Digital executive at the intersection of creative craft, platform strategy, and AI transformation. I lead teams, build tools, and deliver work that creates real impact for clients and organizations.
Proprietary 4-tool AI intelligence platform built solo. Covers competitive analysis, audience strategy, channel planning, and campaign execution — intelligence passes between tools via JSON session files.
Custom 12-level eLearning platform built to upskill an entire agency on AI. Full curriculum authoring, graded assessments, AI-powered quiz feedback via Claude API, and branded PDF certificates.
Co-founded DKY AI Council. Authored the AI and Data Privacy Policy, AI Mission, and Approved Tools registry. Publishes The Amplifier, a biweekly internal AI newsletter.
Client strategy work at most agencies runs on disconnected tools. Research happens in one place, audience thinking in another, channel planning in a spreadsheet, and campaign execution in a deck. Intelligence gets re-entered at every handoff and nothing carries forward. The result is strategy that restarts rather than compounds.
Conceived, architected, and built four integrated tools entirely solo using Claude Code, GitHub Codespaces, Vercel, Supabase, Next.js, TypeScript, and 17 external APIs. Each tool exports a JSON session file that carries all intelligence forward into the next tool. Nothing gets re-entered. The platform was built around DKY's own methodology and frameworks, not generic AI output.
Analyze -- competitive brand intelligence from up to 17 external data sources, scored across 9 strategic dimensions using the Harvard CI/PL/OX model. Produces executive briefs, competitive grids, and scoring narratives ready to present.
Audience -- persona development, customer journey mapping, funnel stage analysis, and messaging strategy. Replaces 4-8 hours of manual work with a structured 20-minute AI-powered flow.
Allocate -- PESO channel planning and budget allocation with a three-view campaign calendar. AI recommendations are grounded in the brand's actual Harvard scores, not industry averages.
Activate -- transforms upstream research into a full program pathway: creative direction, channel tactics, timelines, KPI frameworks, and a 12-slide client presentation deck that builds as the strategist works.
Used Analyze in a live new business RFP for RanchWorx -- competitive brand analysis against AerWay was run through the tool and included directly in the proposal appendix. Real tool, real client, real stakes. The Studio's estimated external build value is $80K-$100K. Built while operating under a reduced 32-hour work week.
Upskill an entire agency on AI — not with off-the-shelf training, but with a program built specifically for DKY's work, clients, and culture. Something staff could move through at their own pace with real accountability built in.
Full 12-level eLearning platform built with Next.js, Supabase, TypeScript, and Vercel. Features: full curriculum authoring, audio overviews, embedded video, graded quizzes (80% pass threshold), optional hands-on assignments, AI-powered quiz feedback via the Anthropic Claude API, branded PDF certificate generation, and a full admin panel. Donnie personally completed all 12 levels.
Co-founded the DKY AI Council with agency leadership. Authored the AI and Data Privacy Policy for both staff and contractor use, the AI Mission and Perspective document, and the Approved AI Tools governance registry -- a living list of every tool personally audited and cleared for agency use. No tool gets agency-wide adoption without Donnie's review against DKY's compliance criteria.
Publishes The Amplifier, a biweekly internal AI newsletter covering tool updates, prompting guidance, practical adoption examples, and industry news. Personally trained staff on responsible and effective AI use. Coined and operationalized "Human-Led, AI-Enhanced Creative" as DKY's operating philosophy -- applied across client communications, new business positioning, and every level of the certification program.
Initiated and architected DKY's broader AI transformation strategy under Project Apollo and the DKY Intelligence framework. Defined the human-led, AI-enhanced service model. Designed five targeted AI agent environments aligned to future service tiers (Sprint, Flywheel, Navigate). This work repositions DKY from a traditional hours-based agency to a value-based, AI-enhanced strategic partner.
Digital strategy and UX leadership across four PWA platforms serving Honda's dealer network in PowerSports, Power Equipment, and Marine divisions.
Digital strategy lead across 15+ national building materials brand sites. Enterprise AEM replatforming strategy, HubSpot CRM adoption, Arriscraft Binder, and integrated campaign leadership.
Full-cycle platform strategy, UX/UI, and management for ADMadvantage.com and the SHIFT LMS. Directed the re:generations campaign destination pages that drove 119K sessions and 9,550 conversions.
