Advertise on podcast: Escape Velocity - Where Strategy Meets the Unexpected

What does 20 years of leading digital at one of the world's most recognized nonprofits teach you about curiosity, change, and AI? In this episode of Escape Velocity, Tracey Halvorsen, CEO of adeo, sits down with Diane Querey, Vice President of Digital Platforms at World Wildlife Fund. The two first met in 2007 through Foursquare, back when checking in on an app counted as a social act. Nearly two decades later, they unpack what it takes to lead digital transformation at a mission-driven organization through three major shifts: the early web, the move to responsive design, and now AI. Diane led the WWF Together app that won a 2013 Apple Design Award, the Apps for Earth partnership with Apple that raised $8 million for conservation, and WWF's collaboration with Netflix on Our Planet. She also shares the inside story of WWF's recent website relaunch, a multi-year, 6,000-page migration that forced her team to rethink process, vendors, and the role of AI in their day-to-day work. She explains how her team is actually using AI (metadata, alt tags, thought partnership) and where they draw the hard line (original content writing stays human). She unpacks her framework for what separates order takers from strategic partners, and why curiosity is now the defining trait she looks for when hiring. Tracey and Diane also get into: The "compression to the middle" problem when teams over-rely on AI Why AI slop is flooding every platform and how to cut through it Raising kids who can tell the difference between real and generated content Reinvention, transition, and the pressure on women to constantly become someone new Curiosity, creativity, and caution as the three disciplines for working in this moment This is a conversation for digital leaders, nonprofit strategists, creative directors, and anyone trying to figure out how to lead a team through real change without losing the human at the center of the work. Escape Velocity is hosted by Tracey Halvorsen, CEO of adeo, a brand, digital, and communications agency based in Baltimore working with higher education, cultural institutions, nonprofits, and complex growth brands. Learn more at helloadeo.com. Topics: digital transformation, nonprofit technology, World Wildlife Fund, WWF, Apple Design Award, Apps for Earth, Our Planet Netflix, AI in the workplace, website redesign, creative leadership, curiosity and career, strategic thinking, order takers vs strategic partners, AI slop, digital teams, mission-driven work.

In this episode of Escape Velocity, Tracey sits down with Adrienne Cooper to explore what it really takes to build organizations where people can do their best work. Adrienne shares her unconventional path from TV news producer to Allstate leader to founder of her own consultancy, and explains how that journey shaped her approach to culture, leadership, and organizational design. They get into mission, vision, and values as practical operating tools, not corporate wallpaper. Adrienne also breaks down how she uses LEGO Serious Play to surface hidden perspectives, create alignment, and make sure every voice in the room is heard. The conversation also tackles flow state, delegation, motivation, neurodivergence, leadership readiness, and why diverse lived experience leads to better problem-solving. They close on the shifting relationship between work and AI, and what human judgment, creativity, and clarity of purpose will matter even more as automation rises. This is a sharp conversation about building companies, teams, and careers with more intention.

Tracey Halvorsen, CEO of adeo, talks with Dayana "Day" Kibilds, VP of Strategy at Ologie and author of Mailed It, about the language problem hiding in plain sight across higher education. Day has worked in-house in admissions and now leads strategy for dozens of institutions worldwide. Together they dig into why financial aid pages read like legal documents (paste yours into the Hemingway app and watch it turn red), how Ologie's work with Amherst College created a home-delivered guide that reached first-gen students nobody else was reaching, and why creative testing almost always kills the boldest work. They also get into the agency-institution dynamic: why schools think they're more unique than they are, why "community" isn't a differentiator, what happens when a president swoops in at the 11th hour, and what the structural future of higher ed looks like as AI reshapes everything. Escape Velocity is hosted by Tracey Halvorsen, CEO of adeo, a creative and digital agency working with higher education and complex growth brands. Link to the book - "Mailed It!" Link to Day's Newsletter: You Ask Day Answers

Your website isn't the thing anymore. Your brand message is. And most companies still have it backwards. Yianni Mathioudakis and Monica Sanchez run DEEO, a two-person design studio that made a gutsy call early on: turn down the wrong clients, say the quiet parts out loud about money, and bet everything on authentic connection over algorithm-chasing content. In this conversation, we get into what's actually changing right now for creative studios and the brands they serve. AI is flooding every platform with content. Google is summarizing your website before anyone clicks on it. And the old playbook of "build a nice website and they will come" is dead. We talk about why brand strategy is becoming the most important investment a company can make. How DEEO rebuilt their entire business development approach after getting ghosted. Why "content for connection, not for the algorithm" became their breakthrough philosophy. And what generative UI could mean for the future of branded web experiences. We also get into the real stuff: how to talk about money with clients without it being weird, why saying no to a big project was the scariest and smartest move they made, and why taste and curation are the irreplaceable human skills in an AI world. Plus a new Escape Velocity tradition: guests now leave a question for the next guest. Yianni and Monica's questions are worth the listen alone. If you run a creative business, work in brand strategy, or care about where design and AI are headed, this one's for you. Topics: brand strategy, creative studio growth, AI and branding, value-based pricing, client red flags, generative UI, web design future, authentic marketing, small agency business development

