Sassafras

Serving as both president and creative director of Sassafras Creative, Deborah offers clients three must-have intangibles for this business—passion, energy and integrity. As a problem solver and brand strategist, she works with clients to clarify and articulate their message and position, subsequently creating brand expressions that are breakthrough and compelling. Her talent, insight and vision have helped elevate brands, motivate behavior, and captivate prospects for brands such as ING and NBC Universal, as well as non-profits and industry organizations.

Deborah’s career has spanned a variety of industries including financial services, telecommunications, entertainment, hospitality, retail, and non-profits. Her broad creative experience crosses many types of media including print, web, TV, and radio, as well as event and cause marketing. Her work has earned her numerous industry awards including Webby, Gold Communicator, Telly, and Davey Awards.

With a keen ability to understand and assimilate business objectives and creative development, Deborah has been called upon to work on all phases of high-visibility projects from concept to final execution and has driven consensus on both content and design issues, delivering products that are both substantively sound and exceedingly attractive.

Motivated by a fierce devotion to excellence, Deborah founded Sassafras Creative and set about establishing a collaborative studio focused on providing expertise across three primary areas of creative development—sight, sound and space. Bringing together graphic design and branding, audio branding and music, and branded environments, Sassafras has become a premier creative partner for their clients, resulting in brands that are not only fully expressed, but also consistently and cohesively developed.

Prior to founded Sassafras, Deborah served as creative director for Pinnacle Advertising, working on national accounts including National Cable Telecommunications Association and Women in Cable Telecommunications. Prior to that, Deborah served as the lead creative for ING Advisors Network, where she led the re-branding of four national ING companies, and was appointed to serve on the national committee for brand integration. During her tenure, her team was recognized as an ING Center of Excellence and was awarded the ING Circle of Honor Award.

Deborah began her career with MCA Broadcasting in New York and went on to do work for Macy’s, LA Gear, and Disney films. She received her design training at Parsons School of Design and the Art Students League of New York, and is a graduate of Rutgers University.