My showcase: a blend of leadership
and creative craft

The ask
Lessons from the Summit began as a loose collection of sales ideas and best practices gathered from high-achieving agents. I was asked to find a way to repurpose the material into something more useful, polished, and lasting — a takeaway that agents attending a Summit meeting could bring home and continue using as an ongoing reference.

The solution
I shaped the content into a cohesive booklet, wrote and organized the copy, developed the visual approach, designed the piece, and coordinated printing and distribution. The result was a practical, memorable guide that turned scattered insights into a clear, usable resource for the field.

The product
This visually compelling project involved collaborating with Hasbro to create a customized New York Life version of the iconic board game The Game of Life. As creative lead on a small internal team of three, I directed the visual approach, helped shape the branded experience, and coordinated closely with Hasbro designers and overseas production partners throughout development.

The idea
The concept was rooted in the cultural familiarity and emotional resonance of The Game of Life itself. While there is no official public count of how many copies of the game are currently in the United States, a reasonable estimate suggests that approximately 15–25 million physical copies may exist in the country today, with a midpoint estimate of around 20 million. For scale, that suggests the game may be present in roughly one out of every five to eight U.S. households.

The payoff
That ubiquity made the idea especially powerful. The Game of Life is not a disposable promotional item; it is a familiar household object associated with family, milestones, decision-making, and connection. My strategic insight was that a New York Life branded version could function as a subtle but lasting brand statement: once it found its way into a home, it had strong potential to stay there.

In that sense, the game became a kind of Trojan Horse for the brand—an engaging, family-centered experience that carried New York Life’s identity into living rooms, community events, field seminars, and client conversations. The result was both a memorable branded artifact and a practical engagement tool, designed to create meaningful interaction while reinforcing New York Life’s association with planning, protection, family, and the future.

The Challenge

In 2022, my team created the “Built for Times Like These” Challenge to honor Chairman Ted Mathas' legacy and retirement. When asked for award ideas, I presented a 3-inch round challenge coin presented in an elegant cherry box. Once given approval to proceed, I fully designed the coin, wrote the copy, sourced vendors, and handled all aspects of producing the item.

The Commemoration

In  commemoration of outstanding achievement in the
2022 Built for Times Like These challenge.

Honoring Chairman Ted Mathas as he retires after a long and distinguished tenure lead the New York Life Insurance Company.

Guiding the enterprise through The Great Recession
and the Covid-19 Pandemic, Mr. Mathas proved
New York Life is "Built for Times Like These."

This achievement is a testament to that truth.