Speaking & conversations

Ideas worth
bringing into a room.

I bring a working brand leader’s perspective to conversations about creativity, culture, and the experiences that connect people.

Watch a full session Discuss a speaking opportunity

Shawn addressing an audience from the stage in Chicago — On stage in Chicago

Shawn presenting at The Gathering Festival in Banff — The Gathering Festival · Banff, Canada

On stage / The Gathering 2026

Let’s Get the
Brand Back Together.

How do we give people better tools without losing the judgment that makes a brand distinctive? Maggie Schroeder and I explore what happens when humans direct the creative work and AI supports the process.

A 30-minute session on Acquia TV

Watch the session

Conversations I bring to the stage

Make the audience
part of the thinking.

Ideas your audience can apply to creative decisions, brand strategy, and the experiences they build.

Think first.
Prompt second.

How to use AI in creative work while protecting the judgment, originality, and standards that make a brand recognizable.

For brand and creative leaders asking how to use AI with intention.

Make the experience
mean something.

How to design participation, surprise, and contribution into an event, giving people a reason to care and something to carry beyond the room.

For marketers building experiences that deserve people’s time.

Build a brand people
want to belong to.

How to turn what a brand stands for into choices about its identity, behavior, and experiences—giving teams a clear direction and people a reason to belong.

For leaders connecting brand strategy to the way an organization shows up.

Watch & listen