Hi, I'm Adrian.

In everything I do, my goal is to strengthen cultures and activate human potential using my skills as a strategist and communicator.

Throughout my career in Fortune 500s and startups, I've partnered with the C-suite as an intrapreneur who can catalyze teams across functions to enhance employee experience and drive business growth.

Some Highlights

Keeping Employees Engaged Through Major Change

I’ve been responsible for keeping employees focused on doing their best work amid organizational and industry inflection points.

Recent highlights:

• Leading global comms strategies for a curriculum to increase generative AI adoption and producing transparent executive forums (Weber Shandwick)
• Restoring internal agency pride and external industry reputation after high-profile executive departures, ultimately earning agency of the year and best workplace honors (Grey)
• Stabilizing a culture in transition as the company's business model was shifting due to increased competition and the demands of a new corporate parent (General Assembly)

Culture Change at Scale

At The New York Times, my work helped increase employee engagement (+20% YoY):

• Scaled the first companywide employee mentorship program from one department to presence in 19 countries, producing higher promotion rates for participants.
• Led the communications strategy to provide on-demand professional coaching to 4,700 employees worldwide.
• Advised the inaugural diversity and inclusion report, which has now been published annually since 2017.

Navigating Controversial Topics

Amidst external social crises, I have helped executives create thoughtful messages for their teams and established feedback loops to maintain constructive dialogue between leaders and employees.

Consulting

With this track record for impact, I now offer consulting for leaders looking to transform their organizations' internal culture. As the founder of a new firm called Stokes Lane, my specialties include:

• Editorial strategy and training for internal comms: All-hands meetings; "Ask Me Anything" forums; Community guidelines for Slack and Microsoft Teams
• Scalable programs for high engagement and high performance: Mentorship; Coaching; Learning and development

Career Coaching

”My coaching session with Adrian felt like time well spent getting the specific support that I needed. I have been navigating the career space on my own for a while, sometimes relying on AI or general advice. My session with Adrian felt like a much-needed reset. He listened, he asked sharp questions, and I ended our time together feeling supported by his bespoke advice.”

—Award-winning podcast producer

I love helping others thrive at work by strategizing their career crossroads together and being an objective thought partner as they step into new leadership roles.

I've coached 200+ professionals on platforms like The Muse and reached many more with career advice writing syndicated to outlets like TIME and Forbes.

Book a free intro call with me

Inspired By…

Creativity in all its forms.

Since 2023, I've chaired External Affairs on the Board of Directors of Artistic Noise, a Harlem-based nonprofit that empowers court-involved youth through art-making.

I'm also a former DJ and recently completed a fashion project called Trophe.

Let’s connect!

Photo by Ira James