In this episode of Escape Velocity Podcast, Tracey Halvorsen sits down with Sabrina Depestre, Senior Director of Enrollment Marketing at Maryland Institute College of Art, to explore how creativity, leadership, and resilience actually develop in the real world. This is a conversation about experience design disguised as a career story. From shaping fan experiences at the Miami Heat to modernizing marketing inside higher education, Sabrina reveals how creative strategy works when culture, systems, and human behavior collide. Together, Tracey and Sabrina unpack burnout as a structural issue, not a personal flaw; curiosity as a leadership discipline; and why side projects, portfolio careers, and creative sovereignty matter more than ever in an AI-accelerated world. They also confront the realities facing creative education today—from generative AI to shifting economic models—and why embracing change with ethics, clarity, and evidence beats both fear and hype. This episode is for leaders, creatives, strategists, and educators who want to understand: How creativity functions inside complex systems Why experience design is the future of brand and leadership How to build resilience without burning everything down What it actually means to stay curious in unstable times

What if fear isn’t an obstacle—but a signal? What if doubt isn’t a flaw—but part of the design? In this episode of Escape Velocity, Tracey Halvorsen sits down with entrepreneur, technologist, and author Kris Land, whose book The Infinity Within explores a radical idea: that human life is less a problem to solve and more a game to consciously play. Drawing from near-death experiences, early childhood awakenings, decades of building and exiting companies, and a deep curiosity about consciousness, Kris offers a reframing of fear, doubt, success, and creativity. He argues that fear and doubt are not enemies—they’re mechanisms that keep us engaged in the “game of Earth,” and invitations to remember who we really are beneath the noise. Together, Tracey and Kris explore: Why success doesn’t eliminate fear—and why that matters How curiosity and creativity get trained out of us (and how to reclaim them) The difference between survival fear and illusion-based fear Why silence, presence, and attention are becoming revolutionary acts How technology, AI, and the coming “singularity” intersect with spirituality and meaning What it means to live as if the answers aren’t out there—but already within This is not a conversation about doctrine or dogma. It’s an invitation to question assumptions, loosen certainty, and approach life with more play, awareness, and courage. If you’ve ever felt there must be more beneath the surface of achievement, productivity, or distraction—this episode is for you. About the host Tracey Halvorsen is the CEO of adeo, a brand, digital, and communications agency. She is the host of Escape Velocity, a podcast exploring leadership, creativity, technology, and change through deeply human conversations with founders, creatives, and change-makers.

What does it mean to hold space for everything—including the hardest parts? Tracey Halvorsen sits down with Jen Dary—leadership coach, founder of Plucky, and author. Jen has spent decades helping people become better leaders and managers, focusing on human-centered leadership, emotional intelligence, and creating sustainable work cultures. Her debut memoir, "I Believe in Everything," was just was released, and I can't recommend it enough - you can find out more here. In this raw, expansive conversation, Jen shares her experience with brain tumors, medical uncertainty, and what happens when you can't outwork or outthink your way through a crisis. They talk about bigness—not the performative kind, but the kind that comes from holding space for joy and grief, certainty and doubt, control and surrender. Jen and Tracey explore how leadership changes when you stop trying to fix everything; why believing in "everything" isn't naive but necessary; and what it means to build a life and career that doesn't require constant optimization. This episode is for anyone who: - Has faced a crisis that changed how they see leadership and life - Wants to explore what human-centered leadership actually requires - Is tired of productivity culture and looking for something more sustainable - Believes that holding complexity is a skill worth developing Topics explored in this conversation: Brain tumors and medical crisis, leadership through uncertainty, emotional intelligence and human-centered management, productivity culture and burnout, holding space for complexity, grief and joy as coexistent states, building sustainable work cultures, coaching and leadership development. Escape Velocity is hosted by Tracey Halvorsen—artist, strategist, CEO & President of Digital at adeo. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, adeo partners with higher education institutions, cultural organizations, nonprofits, and advocacy groups on brand strategy, digital experience design, and communications rooted in clarity, connection, and human experience. Tracey has led award-winning digital work for major universities, cultural institutions, and complex organizations for over 25 years. Before founding adeo, she co-founded and led Fastspot for two decades as Chief Visionary Officer. Through long-form conversations with designers, developers, strategists, technologists, and leaders, Escape Velocity explores how creativity, leadership, and technology intersect—and how momentum, dialogue, and connection shape work that actually lasts. Learn more about adeo at https://www.helloadeo.com Explore more episodes of Escape Velocity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

Tracey is joined by Second Harvest’s Richard Banfield and Devon Warwick-McDonald for a candid conversation about what happens when the map of your life dissolves beneath your feet. From personal loss to career upheaval to the quiet ache of disconnection so many feel today, the trio travels through the terrain that leads people to seek change, and why traditional self-help rarely offers real transformation.  Richard and Devon share how their retreats intentionally remove certainty, routine, and the old scripts of success to make room for vulnerability, creativity, and genuine human alliance. What emerges is surprising: strangers forming lifelong bonds, new identities taking shape, experiments replacing grand plans, and a renewed sense of possibility. This episode is a reminder that transformation isn’t a program... it’s something ignited in the space between people brave enough to show up as themselves.

