Start with an aspirational goal

Tera brings a unique blend of creative thinking, shrewd business acumen, collaborative and organized leadership style, and a certain je ne sais quoi that elevates her ability to translate what a company needs into the real experiences that fulfill it.

“Help us alleviate burn-out and re-energize our employees."

-CEO, AssuranceIQ

Coming out of the pandemic, our workforce was tired, uninspired, and lacked engagement. Our CEO asked us to help and so we forged a special corporate tradition about which employees excitedly await each year: a 3-day long conference designed to inspire, align, and energize.

We call it “Corporate Training Week” but the content is far from a typical corporate production. We blend an agenda that comprises thoughtful discussion, amplification of company goals, and tongue-in-cheek shenanigans. Each year is intentionally different— the only constants are the wildly creative themes and the fun we share. The proof is in the evaluation— employee engagement scores increased and survey feedback on CTW averaged a 4.8/5.

Tera oversaw creative direction of 3 annual events, including build up, week, and wind down. Tera led the team that developed each year's theme, content, and look & feel.
Each year's theme represents a play on what employees needed/wanted. We use engagement surveys to quietly inform our choices.
The 2024 theme centered on a 90s look and feel re-orienting our employees as we scaled and matured as an organization.
Tera developed a detailed run of show that purposefully sequenced content for engagement and experiences for each day & annual iteration.
To memorialize the event, we hired Seattle based muralist, Molly Keen, to translate her artistic interpretation of employee discussions onto a massive wall inside our Seattle HQ office.
Landed strategic speakers that connected with each year's theme. Speakers included Dr Susan David, author of "Emotional Agility", Dan Coyle , author of "The Cultue Code" and activist DeRay McKesson.
Ask me about the time I hired Rob Van Winkle to host our [Vanilla] Ice Breaker to open up the annual conference.
The 2024 CTW theme was "Re-Orientation" (but in the 1990s). Re-orienting our teams to our new brand, refreshed strategy, and shared goals. The growth and maturation our organization experienced called for a reset for all of us. Never ones to shy away from fun, we used AI to give each leader an updated headshot. Here's mine, as the one and only Cher Horowitz.

“Help us make a difference in the lives of pediatric cancer patients”

In 2022, we formed a 501c3 Foundation in memory of a little boy named Nicholas Collins. He battled a rare form of AML leukemia for 10 months. He passed away just before his 3rd birthday— and in his memory, we host an annual golf tournament and give 100% of our proceeds to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

In two years, we have raised and donated $250K, earmarked to support the care for patients like Nicholas and the grief and bereavement programs that support families with surviving siblings when the unimaginable happens.

We build a schedule and run-of-show that accounts for every minute of the tournament. The planning team works to meticulously organize vendors, sponsor partners, golf operations, volunteers, and food & beverage contracts. We stage our buildout and rehearse the roles/responsibilities for a perfectly executed day.
Our goal is to deliver a 5-star experience-- and get 10% better each year. Thoughtfully sourced gift bags, anticipating the needs and wants of our golfers
New List Item
Nicholas's family sharing his memory with guests before sending the starting bell.
Our donation for 2024 was a 10% increase YoY. In total, we have raised and donated $250K in two years.
Developed a tournament brand identity & logo utilizing project based creative professional support.
We plan a day that anticipates everything a golfer could want or need out on the course -- including creative contests that result in moments like this one. This is the kind of fun experience these guys are still talking about and excited to return and participate each year.
Ask me about this picture and our foundation throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park on Pediatric Cancer Awareness Day.

“We want to improve our conversion of top talent from 'intern' to 'fte'“

-Microsoft

A company’s internship program is a time constrained opportunity to curate a specific brand experience. Showcasing the best of what a company (and a geography!) has to offer through a programmatic approach to building community, nurturing connections, and building experiences. Flawless execution enables the conversion that increases the ROI for recruiting the best and brightest.

