Portfolio

KatherineMcMillan
Creative Strategist & Writer

Brand strategist. Culture analyst. Creative catalyst. I work at the intersection of brand, insight, and creative content. Writing is central to how I think and how strategy takes shape. The brief, the framework, the narrative arc of a brand, none of it exists until it's written. Language is where vague intuition becomes actionable direction, and where a brand finds the clarity to grow without losing itself. Fourteen years across independent brand-building, retail, higher education, and digital media. Not marketing. Strategy that grows outward from a clear center.

I founded Northern Grade and helped build Pierrepont Hicks. I've led strategy for Bard College, Madison Marquette, eBay, and the Asbury Park Boardwalk. Organizations that needed more than positioning, but actual creative shifts. They needed a place where everything works within itself systemically, a coherent internal operating logic that holds as the brand scales and culture shifts around it.  


Founder & Creative Director
Northern Grade
A platform celebrating American-made artisan goods, built from nothing into a national event series across Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, and beyond. Brand voice, identity, editorial strategy, and cultural curation — all from the ground up.
northerngrade.com
Brand Strategy & Editorial
Pierrepont Hicks
Long-running creative partnership with one of America's finest menswear makers — including a collaboration with Red Wing Shoe Company. Developed brand voice, editorial content, and written strategy for a brand at the intersection of craft, heritage, and contemporary taste.
pierreponthicks.com
Brand Strategy & Copywriting
Asbury Park Boardwalk
Led brand strategy and integrated copywriting for the revitalization of a legendary Jersey Shore destination via Madison Marquette. Developed brand voice and wrote across web, email, social, broadcast, and investor communications — unifying a complex stakeholder map.

Fundraising Campaign
Annual Fund — Bard College

Leads messaging for the Bard College Fund across email, direct mail, digital, and social. Contributed to the campaign team for Bard's $500M endowment match initiative, which helped the college reach its first $1B endowment.
Brand Voice & Copy
Asbury Park Boardwalk

From positioning strategy to final headlines— developed complete brand voice for a major mixed-use revitalization, then wrote launch copy across all channels, aligning municipal partners, developers, retailers, and consumers.

Content Strategy
eBay Partner Communications
Recruited to build eBay's content brand strategy team from the ground up. Wrote campaign concepts and partner communications at Fortune 500 scale, driving a 25% improvement in partner retention.

Brand & Editorial
Pierrepont Hicks Journal

Ongoing editorial voice for a heritage concept brand. Essays, product stories, and cultural commentary written for an audience that values craft and the made-in-America story. All brand copy, event curation and marketing, and editorial content for a national artisan goods platform — from event posters to brand narrative, press outreach to social voice, across 13 years and dozens of cities.

Experience
2025 – Present
Bard College
Asst. Director, Bard College Fund
Leads integrated fundraising strategy — developing campaign messaging, creative briefs, and content frameworks across email, direct mail, digital, and social. Contributed to the team for Bard's first $1B endowment campaign. Built cross-campus partnerships connecting student organizations, faculty, and external creative partners.
Campaign StrategyBrief WritingDonor Communications
2010 – 2023
Northern Grade
Founder & Creative Director
Founded and built a brand platform celebrating American-made artisan goods — developing brand voice, positioning, visual identity, and editorial strategy from scratch. Produced national event series in Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, and beyond. Created content and partnerships for artisan brands across editorial, e-commerce, and experiential.
Brand IdentityPositioningEditorialEvents
2015 – 2018
Madison Marquette
Director, Brand Strategy & Content
Led brand strategy and copywriting for major real estate and retail development projects, including the Asbury Park boardwalk revitalization. Developed brand voice, positioning, and integrated content across web, email, social, broadcast, and investor communications.
Brand StrategyIntegrated CopyDestination Branding
2012 – 2015
eBay
Senior Manager, Partnerships & Marketing
Recruited to build eBay's content brand strategy team from the ground up — one of the first roles of its kind at the company. Developed campaign concepts and partner communications at Fortune 500 scale, driving a 25% improvement in partner retention.
Brand StrategyPartner MarketingCampaign Concepting
B.A., English
Franklin & Marshall
IRB Certified, 2023
English major. IRB Certification in Human Subjects Research, CITI Program, 2023.