John Black Email & Phone Number

Palo Alto, Ca, Us

• Founding principal of custom residential landscape design studio (www.verdancedesign.com) renowned for thoughtful creativity, precise communication, and meticulous standards.• Oversees projects of $200K – $1MM+ from predesign and site analysis through concept development, construction documentation and installation support. • Provides landscape design consulting services for smaller projects. • Manages finances, marketing, and administration. Manages staff and sub­­contractors for design, production, and project management. • Writes blog and social media content.

Los Altos Hills, Ca, Us

Instructor in Environmental Horticulture & Design. Courses led include:• Landscape Design: Graphic Communication (HORT 40)• Vectorworks for Landscape Designers (HORT 45)• Landscape Design Forum (HORT 90G)

• Founder and Alpha Dog of innovative agency empowering personal creativity and free expression in a safe, playful environment.• Managed staff and volunteers. Developed program curricula and defined success metrics. • Cultivated inter-agency and vendor relationships that increased service opportunities and enhanced agency image.• Identified funding opportunities and wrote grant proposals. • Produced agency website. Publicized programs; wrote print and online communications for directors, volunteers, funders, partner agencies and media.

• Created unique brand positioning strategies for startups, pre-IPO and Fortune 500 firms. Wrote highly effective corporate communications, Web sites, advertising, editorial, speeches, presentations and public relations. • Copy and concepts helped build personable brands for C|NET; Kimberly-Clark; Levi Strauss & Co.; Softbank Interactive Marketing; Silicon Graphics, Inc.; National Semiconductor; Wink Communications; Sunset Publishing• Managed projects from concept through production.• Coordinated workflow among staff, subcontractors and vendors.• Led presentations to clientele and managed all client relations.

• Key liaison in team responsible for strategic direction guiding the award-winning Saturn Corporation national magazine campaign.• Researched market opportunities and consumer interests; supervised campaign execution against budget; coordinated production and media planning.• Guided creative development and production of regional television, radio, newspaper and direct-mail campaigns to drive showroom traffic for 20 Saturn retailers in eight markets including San Francisco, Los Angeles and national sales leader Las Vegas.• Previously coordinated extensive print, outdoor, radio and television production for consumer and trade advertising for Mirage Resorts, Inc.; KRON-TV; See's Candies; Stroh Brewery; Aspen Skiing Co.; and others.

M.A., Sociology

Certificate, Landscape Architecture

Environmental Horticulture & Design

B.A., Communication