Beth Carter

IT’s BEEN A JOURNEY

I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains. As with many people's hometowns, growing up with unlimited access to the outdoors gave me a point of view I carry with me everywhere (and to get this out of the way, being a non-Mormon in Utah in the 1990s is really only a tiny fraction of this). I've lived in Oregon, New York City, Ireland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London, but my (complicated) relationship with the place I grew up serves to explain where my priorities developed rather than any of those amazing cities: the preservation of the great outdoors, human relationships, social justice and cultural inclusivity. I'm at my best when I'm outside, and I think most other people are too.

But the other places in my trajectory so far matter too: In Utah I learned about culture and subcultures and about the magnificent planet we live on, in Oregon I found a responsibility to history, at NYU I learned how to think, how to make connections between people, culture and the world and in London I found a new sense of purpose. In Los Angeles I am learning that this city's diversity is its strength and it's enriching and challenging and important.

Things I've done that I'm proud of: I reported and wrote for Wired.com, covering interesting and diverse topics ranging from doping labs to the Sundance Film Festival. I joined 72U, a creative residency within the ad agency 72andSunny, a a leap for sure, but next thing I knew almost three years had passed and I had a career creatively solving business problems and telling human stories through brands like Samsung and Starbucks. I left the comfort of a career and went back to school on another continent. I joined a startup to help them tell stories that matter. 

Things I want to do more of: Bridge the gap between public and private, civic and corporate, to make a difference in people's lives today and in the future. 

Things I love: Moving (read: pilates, running, dancing, skiing down or walking up mountains), Grand Targhee National Forest, my weird little dog Charlie, and reading really good writing (Joan Didion is my favorite but I'm always open to new books). I'm homesick for London and I'm exceptional at baking pie.