Project Management
Every creative project is really a logistics project.
For the last 13+ years, I’ve managed projects where we were always up against deadlines, where the budget required as much creativity as the work itself, and something always broke down right before the shoot.
I’ve managed projects where we were delivering a television episode to a network.
I’ve managed projects where we launched an email campaign for an eCommerce brand.
Today, I’m coordinating global thought leadership content for one of the world’s largest actuarial and consulting firms.
Totally different industries. Same job.
This kid’s got range.
TELEVISION TAUGHT ME PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
Reality television is controlled chaos.
Every episode has its own schedule, budget, stakeholders, vendors, approvals, creative reviews, and delivery deadline. You’re balancing executives, editors, field producers, legal, graphics, color, audio, network notes, and occasionally a cast member who suddenly decides they don’t want to film.
On renovation shows, that also meant coordinating construction schedules, vendors, and crews working in different cities—sometimes while post-production was already underway.
I learned quickly that great production isn’t just creativity — it’s organization and communication.
Over the years, I’ve managed productions from concept through network delivery, coordinating cross-functional teams while keeping projects on schedule despite changing priorities and very little room for error.
TODAY: MARKETING OPERATIONS AT MILLIMAN
Currently, I’m a Marketing Project Manager supporting thought leadership production across four global business practices at Milliman.
I coordinate subject-matter experts, writers, editors, designers, and marketing stakeholders from project intake through publication. My role is to keep content moving through every stage of production while balancing timelines, approvals, editorial standards, and competing priorities.
Using Wrike, I track project status, monitor deliverables, coordinate reviews, and help ensure content is published accurately and on schedule.
The projects are very different from television. The fundamentals aren’t: communication, planning, prioritization, and execution.
BUILDING SOMETHING FROM SCRATCH
Outside of my day job, I co-founded American Pulps, an independent publishing company my writing partner and I built from nothing.
Running an independent publishing brand means wearing every hat. There isn’t another department to hand things off to, so every project is yours from start to finish.
It’s been one of the best project management educations I’ve ever had.
TOOLS I USE
Project Management
- Wrike
- Jira
- Asana
- Trello
- Airtable
Collaboration
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- Google Workspace
- SharePoint
Creative Production
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Premiere Pro
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- InDesign
- After Effects
MY APPROACH
People sometimes think project managers are there to enforce deadlines. I don’t see it that way.
My job is to make it easier for creative people to do great work. That means asking good questions before production starts. Making sure expectations are clear. Keeping stakeholders informed. Finding and then solving problems early. Protecting the team’s time. And staying calm when everything catches fire.
Because sooner or later…
Something always catches fire. The goal isn’t preventing every problem. It’s making sure the project succeeds anyway.