We hit a low point 13 months ago. Any communicator who’s worked on a major construction project knows that groundbreakings are supposed to be celebrations. They usually involve a brief program of speakers waxing poetic about the building’s significance. There are renderings of what the building will ultimately look like and a photo of attendees…
Client News
Joy Portella Monday, September 27th, was the final day of Minerva’s team retreat. We had a great week of team building, strategic planning, good food, and we were lucky enough to cap it off with a Mariners game during the final stretch of the season. It was a beautiful evening at T-Mobile park. Being so close to…
Luke Ilgenfritz By Sara Veltkamp– At Minerva, people hire us to help them solve communications challenges. Together, we wrestle with how to tell their story in a way that resonates with their audiences or figure out which platforms will reach and move people to action. But sometimes, if we’re lucky, our clients help us, too. I’m not going to mince words: I’ve struggled…
Sara Veltkamp By Sara Veltkamp— I bought a book a few years ago called But What If We’re Wrong by Chuck Klosterman. This book has had an outsized impact on my life—especially since I haven’t even read it. In fact, I don’t know what it’s about or what spurred me to buy it in the first place. Simply seeing the binding of this book on my…
By Sara Veltkamp— A lot of you have been reaching out and asking how the team at Minerva Strategies is doing. We’re not going to mince words: it’s been a challenging time. We like to hug and do best when spending time with the incredible people in our networks. Working from home, not seeing our families, friends, clients, and colleagues in–person has taken a toll on our well-being. Fortunately, we have incredible clients who are getting…
By Joy Portella, Minerva Strategies— My family has a saying: Everything’s better in baby. Usually we’re talking about animals and the idea is that people are much more fond of puppies and kittens than grown dogs and cats. But the idea certainly extends to humans and the concept that people are much more easily engaged around children’s issues—tragedies and triumphs alike—than adults’ challenges. So it shouldn’t be…
By Catherine Salgado, Minerva Strategies My first experience working on a rebrand was a great one. Early last summer, Minerva Strategies forged a partnership with the Seattle Milk Fund to create a new brand for their organization. Seattle Milk Fund has existed for more than 100 years and changing their brand was a hard…
By Joy Portella — The Minerva Strategies team talks a lot about food. We talk about our chosen food lifestyles, which makes for lively conversation when you’ve got a vegan, a quasi-vegan, and a Mediterranean diet devotee who’s married to a Keto devotee. We talk about how food impacts everything from the planet to…
By Joy Portella — In the US, pouring a glass of water is easy. Taking a shower is no problem. You don’t think twice about going to the bathroom: do your business, flush the toilet, wash your hands, and get on with it. Most of us take quality water, sanitation, and hygiene for granted. …
By Joy Portella Five years ago, I had a meeting that would change the course of Minerva Strategies. I sat across from Molly Carney, who had recently become the executive director of Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS). I could tell she was a stone-cold pro and scary smart. A former senior-level researcher at the…