More than an account person, Ally is an account partner. It’s how she wants her internal teams and her clients to see her: as someone with deep understanding, enthusiastic support and a commitment to adding value. 

“I would say my number one responsibility is to make sure that the clients are happy with us as partners,” Ally says. As she sees it, that’s about so much more than delivering work on time and on budget. (But check, check.) It’s about connection, and proving that she and her team are more than vendors, they are extensions of the clients’ team. “I love when clients can tell we care about them and their challenges. That’s what I really like about Genuine. We have financial goals as an agency, but we also have relationship goals. So we’re always thinking about how we can add value as partners.”

That commitment to partnership extends to her colleagues, too.“I feel like we all genuinely like each other.” Ally laughs, when asked about her teams. And while it’s actually impossible not to like Ally, her contribution to her teams is so much more than that: it’s her commitment to the work and the people doing it, her sense of shared responsibility, her positivity and the respect she shows her teammates. It’s how she embodies our courage value. 

“What we collectively do,” Ally says, “I think is pretty courageous. We're pitching, we're sharing new ideas, we’re problem solving. I love to be a part of that and to watch it happen.” In her role, courage also means speaking up, taking responsibility, tackling big challenges and delivering tough messages. But for Ally, seeing our work in the wild makes all the tough stuff worth it. From billboards to banners, Ally takes real pride in being part of a team that makes things. And she should. We can’t imagine making them without her.

We all remember those Sarah McLachlin pet shelter ads, right? Ally sure does. First, it made her cry. Then it made her think: who made this? Could she? 

“When I got to college,” Ally says “I realized my skill set was a fit for an account role, so I started looking into client services.” We’re grateful “the arms of the angel” eventually pointed her our way, because she’s one of the best.  

But Ally is quick to point out that it’s that it’s all about the team: “I want people to see me as an internal partner and champion for their work. There's a reason I'm not a creative director. There's a reason I'm not a solutions architect. We’re in these roles for a reason, to work together to figure something out.”

Ally is a runner. Not just an around-the-block runner, a marathon runner. She gets that some people don’t get that. But for her, it’s not just about the wind-in-her-hair, breath-in-her-lungs, body-burning thrill of it (this writer assumes that’s a thing), it’s the mindset. 

“In running, there's a mentality of relentless forward progress,” Ally explains. “The idea is that you're constantly moving forward. It doesn't matter how slow. It doesn't matter how fast. You just keep moving forward. At work if I get really stressed and don't know where to begin, I tell myself: grasp onto something and keep going. Figure that thing out, push it forward and just keep moving.”