61: Getting creatives to talk about mental health with Laurel Stark Akman, Creative Director at The Sims

We snuck aboard a streetcar and cruised down Castro Street to catch the Bay Area’s finest Creative Director and Pitch 100 Superwoman, Laurel Stark Akman, this week.

Laurel leads creative marketing efforts for The Sims at EA and is the mind (and heart) behind “world changing” and “industry bettering” work, including mental health initiative, Our Silent Partner, and diversity boosting portfolio competition, Next Creative Leaders.

She adds smarts and sass to tons of topics including going to ad school to make her right-brained parents happy, why thrashing in the undergrowth makes you a better creative, her own mental health journey, finding her voice, creating a space for the parts of her the industry didn’t celebrate, mentorship matchmaking and lots more.



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Follow Laurel on Twitter and Instagram

Check out her website

Sign up for Mentorship Matchmaking

And go support Laurel’s brilliant initiatives, Our Silent Partner and Next Creative Leaders

Laurel kindly dedicates this episode to Niki Selken 

If you are interested in shadow work, have a look at:
Laurel’s article for The Rosie Report

This program and this book



Laurel’s book recommendations are:

Pick Me by Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin 

Darling, You Can’t Do Both by Janet Kestin and Nancy Vonk  

Herding Tigers by Todd Henry 

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

 
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