How do you make creativity a strategic tool—not a luxury—when resources are limited and expectations are high? In this conversation, Skidmore College’s VP for Communications and Marketing, Elizabeth Stauderman, joins to unpack how she brought the school’s motto, Creative Thought Matters, to life through a full web and brand transformation. We explore why mission must drive strategy, how beauty can ease change, and why liberal-arts thinkers are built for the AI era. Insightful, pragmatic, and deeply relevant for anyone leading creative or communications work in higher education.

In this episode of Escape Velocity, I talk with Sarah Patterson, a Fractional CFO who somehow makes the numbers feel human. Sarah works with creative agencies and consulting firms to bring clarity, confidence, and calm to the financial side of things—the part most of us would rather avoid. We get into what really happens when you stop treating your financials like a necessary evil and start seeing them as a creative tool. We talk about trust, mindset, and how money mirrors the stories we tell ourselves as founders. And then there’s tango. Sarah’s also a Buenos Aires–trained dancer, and she shares how that experience completely reshaped how she thinks about leadership, connection, and flow. Because at the end of the day, financial clarity isn’t just about spreadsheets—it’s about rhythm, trust, and learning to move in sync with change.

What does it take to break free from the gravitational pull of “business as usual” in higher ed marketing? In this episode of Escape Velocity, Tracey Halvorsen sits down with Mallory Willsea—B2B media consultant, AI strategist, and award-winning host of Higher Ed Pulse. Mallory shares how she built and scaled media brands like Higher Ed Live and Enrollify, why she believes leaders should stop waiting for permission and start building their own stage, and what it really takes to adopt AI without falling for hype. Along the way, she and Tracey delve into the realities of trust versus likability in leadership, why time is the biggest barrier to AI adoption, and how small risks can accumulate into big wins—even in tradition-bound institutions. Whether you’re navigating higher ed, rethinking your career, or simply looking for inspiration to take the leap, this conversation will leave you with frameworks, metaphors, and courage to try the things that scare you most.

What does it really mean to lead creative work in a world being reshaped by AI, complexity, and constant change? In this episode, Tracey Halvorsen sits down with Christina Melito, Creative Director at Fifteen4, for an honest, funny, and deeply insightful conversation about what creative leadership actually requires today — from managing stakeholders in regulated industries to operationalizing AI tools without losing your soul. They explore how tension can be a design tool, why client work is often a form of behavioral psychology, and how real change comes not from polishing pixels — but from shifting minds. Plus: – Why AI might be the most liberating thing to happen to creative teams in 20 years – How to make clients feel heard without losing sight of what really matters – What nobody tells you about visual design (spoiler: zooming in 10,000%) – And yes, the return of the lawnmower, microwave baloney, and meat roll-ups This isn’t just about websites — it’s about transformation. And how brave, curious creatives help make it happen.

In this episode of Escape Velocity, Tracey Halvorsen is joined by Traci Barrett—founder of Navigate the Journey, executive coach, former HGTV founding team member, and author of What If There’s More?. Together, they explore what it means to lead with clarity, navigate burnout, and make brave choices in business and life. From surviving betrayal and recalibrating after setbacks to building teams rooted in honesty and shared values, Traci shares deep wisdom on fear, identity, hope, and finding significance beyond traditional markers of success. This is a must-listen for anyone feeling overwhelmed, off-course, or hungry to realign their ambition with purpose.

In this episode of Escape Velocity, Tracey Halvorsen sits down with Brigid Lawler, a seasoned enrollment strategist with decades of experience navigating the shifting landscape of higher education. From small liberal arts colleges to state institutions, Brigid shares candid insights on what’s broken in traditional recruitment, how schools can tap into their true identity, and why the admissions funnel might need to be flipped on its head. Together, they unpack the myth of one-size-fits-all marketing, explore the real reason students (and their parents) make decisions, and reflect on how small teams can punch above their weight with creative thinking, collaboration, and clarity of mission. If you work in higher ed—or are just trying to make bold decisions inside a cautious system—this conversation will hit home.

In this episode, Tracey sits down with her 17-year-old niece Romy, a rising senior deep in the college search process. From TikTok dorm tours to admissions anxiety, Romy offers a refreshingly honest Gen Z perspective on what matters (and what doesn’t) when evaluating colleges. If you work in higher ed—or just want to understand how this generation thinks—you’ll want to hear this.