Digital strategy and UX/UI leadership across four interconnected PWA platforms built on .NET for Honda's dealer network in PowerSports, Power Equipment, and Marine divisions: the Demo App, Eval Tool, AIM (Auction Intelligence Module), and the Auction Platform. The Demo App was the trust-builder that led to all subsequent Honda work.
An emergency situation in production: 24 or more dealer evaluations were missing from a live tool being used in the field. Personally diagnosed the issue, restored all missing evaluations, cut load time approximately 75%, and added cloud backup to prevent recurrence. Introduced the tool to Honda's DSM team at launch in Alabama.
Full UX strategy, wireframing, SOW authorship, and vendor management via Emergent Software. Each platform serves a distinct workflow need across Honda's dealer divisions. Strategy, approach, and full-scope SOWs built for AIM and Auction platforms, with ongoing contribution to the AIR platform strategy and roadmap.
Authored a $112K+ Discovery SOW for an enterprise Adobe Experience Manager replatforming initiative covering 22 brand URLs currently managed by Emergent Software. Vetted Umbraco and Sitecore before recommending AEM. Vendor comparison: Dotsquares/AEM $564K-$649K, Monkeyjump Labs $425K-$475K. Roadmap: PIMcore/SAP integration in 2027, full AEM migration in 2028.
Made the original recommendation to General Shale on adopting HubSpot as their CRM -- performed competitive analysis against Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and Constant Contact. DKY became a HubSpot Agency Partner as a result. Led UX/UI designs and development oversight across all multisite environments, campaign landing pages, and web enhancements. Primary client lead on all digital projects.
Integrated campaign leadership across paid search, Meta, Pinterest, and CTV. Google Ads: $0.99 CPC vs $7.85 industry average, 125 downloads, 14 leads per month. Meta: 1.8% CTR, $0.29 CPC. Pinterest: 107% of impression goal. CTV: 98% VCR. Brand lift: 15% recall. Organic social: 12.5% engagement rate vs 1.3% benchmark. Lookbook pages: 93% engagement rate.
10 or more years of full-cycle platform strategy, UX/UI design, and management for ADMadvantage.com. The 1.5 rebuild was a war-room project with Tim Karlberg and Holly Donato that redesigned navigation entirely around farmer actions: Sell, Buy, Sustain, Learn, Locations. Integrated Salesforce API. Led ADM In the Driver's Seat podcast: audio sessions via SimpleCast, WordPress companion articles, and companion email per episode.
Led platform strategy for ADM's SHIFT learning management system. February 2025 results vs prior year: registrations +170%, log-ins +180%, lessons worked +836%, lessons completed +991%. Fertilizer Calculator and other interactive tools also in scope. Email benchmarks held strong: 37-38% open rate, 2-8% click rate per send.
Directed campaign destination pages for ADM's re:generations integrated campaign. Results: 119K sessions and 9,550 conversions on a $481K media investment. ADMadvantage.com February 2025: 27,100 sessions, 68.2% engagement rate with a 5% month-over-month increase.
Annual integrated campaign program culminating in the award-winning ProPricing iPad App. New brand theme and full print, digital, and identity execution each year.
Led creative, digital, and UX direction across the Winnebago corporate site, the WinnebaGoLife lifestyle blog, and the Project Tahoe board-level prototype.
Transitioned the agency away from outsourced lead generation. Built the landing page, integrated HubSpot and GA4, and managed paid search campaigns generating 21 MQLs in Q1 2026.
Led the annual integrated campaign for Cargill's grain marketing program across multiple years. Each cycle: new brand theme, complete print and digital execution including brochures, websites, direct mail, and digital ads. Art directed photo and video shoots in the field with growers and dealers.
Took a complex grain contract data system used by Cargill's field sales team and translated it into a simple, intuitive iPad experience. Led the project from concept through final design, including UX wireframes, iOS technical specifications, and development coordination with Object Partners. The app contributed to a 40x increase in grain contract program enrollees. It earned NAMA Best of Show in Advertising (2014) and Best of NAMA in Multimedia (2013-14).
10 or more years managing and evolving the Winnebago corporate website. Designed and produced all print brochures, product detail pages, and digital assets. Art directed model-year product photography for 22 or more motorhome models annually. Platform grew to 290K monthly visitors with 35% year-over-year growth.
