Rachelle Kuramoto (’96, MA ’98)
Vice President: Brand & Content, Dragon Army
Atlanta, GA
WFU Class of 1996 (BA) / 1998 (MA)
English Literature (BA, MA)
Summer Business Program
Presidential Scholarship for Music (Oboe)
DeacLink: What did you study at Wake?
Rachelle Kuramoto: My bachelor’s and master’s degrees both were in English Literature. At the wise counsel of my parents, I added the Summer Management Program. Because I had earned a Presidential Scholarship, I also was dual-enrolled at the NC School for the Arts. It was a well-balanced education!
DL: Please walk us through your path from graduation day to your current job.
RK: The path really begins at my undergraduate graduation. I was verbally committed to a job with Accenture. The day I was set to sign with them, Wake called. There was a scholarship spot in a small graduate literature program, and Dr. Angelou and Dr. McPherson had offered to be my thesis advisors. I’d had the chance to study with both of these incredible professors as an undergrad and the idea of spending more time with them out shadowed any other opportunity.
There are moments when life takes shape for you. I never could have imagined such an opportunity. But you better believe I grabbed it! I spent two years immersed in the power of language and story, learning to research and think deeply, and considering how to use those (soft) skills to shape a career.
After finishing my master’s degree, I married my college sweetheart, Kenji, and moved to Atlanta. And took an internship.
Sometimes you have to pause to gather speed. That’s what I was doing. The internship was with the editorial department at Ogilvy PR. It was like another level of grad school on warp speed. The Ogilvy PR office in Atlanta focused on technology. The internet was new, and legacy companies were trying to find their place in it as challenger brands came online. It was so exciting. For three years, I did brand-focused market intelligence to help companies understand their audiences and competition. I moved pretty quickly into a role leading the editorial team that was tasked with crafting grand positioning and all kinds of content.
As anyone who has worked in a global agency knows, global agency work demands a brutal schedule. I worked and traveled constantly. But Kenji and I wanted to start a family, so it was time to move on to the next phase.
For about the first ten years of the 2000s, I focused on being a mom to our two little kids, supporting Kenji as he transitioned to startup founder from a ‘safe’ corporate job. I recognized the need to exercise my mental muscles early on. I also wanted to have the flexibility to be a mom first. Striking that balance meant making my own work, so I launched a boutique footwear brand, did some freelance writing, launched a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) chapter, and led the PTA. (Side note, thank your volunteers.)
Once the kids were in school, I decided to put that unusual brand, audience, and technology training back to more traditional agency work. I’d learned it was possible to balance parenting and professional time, especially as an entrepreneur. I also confirmed that my ideal job would allow me to provide corporate storytelling, brand strategy, and ghostwriting.
So I started a company to do it. (It’s possible that I made more money as an intern during that first year of starting Watchword Brand. Initially, it was just me. Freelancer with a fancy name.)
I was fortunate to build a great client base quickly. The turning point came as a call to do a massive naming and nomenclature project for a ‘unicorn’ tech startup. Taking the job meant hiring a small team, and the company began to grow. It was never my intent to grow a big company; rather, to grow a highly reputed one. We accomplished that goal, and in April 2019, Dragon Army approached us with an acquisition offer.
For a second time, life took shape for me.
In August 2019, we announced that Watchword was part of Dragon Army and I was joining the leadership team. Today, I work with the most amazing, seasoned, intelligent team to grow a small and highly reputed marketing agency. We support a client roster ranging from enterprises like the Home Depot to local startups like Passport Atlanta. We have two nonprofit organizations (48in48 and Ripples of Hope) integrated into our structure, and I’m helping to build Ripples.
I’m working harder than ever, but I have more time for my family and friends. I’m learning new things daily. And I’m seeing clearly that every step is a foundation for a more fulfilling present and future.
DL: How much did your studies and general experience at Wake inform or drive your career path?
RK: I am one of the lucky ones! From the first time I visited Wake, I knew it was the right place for me. Every part of my experience shaped who I’ve become as a professional, a spouse and mom, and as a contributing member of the community — they’re all entwined.
Every step in my career path has employed the research, writing, and editing skills I honed during my time at Wake as a student and through my job at the Writing Center. Through the Summer Management Program, I found a home in brand strategy and marketing. My husband of almost 22 years was my best friend from the moment we met on the Presidential Leadership Council. (Side note, we’re pretty sure Dr. Hearn always took credit for introducing us.) It’s largely because of him that I became an entrepreneur.
Our home continues to be filled with music because we’ve passed on the vitality of the arts to our kids. Each of them uses their music at school and teaches as a way to earn money.
Pro Humanitate has been the connective tissue through it all. My focus as a marketing writer is on highlighting humanity in business through messaging, audience persona building, and storytelling. I’m fortunate to serve in those capacities through my day job and also through my philanthropic endeavors. I’m part of an amazing nonprofit purpose-built community board in Atlanta called the Grove Park Foundation and as the co-founder and leader of Ripples of Hope.
