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At the Helm

Michael Doody, BIC SoGo Executive-in-Residence

As founder of The [blank] Project, a brand strategy and research consultancy that helps clients and agencies unearth actionable insights and solve business problems, Michael thinks strategically, builds bridges, and forms coalitions.

He’s worked at JWT, Publics, as well as Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners where he was co-head of the brand strategy department. Michael has worked with over one hundred brands, interviewed thousands of people and uncovered a few insights he’s pretty proud of too. He has won awards for creativity, effectiveness, planning and research.

Michael has lectured at the University of Colorado, Columbia University, NYU and SCAD. His work for Foster Adoption has been used to teach others at the Columbia School of Business as well as in a few textbooks. In addition to his BIC role as Executive-in-Residence for SoGo, Michael has been a BIC portfolio judge, taught B3002 Consumer Behavior & Persuasion, and serves on the BIC Board.

Nancy R. Tag, BIC Program Director

Professor Tag founded and directs The City College of New York’s Master of Professional Studies Program in Branding + Integrated Communications (BIC). Following her experience as co-PI in BIC's NIH grant to increase vaccination rates among Mexican immigrants, she worked with a broad coalition to establish the BIC Center of Communications for Social Good -- or BIC SoGo.

Before academia, Nancy held many agency positions including a seat on Dentsu's New York Board of Directors while also being Creative Director of Canon, Shiseido, JVC, Noritake and other accounts. Among her numerous industry awards, Nancy has two TV commercials in the permanent collection of advertising at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Her book, Ad Critique, is a landmark textbook that teaches both the “creatives” and the “suits” how to effectively critique creativity in advertising.

Gerardo Blumenkrantz, BIC Creative Track Advisor

Founding BIC faculty and CCNY Associate Professor Gerardo Blumenkrantz has anchored many BIC research projects. As a Principal Investigator on a $750,000 NIH grant, Gerardo worked with Memorial Sloan Kettering and the Mexican Consulate here in New York City to help increase HPV vaccination rates. As part of the inaugural cohort for CCNY's Campus Engagement Network (CEN), an initiative funded by the Moxie Foundation to develop new approaches to teaching, research and advocacy missions, Gerardo joined forces with Professor Zhigang Zhu of The Grove School's Computer Science to create a multi-departmental senior design course for undergraduate seniors that incorporates BIC know-how.
 
Gerardo continues to work as an independent creative director and consultant. In 2013, he was art director and creative director for a campaign designed by Ogilvy Indonesia for the UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) that was a finalist in the London International Awards (LIA). He has won numerous other awards including the Clio, ADDY and Effie. His work has been featured in Communication Arts and among Ad Age’s Best. A few years ago, Gerardo won the prestigious Maurice Sendak Fellowship for Creative Storytellers.

Belle Frank, Chief Strategy Officer VMLY&R Global Health Practice

After a productive career at Young & Rubicam, Belle is now CSO at VMLY&R's Global Health Practice. In 2017, Belle was honored by AWNY's Trailblazing Working Mother of the Year award. She has a BA in French from Tufts University and holds a Master’s from Harvard in Education with a focus on human psychological development and the effects of communication.

Belle co-authored several pieces for Admap, including “Reinventing Qualitative Research” and “Brand Strategies for an Economic Downturn” and is working on a book about advertising talent for the new world. She has lectured at conferences, at Tufts and NYU as well as Wharton and Columbia business schools. She is a founding faculty of the BIC program, integral to the establishment of BIC SoGo, and teaches BIC's foundational course in Research and Awareness. Belle also serves on the BIC Board.