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Home » Featured Alumni

Brad Hebebrand

Major: 
Advertising (now Integrated Strategic Communication)
Year Graduated: 
1997
Hometown: 
Fort Campbell, KY
Current City: 
Baltimore, MD
Current Employer: 
Senior Global Creative Director at Under Armour
Top played song on your playlist?: 
Suedehead by Morrissey
Where has your CI degree taken you?: 

Immediately after graduating, I started working at Saybrook Advertising in Lexington where I designed print ads for mostly equine clients. From there, I was lucky enough to work at The J. Peterman Company (also in Lexington) designing and laying out the catalogs. This first taste of the apparel business was when I realized I wanted to stay in this specific field. 

I eventually moved to Columbus, OH to work for Abercrombie & Fitch as the In-Store Marketing Designer. I designed store signage, shopping bags, fragrance packaging, etc. While in this job, I sat in the same area as the t-shirt graphic designers. I absorbed as much as I could about what they did in their day-to-day and eventually began contributing in that realm by designing graphics and providing inspiration reports (competitor research and market trend analysis). Taking this on (on top of my already busy job and without even being asked to) would prove to be a wise decision.

After four years there, I moved to Los Angeles to work for a company that catered to a wide range of apparel brands. It was here, through work connections, that I was able to meet and collaborate with Justin Timberlake to help launch his clothing line, William Rast. After about two years in LA, the HR director at Abercrombie called and asked if I would be interested in coming back. They were looking for a concept designer for graphics and he said that my name kept coming up as a potential candidate. This all stems from my first stint when I put together those inspiration reports for the graphics teams. I had the choice of staying in LA or moving to NY. Since I had never lived in NY and always wanted to, I chose NY. 

I spent the next three and a half years in NY as the Senior Concept Designer for all Abercrombie brands [A&F, kids, Hollister, Ruehl (RIP), & Gilly Hicks (RIP)]. In this job, I was solely focused on graphics; setting the seasonal tone and voice for the graphic language. 

In 2008, I was hired by Converse (owned by Nike) to be the Director of Apparel Concept Design. I worked with the VP of Apparel Design and the Design Directors to lay the foundation for what our apparel would look like each season. My focus was on all key categories; men's/women's, knits, wovens, denim, outerwear, dresses, etc. 

In 2012, the company asked if I would take over the graphics departments to help inject newness into the line and to help bring some cohesion between apparel, footwear and brand design. It is quite common for people at Converse/Nike to transition into different jobs within the company. It helps to make everyone more well-rounded, as you can imagine. Around the end of 2012, the brand design team had been without a Design Director for e-commerce for almost a year and a half. I was approached and asked if I had any interest in taking on that role. I had never done e-commerce design and was told that it was not an issue. More importantly for the company, I understood the consumer and the brand voice. I've always believed that you grow by taking on things you don't understand. It helps to keep you from being stagnant and comfortable. I jumped in with both feet and never looked back.

In 2014, the same HR director who approached me in LA (he has his own recruiting firm now) called again with another potential opportunity: Under Armour. A brand I had my eye on for many years. A brand that only had one way to go: Up. I've been here for about a year and could not be happier. 

What is your favorite thing about your job?: 

The limitless potential to build a world class design team, grow the company and inspire others to create and innovate. 

What¹s the most valuable thing you learned in CI?: 

Without question, working as a team and collaborating on creative solutions. Ideas can come from anyone and anywhere. I have a meeting with my team every week and I ask every single person (from Designer 1 to Art Director) to show me something that inspires them. It could be a competitor website design interaction, how they shot their apparel laydowns, a movie, sound design, furniture design. Anything design related. It's all interconnected at the end of the day. 

What advice would you give to current CI students?: 

Adapt. When someone asks for your help, even if they ask you to do something you're unsure you can do, try. Become someone that people can rely on to get things done, no matter what. If it helps you grow your repertoire, take it on. Don't be a one-trick pony. Stay hungry.

Never, ever burn a bridge. You never know when you may need a favor from someone.

And always believe in your ability to change the future. 