DL: How did you find and apply to the various positions you’ve held?
RK: Here’s another area where Pro Humanitate has shaped my career. Every great opportunity I’ve pursued or captured has come through relationships I’ve built in service to others. Most notably, I met Jeff Hilimire (Dragon Army founder and now my business partner) through the nonprofit 48in48. He co-founded 48in48 and I was an early board member and active volunteer. We became collaborators and friends, and when it was time for him to expand his thriving digital agency to include branding and content, he knew Watchword was an option. Similarly, I met my mentor on the advisory board of the Alliance Theater. She is a celebrated voice of philanthropic impact and the kindest example of what a working mom can be, and is guiding me through my mid-career.
If I can provide one piece of advice to current students and recent graduates, and a reminder to others well into their career, it’s to remember Pro Humanitate.
Many of the good people in your community are working in service to others. Aim your sights high. Those who are serving on boards, leading committees, and giving of their time in other ways are often professionally accomplished and well-connected. Serve with them. Build relationships with them. Even if they don’t have a professional opportunity for you, they likely will take the time to answer your questions and provide helpful direction. (Bonus, you’ll be using your skills for good.)
Bottom line, be an active part of the community where you want to work. Pursue opportunities to contribute to causes you care about because the people you meet doing it probably will be like-minded and good. Have the courage to get to know people you admire and ask them for career guidance.
Your network is everything. Chances are, it’s made up of nice people who want to help when they can. Contribute and engage kindly and courageously.
Life after graduation is a huge transition, certainly bigger than the one into college. (And that feels huge.)
Students have four(ish) years to get closer to being a fully formed human. The more Wake can do to demand that students take every opportunity to stand on their own two feet and make hard decisions, the better. That might mean requiring every student to have a job that contributes to their tuition or mandating off-campus service. It might include requiring that each student hold a leadership position in a campus organization so they have to network and collaborate with professionals. Whatever these efforts look like, tactically, strategically, the intent is to mature the ability to be self-supporting, brave, communicative, and aware of their place in the world.
DL: What is your favorite part of living and working in Atlanta?
RK: Atlanta is a thriving cultural city. We live in the suburbs but my office is in the heart of downtown, near the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. The city is far from perfect, but it continues to make great strides toward inclusivity across our arts, enterprise, and educational environments. I absolutely love being a part of it. The best parts are the incredibly interesting performances coming from the Woodruff Arts Center and Alliance Theatre, the restaurants, and the festivals that take place throughout our beautiful green spaces.
DL: What is the most interesting thing going on in the art scene there at the moment, in your opinion?
RK: It is the work coming from the Alliance Theatre. It’s an ‘exporter’ of shows more than it is an importer, which means it’s employing the voices and talents of our own Atlantans. It has the rich cultural perspective of an art center that sits in the center of a truly diverse mix of humanity.
DL: What is your favorite part about working for Dragon Army?
RK: We describe Dragon Army as a purpose-driven integrated digital engagement agency. That’s a lot of words, but together they answer this question well.
I wouldn’t have sold Watchword to become part of Dragon Army if purpose and people weren’t at the center. There is never a day when we’re just ‘doing the work.’ We’re a closely-knit team of really smart, creative people who genuinely and actively care for one another and who genuinely and actively care about our clients together.
The digital engagement work that comes out of a team like that is astonishing. Whether it’s something like the fun game experience we created to launch HBOmax or the gorgeous brand we built and are nurturing for a young medical research foundation called The Karen Toffler Charitable Trust, I am grateful to do work I’m proud to claim. And even more grateful to work every day with individuals whom I admire for their skill, intelligence, and caring hearts.
DL: What and where is next for you?
RK: More than 20 years into my career, I feel like I’m standing at a precipice. Taking a leadership role at Dragon Army started a new phase. I think it will be the last one from a corporate career perspective. I’m helping to grow the agency and the people within it. Those wonderful, challenging tasks could very well carry me through to retirement (however many years away that will be). I’m very content to keep working on them.
That said, there’s a lot of transition happening. I’m intentionally laying the groundwork for doing more philanthropic work in my later career and retirement. And we’re bringing our kids through the last years of high school, so we’re taking as much time as we can to enjoy them before they start their own journey into the world!
DL: Any kernel of advice you’d like to impart to the readers?
RK: The best piece of advice I can impart isn’t mine. Dr. Angelou shared it with me. As brilliant as she was, this advice is not hers either. It comes from BC philosopher and playwright Terence who wrote “Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto” — “I am human, and I think nothing human is alien to me.”
You’ll play so many roles in your life — student, professional, artist, spouse, parent, volunteer, traveler, and more. And yet, you’ll always be fundamentally yourself. The same is true of others. You’re one of a kind and one of many.
Remember that, and you’ll always have the courage to build the connections that build success.