1. If you were to describe your job to a 5 year old, how would you describe it?

If I was describing my job to a five year old, I would say that I am kind of like a train conductor. A train conductor is in charge of getting a train from point A to point B. Even if the train runs into bad weather and needs to slow down or change tracks, the train conductor always gets the train and the passengers safely to the station. But instead of a train, I drive a project from start to finish. My team and I make pretty pictures you see in store windows, and commercials you can see on TV or YouTube! At 5 years old I would hope they don’t know what Instagram is, but I make pretty pictures and videos for that too.

2. What made you switch from the agency world to the client side?

While I loved the fun culture and face paced nature of the agency side, I wasn’t as connected to the product and campaigns I worked on as I wanted to be. Agency work is hard. I found myself asking, why am I working this hard on something I don’t feel connected to? I wanted the chance to be closer to the campaign strategy, understand how the creative work on fits into the larger brand story, and have a real connection to the campaign outcome. When an opportunity to go in house came knocking, I couldn’t say no to the opportunity to work on a brand and product category I truly loved and was so loyal to already. I have to say I’ve really found that missing connection I was looking for.

3. If you could thank someone that helped get you to where you are now, who would you thank and what would you say?

Oh gosh, there are so many people I could thank. I truly feel so lucky to have worked with some amazing people throughout my career - I am kind of a sappy person, so even thinking about these people brings tears to my eyes. I would thank my boss at my very first agency, for trusting me and pushing me more than I ever expected in my first job in the real world. I would thank a coworker and mentor who wrote the recommendation that helped me land my dream job. I would thank my current team, who lift me up on a daily basis - even when we are all tired and want to get off zoom (2020, am I right?). And I would give a BIG thank you to my mom, who I called (and still call) crying every time I thought I couldn’t do whatever hard thing I was facing because she always reminded me I could.

*Piper currently lives in San Francisco, CA and works as a Senior Manager, Program Management at SEPHORA*