Former-interns outperform non-former interns on quality-of-hire metrics measured by Microsoft HR (promotional velocity & overall performance rankings). The acceptance rate of former intern full-time offers averaged a double-digit increase above non-former intern full-time offer accept rates.

The vision for this party was to have the environment match the 'larger than life' energy from the musical guests. Production team constructed the stage on the on the airport's tarmac in front of the Dreamliner 787, creating an unforgettable backdrop for an un-matched experience.
We bused around 3,000 people from Redmond to Everett for the festival-like event. We featured food & beverages sourced from the PNW area and had fun pop ups (smashing wine grapes, selfie stations at a lego replica of the space needle). The capstone for the event was a surprise performance by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, followed by a Deadmau5 headliner.
Deadmau5 performing from his cube, wearing a custom Jim Henson designed helmet comprised entirely of Microsoft product icons
Every detail is curated -- from the experience on the bus ride to and from the event, to the giveaways/SWAG, to the infatable beach balls thrown out during Deadmau5's set.
The core planning team works across every aspect of event planning from story boarding & debating concepts and themes, to tactical plans for run-of-show, A/V, licenses & permits, talent scouting & contract management, marketing & brand, communications, f&b, security, logistics, safety. Meticulous planning results in a seamlessly run event-- the stories become folklore for thousands of interns to come.
It's challenging to find an artist that appeals to a wide audience, whose music works in a corporate setting, and who is 'of the moment.' We landed an incredible combination in Macklemore & Deadmau5.

Start with an aspirational goal

“Help us alleviate burn-out and re-energize our employees."

-CEO, AssuranceIQ

Tera oversaw creative direction of 3 annual events, including build up, week, and wind down. Tera led the team that developed each year's theme, content, and look & feel.

Each year's theme represents a play on what employees needed/wanted. We use engagement surveys to quietly inform our choices.

The 2024 theme centered on a 90s look and feel re-orienting our employees as we scaled and matured as an organization.

Tera developed a detailed run of show that purposefully sequenced content for engagement and experiences for each day & annual iteration.

To memorialize the event, we hired Seattle based muralist, Molly Keen, to translate her artistic interpretation of employee discussions onto a massive wall inside our Seattle HQ office.

Landed strategic speakers that connected with each year's theme. Speakers included Dr Susan David, author of "Emotional Agility", Dan Coyle , author of "The Cultue Code" and activist DeRay McKesson.

Ask me about the time I hired Rob Van Winkle to host our [Vanilla] Ice Breaker to open up the annual conference.

“Help us make a difference in the lives of pediatric cancer patients”

Our goal is to deliver a 5-star experience-- and get 10% better each year. Thoughtfully sourced gift bags, anticipating the needs and wants of our golfers

New List Item

Nicholas's family sharing his memory with guests before sending the starting bell.

Our donation for 2024 was a 10% increase YoY. In total, we have raised and donated $250K in two years.

Developed a tournament brand identity & logo utilizing project based creative professional support.

We plan a day that anticipates everything a golfer could want or need out on the course -- including creative contests that result in moments like this one. This is the kind of fun experience these guys are still talking about and excited to return and participate each year.

Ask me about this picture and our foundation throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park on Pediatric Cancer Awareness Day.

“We want to improve our conversion of top talent from 'intern' to 'fte'“

-Microsoft

The vision for this party was to have the environment match the 'larger than life' energy from the musical guests. Production team constructed the stage on the on the airport's tarmac in front of the Dreamliner 787, creating an unforgettable backdrop for an un-matched experience.

Deadmau5 performing from his cube, wearing a custom Jim Henson designed helmet comprised entirely of Microsoft product icons

Every detail is curated -- from the experience on the bus ride to and from the event, to the giveaways/SWAG, to the infatable beach balls thrown out during Deadmau5's set.

It's challenging to find an artist that appeals to a wide audience, whose music works in a corporate setting, and who is 'of the moment.' We landed an incredible combination in Macklemore & Deadmau5.

2013 Microsoft Intern Signature Event sizzle reel