“Creative adaptability is the key to sustainable progress.”
- Brooke Wojdynski, Founder of Verve Creative
THe Origin Story
When my family lost our home during the 2008 recession, everything I thought I knew about opportunity in America shifted. My parents had always believed in hard work and personal responsibility, pulling our family up by our bootstraps as they earned their way into the middle class. But we learned that individual effort wasn't enough when the systems, policies, and people in power failed us. We found ourselves among the millions of families whose dreams slipped away through no fault of our own.
That experience didn't just expose me to systemic inequities; it ignited something in me. The structural harms that struck my family were just some of the many that were affecting hardworking people across the country—from working families and communities of color to immigrant households and rural areas. These barriers holding us back are the result of policy choices, power structures, and narratives that could be changed. But only if we have the stamina, teams, tools, and strategies needed to demand that change.
From Campaigns to Movements
This early experience with systemic failure drove me toward political engagement. After President Obama's first term energized my commitment to campaign politics, I joined both his and Senator Brown's reelection campaigns through the Ohio Democratic Party. Ohio was the most pivotal battleground state in 2012, ground zero for the entire nation, where I managed all statewide digital communications reaching over two million email subscribers daily.
That high-pressure environment taught me that effective communication requires both strategic precision and authentic relationship-building. The right story at the right moment can transform observers into advocates, but only when you're building bridges rather than walls.
Over the following years, I served as Digital Director, Communications Director, and Campaign Manager across seven political campaigns, each one teaching me something new about creating lasting change. I learned that persuading and engaging audiences isn't an art, but a science through data-driven strategies and A/B testing.
But I also realized that the most important work happened between election cycles, when organizations and nonprofits were building power in their communities. I became a nationwide trainer for progressive organizations and was invited to be a TEDxColumbusWomen Speaker, confirming what I already knew: this work isn't just about winning elections, it's about building sustained movements through nonprofits and advocacy organizations.
Why Verve Creative Exists
The 2008 crisis showed me how easily powerful interests can shape policy to benefit themselves. The groups fighting for American families needed to match that influence with better organizing and communications strategies.
I founded Verve Creative in 2015 to close that gap. We're not just another consulting firm—we're movement builders who understand that healing democracy takes stamina, that real progress requires both strategic thinking and authentic relationships, and that the organizations working for equity deserve communications expertise that matches the importance of their work.
A decade later, Verve Creative works with organizations across the country, from local nonprofits to national advocacy groups, helping build communications infrastructure needed for lasting impact.
Looking Forward
The challenges we face as a nation and a global community require all of us to show up with our best work. For nonprofits, campaigns, and movements, that means communicating with clarity, building authentic relationships across difference, and never losing sight of the joy and hope that make this work sustainable.
Everyday, we get to help people like you turn their vision into reality, their passion into policy wins, and their communities into movements.