About us
We work with/on clients and projects that align with creating a better world by using our collective superpowers. Projects and partners that make meaningful contribution through their work, humans who are smart/funny/kind and committed to liberation for all, especially BIPOC communities and individuals who have been kept on the sidelines through systemic oppression far too long.
Why We Are
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To facilitate health and freedom for all on behalf of every being in our interconnected web of life.
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Guide individuals and organizations to alignment with their highest good, stewarding growth and right relationship through creative, original solutions focused on collective health.
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Every living being on earth is part and parcel of one connected and sacred ecosystem. That when one thrives, we all thrive.
That it is our individual responsibility to act on behalf of the whole- there is no separation.
That time is the only real resource. That movement is medicine. The Mondays don’t have to be manic. That practice matters. So does hard work. And deep rest.
That to whom much has been given, much is owed from.
That getting your hands dirty, your mind clear and your heart open, one can grow anything. And that it’s only rock n roll but we like it.
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Over the first year of the pandemic, founding partner Amanda Kelly realized it was time to change the focus and name of her company, Sound Strategic. Sound Strategic, based on Puget Sound, settler colonial and not what she wanted to represent in the world anymore. Grateful for so many years working primarily as a sole proprietor, was time to work in new ways with a different agency model. Swordfern, thanks to long walks in the coast Salish woods, noting how plants thrived by supporting one another, inspired the need to bring that level of mutual health into all aspects of work. Also, ferns are one of earth’s oldest, most widespread plants, helping soil thrive across continents, driving health wherever they are planted.
Who We Are
Thanks for your interest in our work. Ideas, brands, visions, hopes, teams and communities cannot grow or flourish by themselves. We are constantly nourished by the natural world and the human world we interact with every day. Depending on what your vision requires, we support and work with shining starts in their fields- artists, designers, analysts, content editors and technologists as needed. Nimble and thoughtful, we always follow through. Amazing people doing epic things all over the place, using their imaginations, elbow grease and lanes to uplevel the “work” paradigm, take care of themselves, prosper, and help heal the world by working their magic. Please meet our crew & let us know if you want to connect.
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Founder & PrincipalAmanda Kelly brings thirty years of public relations expertise to clients across the board, creating solutions by drawing on the strengths of her network, team, clear vision and honest hard work. Coaching, real conversations, no bs partnerships. Navigating the intricacies of negotiation, contracts and platforms to offer results that work for all involved. Always solutions focused. From national press to local events, Kelly‘s expertise serves clients whose vision is in alignment with growth and well-being including and beyond the bottom line. An award-winning poet, essayist, activist, yogi and mother of five beautiful (and grown) children currently living on unceded Coast Salish land aka Vashon Island in the Salish Sea, Kelly has spent her career dedicated to making change in the world by bringing right relationship into all aspects of business and life. When not wrangling operations, clients and contracts, she can be found outside somewhere with her dog by her side.
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Social Media & Event Manager,
Co-FounderSarah Howard’s background in entertainment and production was a huge help planning and founding the agency. She loves being backstage with a clipboard, and her love for the show shines through everything she does. As an early lover and participant in music, theater, and dance, Howard acquired the ability to connect and bring joy to an audience. Parlaying that into the production realm was a natural fit, using creativity and problem solving to ensure the show goes on! From that work also came a deep belief in travel as medicine, the similarities of all people globally, and the necessary work in spreading that word, connecting companies and ideas on a global level, creating a smaller more compassionate world while facilitating networks that work. for all.
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Content Strategist & Creator
Parks makes everything she touches more beautiful and on-brand. Her eye for social trends and execution is one of a kind. After receiving a BFA in Theater Design from Syracuse University in New York, Haley returned home to become a devoted member of IATSE 887, and former wardrobe department staff at the Seattle Children’s Theater. Enjoys travel, with corporate event work spanning from Seattle to Las Vegas. Interior Design and luxury home staging training with Experience Design Project, styling Seattle’s most elite homes. Meanwhile, Parks continued to foster a love for digital media, content creation, and social platforms, working for non-profits and social media consultations. Working with Swordfern to foster and build businesses is a combination of everything Haley loves: production, design, community, and passion. Parks specializes in content creation, video editing, trend tracking, and catering to your ideal audience. You can catch her riding her horses, enjoying the water, or making her own salad dressings. Proud native Hawaiian and defender of Indigenous land. #aloha.
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Graphic DesignerJulia is an award winning graphic designer with a specialization in branding design. Julia was naturally drawn to collaborating with other women entrepreneurs and now works as a consultant creative director for women owned businesses. Aligning with Swordfern, Julia believes strongly in designing for good—to better the world we live in with the skills we have. Based in Hawaii after years of travel, Julia’s office moves with the wifi and occasionally crosses a border or two.
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Digital Advertising & Podcasts
Elise comes to Swordfern with a background in marketing, event planning, non-profit work, and writing. She previously worked with the UW Foster School managing admissions and marketing for the highly ranked Hybrid MBA program. She currently works in digital marketing, copywriting, and social media advertising. Elise is a storyteller and passionate creative as the co-host of comedy podcast Vocally Fried and author of various writing projects. With a bachelors in Anthropology and Sociology, she is always wondering how she can better the world and find deeper meaning in her work. Elise loves dancing, throwing themed parties, and facilitating community and is delighted to bring her passion for creativity and community to Swordfern.
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Client Coaching & Dynamics
Improved team dynamics, operational efficiency, cost cutting, building a strategy and authority around your core offerings - these are what you will find in Emma's arena. Her unique lens and skillset will identify and create solutions that match where your business is now and where you want it to go.Her degree in Marketing combined with her coaching certification and experience as an Executive Coach, Business Strategist, COO, and Director of Marketing for businesses that range from startups to international corporations and influencers in the online space gives her a unique and well-rounded perspective that has resulted in her being known as "the navy seal" of any business operating team she is involved in.
Emma advocates for every business to have purpose beyond profit and has experienced firsthand the ability of any business to merge the leaders passions with the needs of society. Her work makes intangible dreams tangible, creates businesses that are easy to operate, and provides leaders with a refreshingly honest and realistic perspective on what is desirable and possible when it comes to their work in the world.
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PhotographerRick is a freelance photographer specializing in location photography for better corporations, agencies and publishers around the world. His shoots are, generally, low key and relaxed. It makes for a nice environment for "real people" or executives that aren't comfortable in front of a camera. More? He was the fifth child born at the University of Missouri Medical Center. His father was a judge and all-american wheelchair basketball player. His mother was a grief counselor and asthmatic marathon runner. As a boy, he had a dog that could count to 100 and play kick the can. When he was thirteen, her and his younger brother ran a small pig farm in Wisconsin. His first car was a 1963 Datsun Bluebird. He’s been vetted by the FBI for Top Secret clearance. While in college, he made an estimated 20,000 pizzas. He’s been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and for Magazine Cover of the Year. He occasionally plays lead guitar in a bar band. He lives with his wife, Kristine, in a 100 year old farmhouse outside of Seattle.... with horses, goats, chickens, dogs, cats... the whole catastrophe. He still has a darkroom.
