Roots of Inclusion Brand Positioning
Expanding a values-driven brand into a narrative and visual system grounded in strategic positioning.
Context
Roots of Inclusion (ROI) is a trusted leader in disability justice and inclusive education, known for its rare ability to bridge policy expertise with community-centered advocacy. Its work is grounded in lived experience and strengthened by deep relationships across families, schools, and coalition partners.
As ROI continues to grow, its public-facing brand needed a strategic roadmap to clarify and narrate the strength and distinctiveness of its impact.
Strategy
- Analyze the internal and external communications landscape to optimize ROI’s positioning.
- Translate narrative, values, and positioning into a cohesive brand system.
- Establish narrative and visual guidelines to reinforce storytelling, credibility, and impact.
- Embed accessibility and usability as foundational elements of the brand system.
Tactics
- Conduct a brand landscape analysis, including stakeholder interviews, communications audit, and sector research.
- Define narrative guidelines to better articulate ROI’s role, voice, and value differential.
- Develop an expanded visual system aligned with narrative positioning through hierarchy, color usage, and graphics application.
- Establish accessibility-informed color pairings and usage guidelines.
- Create a flexible foundation to support consistent brand voice across platforms and materials.
outcome
A strategically aligned brand system that more clearly communicates ROI’s identity, strengthens its positioning within the disability and education landscape, and illustrates values-driven outcomes across platforms.
By grounding visual identity in narrative and positioning, the system enables ROI to show up with greater clarity, cohesion, and precison—better reflecting the depth and distinctiveness of its work.
Client
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
My Roles
Directing, videography, storyboarding, editing, graphics, and post-production
Context
For years, Alaska ranked near or at the bottom among all states on national reading assessments, leading the Alaska State Board of Education to adopt Alaska’s Education Challenge in 2017, prioritizing early literacy to close opportunity gaps and improve student outcomes.
The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development launched a series of initiatives to equip educators with evidence-based literacy tools, including the Alaska Reads Act, annual Science of Reading Symposia, virtual and in-person professional development, and printed resources backed by the Science of Reading.
Though the 2024 symposium marked only the end of the first year of implementation, educators were already talking about their students' significant gains in reading.
Deliverables
I created a documentary-style video that captures the momentum of the Reads Act's first three years; informs parents, school boards, and community members of state literacy initiatives and developments; and compels state lawmakers to continue supporting these efforts.
I served as director/videographer for all interviews and b-roll, created the storyboard, edited and implemented post-production, and wrote and designed all graphics for this video. The video will be shown at future reading symposia, on the state senate floor, and at school board and PTA gatherings around the state.
