—  About

Maria lee may be vertically challenged, but she “walks with purpose”. She’s been named:

“Creative Director of the Year” by Ad Age A-List & Creativity Awards
”Creative Team of the Year” by Campaign US Awards
“Champion of Change” by Campaign US Awards
“Creator of World Changing Ideas” by Fast Company
“Rising Star of Madison Avenue” by Business Insider
”Girlboss” by LinkedIn
2x Cannes Young Lion
“Mother of Hounds” by friends & family
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Maria is known in the industry as a world-class, fearless creative leader. She combines design thinking, creative storytelling, and tech to put brands at the center of culture. Having worked at some of the best agencies as well as Google, she knows what it takes to lead teams to make creative AND effective work: it takes courage.

Courage to have brutally honest conversations with brands, push boundaries, and find unorthodox ways to solve business problems. Courage to create a safe environment where the team can show up as themselves and are allowed to be wrong, fail forward. Courage to not take no for an answer. Courage to speak up for her community.

She’s partnered with the Association of National Advertisers, 3AF, and Ad Council to lead the conversation around race and bring agencies together to fight racism/xenophobia. Her work for Respond2Racism, has been recognized by Fast Company (World Changing Ideas), Bloomberg, as well as various non-profits such as DeYoung Museum, Act to Change, and Stop AAPI Hate as “leading a powerful revolution” in serving our communities of color. She’s also celebrated Asian American communities with “Project Honor” and helped raise funds for various non-profit orgs across the country. A true passion project in partnership with GoFundMe and the world-renowned artist, Victo Ngai.

She’s taught students who are part of 4A’s Multicultural Advertising Intern Program, R/advertising school, 826 Valencia. She serves on the jury for the Clio Awards, ADC of Canada, Festival of Media North America, Webby, Campaign US Awards, Shorty Impact and more. Using her voice and privilege, she nurtures and celebrates diverse talent around the globe.

Give her a shout: marialeedesign@gmail.com

—  Get In Touch

Email
LinkedIn
RECOGNITION

Ad Age A-List & Creativity
Campaign US Inspiring Women
Business Insider
Fast Company
Girlboss
Bloomberg News
WARC
Ad Council + Asian American Marketing & Advertising Townhall
ABC News, Al Jazeera
3AF, Ad Council - Love Has No Labels
D&AD
Clio Awards
One Show
Art Directors Club
Festival of Media North America
The Webby
Graphis Advertising Annual
2014 + 2016 Cannes Young Lions
Muse by Clio
National Addy Awards
US Ad of the Week
Creativity - Editor’s Pick
MediaPost Awards
Direct To Consumer Ad Awards
Shorty Awards
Hatch Awards 

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Experience

Droga5
Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P)
Google
72andSunny
BSSP
Arnold Worldwide
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)

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Clio Awards Jury
Campaign US Inspiring Women Awards Jury
ADC of Canada Jury
Festival of Media North America Awards Jury
Webby Awards Jury
Shorty Impact Awards Jury
AdForum PHNX Jury
Creator of Respond2Racism
Co-founder of GS&P’s first AAPI ERG
Creative Education Volunteer @ 826 Valencia
Instructor at r/advertising school on reddit
4A’s Multicultural Advertising Intern Program

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BRANDS

Instacart
Central Garden & Pet
J.P Morgan | Chase
Xfinity
Google
Smithsonian
NCSOFT Games
Panera Bread
Pepsi Co | FritoLay
Nature Made
Allergan
HTC
Warner Bros
New Balance
Jack Daniel's
University of Phoenix
Mill Valley Film Festival
CenturyLink
Avocados from Mexico
Aetna Health Insurance
Legacy | truth
CVS Pharmacy
Panasonic
Dell