflix · Viacom · Whooden · Smashbox
06
Leadership & Learning

Reflecting on what we're building, what's working, and why it matters. Leading with maturity, humility, and the courage to course-correct publicly.

Proven at: Omnicom (50+ team) · All senior roles
Let's Build What's Next

Ready when
you are.

Whether you're building a mission-driven narrative program, need creative and strategic leadership, or want to explore what's possible together — I'd love to talk. Let's find the work worth doing.