Conceived and led UX/UI design and development of the Winnebago lifestyle blog celebrating RV living culture. Grew to 70K monthly sessions. Email: 38% open rate, 12% click rate across 95K monthly sends. Managed developer Nik Rowell throughout the build and ongoing operation.
Directed a board-level interactive Adobe XD prototype for Winnebago's Advanced Technology Group showcasing their all-electric RV initiative. Covered market opportunity analysis, consumer research, technology architecture, interior design direction, and a phased roadmap for bringing the vehicle to market. Presented directly to executive leadership.
DKY had relied on a third-party lead generation vendor (RSW/US). Proposed and executed the transition in-house: competitive analysis of five to seven agency competitors, new UX/UI wireframes, WordPress landing page with HubSpot CRM integration and GA4 tracking. MQL pipeline growth exceeded the prior vendor's volume by 15% within the first quarter.
Three simultaneous campaigns: B2B (5.08% CTR vs 2.41% industry average, 10 MQLs), Faith-Based (12.13% CTR, 10 MQLs), and Outdoor (22.93% CTR, $2.25 CPC vs $3.33 industry average). Total Q1 results: 2,862 clicks, 79 conversions, $2.34 average CPC on $7K spend. 21 MQLs total.
Proposed and led a complete overhaul of DKY's operating model — hardware, server, and project management simultaneously — two months before COVID forced remote work industry-wide.
Bell Lumber (One Bell consolidation strategy), Hands to the Plow (multilingual ministry platform, 9 languages), Standard Iron (enterprise redesign), Bethany Global University, Lazy Bear Lodge.
In late 2019, wrote and presented a proposal to replace three core operational systems simultaneously: iMac desktops with MacBook Pros (Apple Business lease), physical job jackets with Workamajig (PM, resource management, financials), and a legacy Mac Pro server with a Synology RackStation with redundant offsite backup at DataBank via 1GB Lumen fiber. Led all research, pricing, vendor negotiation, and onboarding. Brought in Tracy McCrory as PM consultant. She was hired full-time and became VP of Project Management.
Transformation was complete by February 2020. Two months later, COVID-19 hit. DKY transitioned from fully in-person to 100% remote in a matter of days without disruption. As clients came to DKY for guidance on remote work and digital pivots, the agency was already operating that way. The agency grew from roughly 18 to 34 employees in the year that followed.
Owns DKY's full software ecosystem of 90 or more platforms, security posture, and managed IT vendor relationship with TBD (Technology by Design). Independently evaluated 12 or more PM platforms in 2024 to replace Workamajig gaps, authored the recommendation, negotiated the contract, and led the agency-wide implementation of Wrike. Built Workato integrations to connect Wrike and Workamajig throughout the 2024-2025 migration.
Full website consolidation audit and digital strategy for the One Bell initiative. Assessed three legacy sites and delivered two future-state sitemap architectures and page-level UX wireframe outlines. Core strategic repositioning: from product-category supplier to end-to-end infrastructure partner. Defined SME roles and secured client approval. Now in execution.
Global Christian ministry platform in 9 languages with 30 or more resources and thousands of downloads. All UX/UI by Donnie, development by Bjorn Hagstrom. Four initiatives: GearTalk Bible Reading Plan (custom web app with user auth, 4 Scripture streams per day, audio, and progress tracking), 9-language flag selector with cookie memory, donations platform overhaul (GiveWP, Stripe, ACH, cause-specific giving cards), and TranslatePress multilingual CPT architecture.
Phase 2 enterprise website redesign: 15-template modular design system, WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, HubSpot and JazzHR integrations, post-acquisition brand consolidation. Personally pitched the Phase 2 vision and execution plan. Assembled and led UX/UI and development partners through delivery.
Full website redesign: UX strategy and wireframing, developer RFP and selection, Agent Zero UI design management, 19-plugin audit, and mandatory code freeze and UAT enforcement -- held firm against client pressure to launch early. Prioritized a clean, stable launch over an expedient one.
My career has been defined by one instinct: making the complex feel simple, intuitive, and engaging. I have spent 26 years at the intersection of art, technology, and strategy, growing from web designer and art director into VP of Digital and an Executive Leadership Team member at DKY.
I love to build, love to learn, love to teach, and love a challenge. Those instincts show up in every project, every client engagement, and every team I have had the privilege of leading.