Ad Judges

Adam Taylor Brown

Adam Taylor Brown is the brand strategy and design consultant behind Marrow. He's won a couple dozen ADDY™ Awards including Best of Show, Best Design, Best Copywriting, Judge's Choice, Audience Choice, and Public Service Excellence. In addition to his consultancy practice, Adam works with Section as a senior teaching assistant. He’s taught with Scott Galloway (NYU), Julie Channing (AllBirds), April Dunford (positioning expert), Will Storr (author), and Jonah Berger (Wharton). He's served on the Lexington American Advertising Federation board; judges the American Advertising Awards; mentors startup founders as an Advisor-in-Residence with Launch Blue; sits on the BCTC Graphic Design Program board; and is a founder of the No™ designer collective. A frequent guest speaker, Adam has cultivated a reputation as a provocative and influential voice among design, brand, and business leaders. His website is here: madebymarrow.com and LinkedIn is here: www.linkedin.com/in/adamtaylorbrown/

Bernice Chao

Bernice Chao is an award-winning creative and has worked on the world's top brands. She is among the few female Asian American creative leaders in the industry and is helping to shape the AANHPI community through Asians in Advertising, a global non-profit. The organization inspires the next generation of talent through its podcasts, events, mentorship, and scholarship programs. 

Chao authored the award-winning bestseller The Visibility Mindset and has given talks on over 100 stages, including SXSW, World Bank, and Cannes. She is a professor at Loyola Marymount University and president of TEDxCulverCity. Bernice was inducted into the 2022 AAF Hall of Achievement, the 2023 She Run's It Working Mother of the Year Award, and the 2023 ADCOLOR Catalyst Award. You can see more of her work here: www.bernicechao.com and follow her here: www.linkedin.com/in/bernicechao.

Cynthia Osborn

Cynthia Osborn is a copywriter based in New York City. Currently an Associate Creative Director at Anomaly, she's had previous experience at advertising agencies like 72andSunny, Virtue (VICE), and others. She's touched a wide array of brands including Canada Goose, Coca Cola, Facebook, Benjamin Moore, and Johnnie Walker. Her website is: www.cynthiaosborn.co.

Mingxuan Shen

Mingxuan Shen is a multidisciplinary designer specializing in brand identity, UI/UX, motion and editorial design. From Shanghai, China, she is now based in New York City. Many of her projects revolve around the uniqueness of cultures and social diversity. Her eclectic background in journalism, studio art and cognitive science gives her a more comprehensive and empathetic view toward design. Currently at Google. Previously at Pentagram, Baboon to the Moon, Coulture, 1893 Brand Studio and Kompleks Creative. Select clients include Apple, SONOS, BNY Mellon, Sid Gentle, Keeling Andrew, Chrysler Museum of Art, DAWANG and Mia Vesper among others. You can see her work here: shenmingxuan.net.

Photo and Video Judges

Katie Klann

Katie Klann is a cinematographer, video editor and photographer based in Denver, CO. She specializes in video portraiture and documentary work and has a veneration for documenting the natural world around her. She is currently a video editor at The Players’ Tribune. When Katie isn’t chasing after her horse of a dog, Bubs, she’s probably making something out of yarn or wood, drinking a beer on a patio or finding a new place to park her truck camper for a weekend getaway. She is available for freelance work and you can find her work here and follow her on Instagram @khklann.

Katie Rausch

Katie Rausch is the Assistant Managing Editor of Photography at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, Minn., where she works with an incredible staff.

Previously, Katie was the Deputy Director of Photography at The Denver Post, and a staff visual journalist with The Blade in Toledo, Ohio, and the Jackson Citizen Patriot in Jackson, Mich.

Her work has been recognized by the National Press Photographers Association, Pictures of the Year International, the Ohio News Photographers Association and the Michigan Press Photographers Association, among others. You can see more of her work here and follow Katie on Instagram @kdr42.

Luke Rafferty

Luke Rafferty is an award-winning filmmaker based in Philadelphia and currently serves as Founder and Creative Director at Filmiamo Productions. Luke is passionate about inspiring action through digital narrative. From local nonprofits to national corporations, Luke has worked with clients from around the world to tell their unique stories. Luke graduated Syracuse University with a degree in Photojournalism and travelled the country and world filmmaking ever since. When he's not behind the camera, he can be found volunteering as an EMT or enjoying a glass of wine and a good book, with his wife and dog.

Nic Antaya

Nic is a full-time freelance photographer and photojournalist based in Detroit, Michigan covering news and sports and creating portraits and photo essays for editorial and commercial clients. His work has taken him throughout the Midwest working for clients such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Getty Images, among others. At the core, he loves connecting with people through photography. Nic is an alumnus of Michigan State University, the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX) and the Eddie Adams Workshop XXXI. You can see more of his work here and follow Nic on Instagram @nicantaya. 

Patrick Traylor

Patrick Traylor is Senior Editor for Photography and Multimedia at The Denver Post, a position he has held since 2018. He joined The Post as a photo editor in 2012.

He earned his master's degree in photojournalism from Ohio University's School of Visual Communication in Athens, Ohio. Before that, he dabbled in freelance photography, worked as a photojournalist at newspapers in Illinois and Kansas and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. You can follow Patrick on Instagram @ptraylor.