Stefanie Small in a black dress, in front of a rock wall.

I love to strategize

I definitely do not let my child win at Connect Four. Why? Because i can win!!!!!!

No. I’m kidding.

I mean, I can win…my daughter’s still little...but I don’t let her because, to me, it’s super fun to look half-a-dozen steps ahead and figure out how best to reach victory.

Is there anything as satisfying a well-executed strategy?

So, now in addition to knowing you better bring your A-game to my house on game night, you might be asking how to use my proclivity for strategic planning to your professional advantage.

Well played.

Outside of game night, I tremendously enjoy strategy sessions with mid-career and senior professionals who are excited for phase 2 of their career but are struggling to find the time to get it going. (#lifehappens)

Perhaps they are stepping out on their own or turning a passion project into their full time role. They hire me to strategize their professional online launch.

Stefanie is just a pleasure. Her creativity, facile mind, sense of humor, energy, and kindness are an asset in all of her pursuits.
— Tina D.

Highlights of my life in PR

  • Getting stalked by an enraged woman while an intern at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

  • Asking Mikhail Baryshnikov to remove his street shoes before entering the dance rehearsal room at Cal Performances.

  • Photoshopping the nipples off the female dancers in the Tanztheater Wuppertal images so they could run in the (pious) American papers.

  • Declining marriage arrangement offers extended to Yo-Yo Ma (made by very well-meaning mothers) while he was in residence for the West Coast premiere of The Silk Road Project.

  • Directing national press reps (such as the New York Times) around horse poop for the remounting of a 17th-century horse ballet.

  • Wiping drool off my face in the presence of ABT soloist (and Charlie from Center Stage) dreamboat Sascha Radetsky.

  • Meeting Rita Moreno before the West Coast launch of AileyCamp and having a full half hour of one-on-one convo.

  • Getting manhandled by the mother of a performer when she showed up late and wasn’t allowed into the theatre. (Names withheld to protect the guilty.)

  • Watching 5 fully made-up clowns emerge from the misty woods at 4am and welcoming them into my car for early morning Ringling Brothers TV promotions.

  • Coordinating the Bay Area fly-over coverage for the raising of the world’s largest tented-touring show.

  • Welcoming hundreds of internationally renowned singers, dancers, theatre makers, ensembles, orchestras, ice skaters, and animals to the Bay Area to tell their stories.

 
A slice of the hundreds and hundreds of stories I placed in local and national media outlets.

A slice of the hundreds and hundreds of stories I placed in local and national media outlets.


Wine%2BFest%2B%2526%2BGrape%2BStomp%2B045.jpg

Sipping & Stomping

Living wine-country adjacent has allowed for much (too much?) time with grapes and their delicious renderings.

IMG_8716.jpg

RUnning & RAcing

I started running as an adult. I am by no means fast, but it’s a great feeling to cross the finish line.

IMG_6994.jpg

Travel & Leisure

Petting wombats, spectacular sunsets, and sleeping in ryokan are favorite memories. More of this please.