Storytelling & Creative Strategy

Stories
with teeth.

I find the story you can't see. Then I make it impossible to look away. For organizations doing real work that matters.

Scroll

Who I Am

I've spent my career
making invisible
things visible.

I started as a photojournalist on the streets of New York — chasing the stories nobody else wanted to tell. The underdogs. The misfits. The ones the world walks past. I shot for the Daily News, the Times, Reuters. Then I took that eye to government, to movements, to campaigns that changed how millions of people connected to their own state.

Along the way I learned something: the organizations doing the most important work are almost always the worst at telling their own story.

Grit exists to fix that. I don't do polish. I don't do corporate. I find the raw, true thing at the center of what you do — and I make people feel it.

À la carte.

Take what you need.
Leave the rest.

01

Storytelling &
Narrative Production

The story is already there. You just can't see it yet. I find it, shape it, and produce it across every medium — documentary photography, film, immersive multimedia, campaigns that connect on a soul level.

Brand Narrative Documentary Video Production Photography Campaign Storytelling

02

Writing & Ideas

Words that do something. Not content — conviction. Essays, campaign messaging, thought leadership, and the kind of copy that makes people stop scrolling and actually think.

Essays Campaign Copy Thought Leadership Message Architecture

03

Strategy &
Creative Direction

You don't need another deck. You need someone who sees the whole picture — the strategy, the story, the execution — and makes sure every piece hits. I've done it for governors, movements, and impossible campaigns.

Campaign Strategy Creative Direction Brand Strategy Integrated Planning

04

Consulting &
Mentorship

Sometimes you don't need an agency. You need a person who's been in the room, knows what works, and will tell you the truth. Strategic advisory for organizations figuring out how to tell their story and actually be heard.

Strategic Advisory Communications Strategy Narrative Coaching Mentorship

The Receipts

I've told stories for newsrooms, governors, cities, and movements. Because I see what others miss.

Background

Photographer and video producer published in NYT, WSJ, Reuters, NBC. Staff photographer for the NY Daily News. Creative executive and brand strategist for diverse organizations across energy, labor, public health, government, and social impact. M.S. Columbia University. B.A. Hampshire College.

Government

Director of Video for the City of New York. Built and ran digital communications for the Governor of New Jersey. Changed how a city and a state talk to their people.

Recognition

Emmy Award winner. Fortune 40 Under 40. PRWeek 50 Most Influential in PR. Featured in the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, New York Times, Star Ledger, and more.

What I Care About

Public health. Education. Human rights. Animal welfare. Energy. Tech. Arts & entertainment. The organizations that make the world less broken.

Let's Work

You do the work.
I make people care.

If you're doing something that matters and nobody's hearing about it — that's what I fix.

pearl@gritmadeit.com