With 15+ years of experience in design, design direction, strategy and collaborations, I lead and inspire design teams to create innovative apparel, footwear, and accessories that people enjoy and connect with while exploring the outdoors and making a positive change. Key Achievements :- Partnered with athletes, brand ambassadors and lifestyle brands to create unique strategic product collaborations and capsule collections that translated their personalities into iconic product elements that resulted in elevated brand and product performance, awareness and culture.- Collaborations include globally recognized celebrity pro snowboarders, skateboarders, surfers, mountain bikers and BMX riders.- Designs include cross-over footwear, apparel and accessories that combined elements of specific activities into new hybrid multi-activity products winning industry awards.- Facilitated product design process improvement and strategies that championed consumer stories, brand culture and heritage, lifestyle trends and product innovation for outdoor and action sports brands. Improvements include :- Set up cross-functional project teams from design, marketing, sales, development and opinion leaders to partner in the creative process and ensure each product delivered a cohesive brand experience with a benefit to the consumer and a unique point of view.- Initiated a parallel advanced concepts path for each seasonal designer to foster creative problem solving, participate in product testing and incorporate innovative technologies and sustainable materials to boost product performance while reducing environmental impact. - Set up a holistic design direction guideline that incorporated the styling & visual DNA with product performance levels, positioning, materials & trim, technologies, branding and graphics into a multi-seasonal design strategy resulting in consistent brand message across product categories and improved product experience outdoor and at retail.- Cultivated long-term relationships with top design schools to provide mentorship and training to future generations of designers. Established partnerships with brand designers, merchandising and marketing executives to participate in reviews and increase student industry exposure and design community engagements.- Facilitated multiple corporate design workshops both in-house and as a consultant to boost team creativity and optimize the design process.- Helped launch several product startups by implementing creative design strategies to differentiate themselves in a changing competitive landscape.