About Craft Impact Growth and Communications Agency (meet the team)

To summarize:

We craft strategies and content to make an impact on our customer's bottom line.

Content journalists and marketing consultants

Founded in 2012 by Stephen Beach and Traci McMillan Beach, Craft Impact is a growth and communications agency made of content journalists and marketing consultants that work together to help small and medium businesses grow and navigate change communications.

We're a marketing team for people who don't like the scammy, quick fix, "SEO superwhiz," take-your-upfront-deposit-and-run type of marketing people. Those people give our kind of people a bad rap.

Rather, we're consulting partners who are focused on creating strategies. These guide us as we execute with clear and effective marketing deliverables that get people to take action.

What is our culture all about?

Our mission at Craft Impact is to help our partners grow and thrive through the use of effective communications and strategies. We achieve this mission by incorporating our core values:

Self-driven hunger: Each individual on our team has self-driven hunger. We work toward our goals, and we don’t stop until we achieve them. It’s about getting things done, not putting in time.
Balance: In all things. We want to live life to the fullest. We value flexibility in the workplace in order to achieve personal and professional goals. It’s more about doing valuable work and feeling good about it at the end of the day. If you’re not proud of what you’ve accomplished, then what’s the point?
Helpfulness: We are helpers for our team, our clients and the broader community. We jump at the opportunity to facilitate change, boost momentum, and lend our expertise or a helping hand. Together we combine our strengths for the greater good, and are committed to a no-drama, no-politics environment.
Adaptability: The only constant in life and business is change. It’s not enough for us to keep up with the industry, we are determined to flourish through constant growth in ideas, in our skill sets, and our company.
Curiosity: We are nerds at heart. We love to learn new things and approach projects from different, strategic angles.
Authenticity: We are authentic people. We are transparent, open, and honest—both internally and with our clients. We ask questions and we assume good intent in others.

Why do we hire people with journalism backgrounds?

Because bragging about yourself all the time no longer works well in a B2B environment. An objective, educational approach and sound writing helps you develop a relationship with your prospects and clients. Compelling, professional content delivered effectively engenders trust from those you want to do business with. That's what journalists do best.

We've found that's the best approach to craft quality communications, drive action and make an impact on our clients' businesses.

Plus, we really like craft beer...hence the name Craft Impact!

Traci McMillan

Cofounder & CEO, Change Communications

Traci has a dual bachelor’s degree in Finance and Television from the University of Notre Dame, and a master’s in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. With experience in media, public relations for a political organization, and marketing for a hedge fund, Traci brings a unique perspective to communications strategy and content journalism.

Traci is an expert at devising strategies that directly impact a client’s bottom line through engaging communications tailored to an audience. A former Bloomberg News reporter, Traci continues to regularly contribute to business publications, with a focus on C-level advice, entrepreneurship and technology.

Favorite Craft Beer: Project Dank by La Cumbre Brewing

Stephen Beach

Cofounder & CEO, Growth

Stephen co-founded a growth and communications agency for a few reasons, among them: to create a successful company that offers employment opportunities, to be a role model to his son, to grow from the challenges of creating a sustainable business, and to help other small and medium size businesses grow their revenue and teams through inbound marketing.

After graduating from the University of Notre Dame and working for a large pharmaceutical advertising agency, Stephen knew he wanted to create a new kind of marketing agency- one with fresh ideas, personalized support and proven ROI without the big agency prices and overhead.

Stephen continues to be a Notre Dame college football fan despite attending the university during the underwhelming Charlie Weis era and the more recent years of disappointment. He loves golf, craft beer (of course) and traveling with his wife and being a father to his children Auggie, Lola, and Oakley.

Favorite Craft Beer: at the moment- a rich coffee brown ale.

Click here to book a meeting with Stephen.

Mary Coughlin

Communications Consultant

Mary has her bachelor’s degree in Journalism and American Studies from the University of Notre Dame, along with a master’s degree from Ohio State University. She has communications experience across a range of industries including business, government, sports and not-for-profit organizations. Mary enjoys the challenge of effectively sharing complex information with diverse audiences and encouraging action through communication initiatives. Her organizational skills allow her to manage multiple projects concurrently while she coordinates with the client, Craft Impact team and the client’s other vendors for project completion.

Mary and her husband have two daughters and live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They love traveling (especially to the beach), skiing, hiking, and hanging out with friends and family. They’re also big fans of kid-friendly breweries.

Favorite Craft Beer: Bell's Two Hearted

Laura Fox

Communications Consultant

Laura holds her bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Notre Dame. Having held marketing roles at AOL, Millennial Media, and T. Rowe Price, Laura has extensive experience in product, content, email, and brand marketing. She has a passion for developing communications collateral, integrated marketing programs, positioning, and messaging. Her strong collaboration and project management skills allow her to provide value to clients and the Craft Impact team.

With her husband, two young daughters, and dog, Laura lives just outside of Baltimore, MD. Why be less when you can B’more? She loves going to the beach and traveling, and always enjoys a nice glass of pinot noir (especially La Crema!).

Favorite Craft Beer: Brewer's Art Resurrection

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Bernie Strausbaugh

Operations Coordinator

Bernie earned her Bachelor's degree in Corporate Communications and Master's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from Walsh University. She taps into her education and professional experience by supporting operations to help ensure client success including facilitation of onboarding, cybersecurity management, invoicing, and serves as our template guru. Her operations ninja-powers include organizing chaos and always have a plan B, C, D, etc.

Bernie currently lives in Massillon, OH, and looks forward to eventually taking her work on the road with her boyfriend and two dogs to see all the beautiful sites our country has to offer. She is an avid crafter, traveler, camper, and motorcycle rider.

She is looking forward to continuing to learn and apply her knowledge to help our team provide the best possible service to our clients.

Favorite Craft Beer: 50/50 Mix of Paradigm Shift's Island Juice (Coconut Cream Ale) & Storm Cloud (German Black Lager)

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Mackenzie Meola Hunt

Inbound Marketing Specialist

Mackenzie earned a bachelor's in Communication and a bachelor's in Social Work from University of South Florida. She worked with Craft Impact throughout college, where she gained invaluable experience in both marketing and communications. She recently returned to Craft Impact after spending two years living in Asia as a missionary. Her favorite destinations for travel (and food) include China, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Mackenzie maintains numerous HubSpot certifications related to both sales and marketing. While routinely researching the newest trends in the field, she applies her knowledge at Craft Impact, assisting our clients with building marketing strategies, creating written and video content, and executing CRM maintenance.

Favorite Craft Beer: Peach Pear LaCroix

Faustin Weber

Growth Strategist

Faustin Weber has a dual bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. As a successful and innovative educational leader, Faustin directed large operations, communications, and marketing teams in multiple school settings. He has a passion for analyzing and breaking down complex ideas to be understood by a wide audience, and he enjoys helping others build strategic roadmaps for short-term and long-term success.

After parting ways with the beautiful mountains in Colorado, Faustin moved to Columbus, Ohio where he currently lives with his wife and three children. He loves to hike with his family and spend time outdoors whenever possible. Faustin will also follow the Notre Dame football season closely, with great interest, and he longs for the day that ND can “win the big one.”

Favorite Craft Beer: Columbus Brewing Company IPA