About Me
I am a designer and marketer who is passionate about creating meaningful connections through strong visual storytelling and smart strategy. While my background spans luxury travel, healthcare and wellness, entertainment, municipalities, and B2B SaaS, I am most excited about work that drives social change and working with purpose-driven companies and organizations. I believe design can, and should, help solve real problems.
I work on creative solutions for B2C, B2B, and B2B2C audiences and understand and appreciate the unique challenges of each segment. I have experience in all aspects of marketing and creative from strategy and user experience to web pages, emails, digital and print advertising, video, a/b testing, partnership development, and have created branding, email marketing, and e-commerce systems from the ground up.
I value substance and consistency just as much as creativity. I approach design as a business tool—focused on outcomes, not just aesthetics—and I understand the importance of balancing visual appeal with messaging clarity and audience intent. I take pride in delivering thoughtful, effective work.
I thrive on teams that value collaboration, curiosity, and humor. I am known for my work ethic, flexibility, can-do attitude, and I show up prepared. I ask thoughtful questions and actively listen. I am passionate about following best practices, maintaining knowledge of emerging trends and technologies, and learning new skills—I also love a good pop-culture reference! I am a strong advocate for accessibility, design-thinking, and leading with empathy.
Kathi has an invaluable combination of skills—sophisticated design chops + technical acumen + incredibly fast production + the willingness and enthusiasm to jump in and learn something new—Cathy Swift
skills / software
“I’d rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not done” — Lucille Ball
I have used HubSpot, Marketing Cloud, and MailChimp for email building and deployment, along with creating workflows and segmentation. I have used Basecamp, Asana, and Monday for project management, along with Google docs. I use Teams, Slack, and Skype to communicate with colleagues and partners. I have managed websites and built landing pages in WordPress and Drupal.
I am excited about learning new skills and am constantly looking for ways to grow and improve professionally and personally. I am currently experimenting with and learning AI, After Effects, and Canva to expand the skills and services I can offer.
- DESIGN 100%
- ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE 90%
- EMAIL MARKETING 80%
- WORDPRESS/DRUPAL 80%
- VIDEO EDITING/PREMIERE 75%
- AFTER EFFECTS 30%
- HTML/CSS 80%
- OFFICE 90%
- FIGMA 70%
PEOPLE WILL FORGET WHAT YOU SAID AND WHAT YOU DID,
BUT PEOPLE WILL NEVER FORGET HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
Marketing without design is lifeless, and design without marketing is mute.
RESUME
Over 20 years of design and marketing experience across channels. I have 8 years of experience in healthcare, wellness, and finance (Aon Consulting); 13 years of experience in luxury travel and hospitality (TCS World Travel, HX Expeditions, Fathom Travel, Four Seasons, National Geographic); along with experience as a contractor in entertainment (Pantaya Spanish-language streaming service, Wizards of the Coast); beauty and aesthetics (RealSelf); and electronics (Nuheara). I also have experience contracting in the B2B Saas and a B2B marketing space (Updater, The Marketing Practice) and working with nonprofits and municipalities.
Professional Experience
HX Expeditions (Hurtigruten, Group)
Seattle, WA
June 2016–MARCH 2025
Design & Marketing Manager
Develop & implement results-driven campaigns across B2C, B2B, & B2B2C channels (33% growth YOY), collaborate cross-functionally to develop strategies, journey maps, & creative assets (display, video/CTV, email, web, sponsored content, direct mail) aligned to business goals. Analyze multi-channel performance data to optimize targeting, messaging, and creative for increased ROI.
Lead CRM/email marketing for the Americas (124% YOY growth, 27% OR)—design, build, test, & schedule campaigns; manage segmented lists, drip journeys, A/B testing; track results; build paid & partnership HTML emails; create content calendars; align with global teams on multi-market initiatives; QA global emails in Taxi.
Manage B2B & B2C websites—update content, build pages (landing, offer, blogs) optimize SEO; identify use cases & build journey maps; collaborate with Dev teams; track all Jira requests & input features, functions, & improvements into sprints; conduct A/B tests; find opportunities to increase traffic & page performance.