Other Featured Alumni

Sean Cartell
Assistant Commissioner for Communications & Branding at the Sun Belt Conference
Integrated Strategic Communication
2007
Emily Baehner
Communication Specialist at Tenet Healthcare
Journalism, Communication
2019
Aliyah McDaniel
University of Kentucky Athletics Communications
Communication
2022
Rebecca Hanchett
Writer for Catena Media, travel blogger
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1991
Keilani  Mackey
Regional Marketing Specialist for Caesars Entertainment, Inc.
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2020
Chrissie Balding
Environmental Initiatives Specialist for the City of Lexington
MA COM
2009
Mary Clark
Assistant Director for WRFL FM, University of Kentucky
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2021
Julie Booher
Chief Strategy Officer at PepperPointe Partnerships
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2009
Karleigh Hollis
Project Manager for Apple Information Security
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2020
Trenton Upchurch
Director of Programming at WRFL/Gen.G Esports Partnerships Activations Team
Information Communication Technology
2021
Madison Rose
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2016
Sarah Robinson
Marketing Director, Fayette Mall (CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.)
Communication
2008
John Ramsey
Head of Spaceport Command & Control Systems, Jacobs Space Operations Group (NASA Exploration Ground Systems; Kennedy Space Center, FL)
Media Arts and Studies (formerly Telecommunications)
1995
Terry Likes
Head, Department of Communication at Mississippi State University
Ph.D. Communication
1996
Lindsay Hoffman
Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Delaware
Journalism
1999
Lyndsey Gough
Weekend Sports Anchor and News Multimedia Journalist at WTOC-TV
Journalism
2015
William Downey
Director, Government Affairs at RJ Corman Railroad Group
Communication
2008
TJ Beisner
Director, Content Development and Digital Media, JMI Sports
Journalism
2008
Patrick Reid
Digital Content Coordinator – TwinSpires/Churchill Downs
Media Arts and Studies
2015
Blair Conner
Social Media Manager, University of Kentucky
Communication
2015
Jackie Flegle Powell
Self-employed brand developer at Serif Group Creative Marketing Agency
Integrated Strategic Communication (Advertising)
1997
Kaelyn Query
Founder/President, Lexington Event Company
Communication
2010
Matt Murray
Head of Social Media- TODAY show, NBC News
Journalism
2011
Justin Allen
Producer/Director for Public Affairs programming at Kentucky Educational Television
MA- Communication
2009
Jacob Tamme
Director - Sports and Entertainment Division at Meridian Wealth Management
Integrated Strategic Communication
2006
Maggie Owens
Administrative Fellow, UK HealthCare
Communication
2016
Rebecca Stratton
Director of PR and Communications, Thomas More University
Integrated Strategic Communication
2015
Jennifer Pizzurro
OMD, Media Strategy Supervisor - PepsiCo Account
Communication
2013
Kirk Laird
IT Manager at the University of Kentucky (Media Depot)
Media Arts and Studies (Telecommunications)
2006
Kali Jakobi
Director of Marketing at Russell Capital Management
Integrated Strategic Communication
2017
Nancy Wiser
President, Wiser Strategies
MA, Communication
1996
Christina Buswell
NFL Network Podcast Producer, Head of Sports Content at PodcastOne Sportsnet
Journalism
2017
Chase Fairchild
Director of Partnerships, Legit Apps
Integrated Strategic Communication
2013
Carla Curtsinger
Speaker | Writer | Executive Coach
Media Arts & Studies (formerly Telecommunications)
1985
Brentin Ocker
Account Director, Delta Air Lines at Octagon
Communication
2009
Kate (Amy) Buckley
Founder/CEO of Buckley Media Group
Integrated Strategic Communication
1996
Luke Reedy
Post Production Coordinator on "Deception" Season 1 (ABC)
Media Arts & Studies
2013
Hannah Ellis
Songwriter/Artist 
Integrated Strategic Communication
2012
Keith Elkins
Radio Broadcaster for the Lexingto Legends
Media Arts and Studies (formerly Telecommunications)
1974
Ashley Westerman
Producer, NPR's "Morning Edition"
Journalism
2010
Chad Yelton
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1997
Kevin Haney
IT Help Desk Technician at Tesla
Information Communication Technology
2016
Amanda Stamper
Director of Communications/Spokeswoman for KY Governor Matt Bevin
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2005
Eric Gregory
President, Kentucky Distillers’ Association
Communication
1994
Rick Maynard
Senior Manager, Public Relations and Corporate Communications, Tempur Sealy
Journalism
1989
Michael Morgan
University of Kentucky HealthCare
Information Communication Technology
2016
Alecia Whitaker
Young adult author
Integrated Strategic Communication
2002
Blair Helwig
Associate Director at CBS Sports
Journalism
2013
J.D. Shelburne
Country Music Artist (touring)
Telecommunications (now Media Arts and Studies)
2007
Ashley York
Filmmaker; Lecturer in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California
Journalism
2002
Ty Halpin
Associate Director of Championships and Alliances, National Collegiate Athletic Association
Journalism
1996
Earl F. "Marty" Martin
President, Drake University
Communication
1984
Michelle Milam
Mars, Inc. Associate Brand Manager
Integrated Strategic Communication
2010
Cathy Black
CBS News, Senior Producer, Broadcast Marketing
Telecommunications (now Media Arts & Studies)
1985
Scott Tomlin
Director of Basketball Communications for the Dallas Mavericks
Communication
2002
Bryan Kennedy
Reporter/Anchor with WXXV-TV News 25
Broadcast Journalism
2010
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