Drive $15M+ annually in partner revenue—develop marketing plans, campaign assets, and strategies; evaluate contracts and performance data to maximize growth opportunities.
Design & manage direct mail—lead visual direction, layout, production, brand compliance, and print execution. Manage vendor relationships.
Support sales/trade marketing—create toolkits, trade show displays & collateral, ads, & sponsored content; define strategies & assets for travel agents, affinity groups, & consortium for bespoke trade campaigns & initiatives.
Oversee project management—define goals, deliverables, manage timelines and final assets; track results; develop content calendars for social & email.
Collaborate on racial equity and social justice initiatives to ensure that messaging and creative is representative and inclusive, and supports and accurately represents diverse communities.
Research new technologies and design trends, advocate for user-centered design, more a/b testing of creative and strategies, and act as a resource for other regions.
Negotiate contracts for stock and contract photographers and videographers, create shot lists, manage images and all creative assets, prepare files for print and coordinate projects with printers. Manage and review contract projects.
TCS World Travel,
Seattle, WA
October 2012—June 2016
Web and Email Manager
Served as a key stakeholder in digital marketing transformation and brand modernization efforts, including the development of brand guidelines, full website redesign, DPS magazine and app design, Digital Concierge App, and the launch of a new email marketing program and social media presence.
Led user experience initiatives—conducted user testing, identified website pain points, researched customer personas, and created journey maps and use case scenarios to inform feature development and functionality for a new, customer-centric website experience.
Collaborated with developers and third-party vendors to manage feature requests, UI enhancements, and CMS customization—using JIRA to track and prioritize work within agile sprints.
Managed and maintained the Drupal website, designing templates, building landing pages, and testing across browsers and platforms to ensure quality and performance.
Oversaw high-volume email marketing operations, including segmentation, automation, and workflow design—partnered with data analysts and sales to refine strategy and improve engagement through targeted communications.
Self-Employed Contractor
Seattle, WA
October 2012—June 2016
Marketing and Design
Worked as a designer and marketing partner with a variety of established brands and startups, including Pantaya (part of Lionsgate Entertainment), RealSelf, Nuheara, The Marketing Practice, and Wizards of the Coast. Projects ranged from email marketing, banner ads, landing pages, and social assets; to packaging, reports and technical documents, in-store displays, posters, game cards, maps, and eBooks for Kindle.
Aon Consulting,
Seattle, WA
August 2003—February 2011
Senior Designer
Led the development of wellness branding and B2B communication strategies to drive employee engagement in health and benefits programs—balancing creative innovation with business goals to increase participation and promote long-term well-being.
Designed and maintained internal-facing websites and intranet portals that clearly communicated complex benefits offerings—applying UX best practices, visual hierarchy, and accessible design to enhance usability and increase user interaction.
Collaborated with global HR, marketing, and communication teams to craft high-impact engagement campaigns—leveraging social media, digital platforms, and internal communications to drive awareness and action across diverse audiences.
Created multi-channel collateral for internal and external stakeholders, including print and digital assets, sales proposals, presentations, and employee communications—ensuring brand consistency, visual clarity, and alignment with business objectives.
Contributed strategic and creative input across projects, working closely with cross-functional teams to translate objectives into visually compelling solutions, often under tight deadlines and with quick-turn production needs.
ADDITIONAL Experience
Volunteer Instructor
One NW Adobe University, Seattle, WA
Graphics Internship
KCPQ FOX 13, Seattle, WA
Video Editor
Prairie Public Television (PBS), Fargo, ND
Constituent Advocate
North Dakota Senator, Fargo, ND
Education and Training
AAAS Visual Communications
Shoreline Community College: Graphic Design and Marketing foundation with emphases in Web Design and Video Production
Bachelor of Arts, English/Communications
Minnesota State University: Emphasis in Technical Writing with a Minor in Women’s Studies
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like.