Creative that moves people
and brands forward.
Award-winning Creative Director and brand leader with 17+ years in agency and in-house environments, transforming complex challenges into strategic ideas, integrated campaigns, and compelling brand experiences that drive measurable results.
S E L E C T E D W O R K
Big ideas. Human Insights. Measurable Impact.
Featured projects that connect strategy, storytelling, and design to drive real results.
INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN
Client: Baltimore Gas and Electric
Come On In
Making energy efficiency feel less like a chore, and more like an invitation.
38M VIEWS | 50% CTR | +90% PURCHASE LIFT | 10+ AWARDS
INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN
Client: Baltimore Gas and Electric
The Match
Shopping for an appliance isn’t that different from dating. It’s all about finding The One.
1.6M IMPRESSIONS | 24K CLICKS | 14 AWARDS
CAMPAIGN + VIDEO
Client: National Institutes of Health
The Blind Man and the Elephant
Inaugural departmental video making the case for diversity in science to an audience of experts.
WEBBY NOMINEE | PLATINUM HERMES | GOLD TELLY
GLOBAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
Client: OLAM
#70MILLION
A ten-day global call to action that united organizations and communities around refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced people.
115 PARTNERS | 8 COUNTRIES | 100K+ REACHED | 400+ LIVE ATTENDEES
How I think, how I lead:
I’ve built my career around taking things that are complex, technical, institutional, or simply easy to ignore, and finding the idea that makes people care.
I lead at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, design and performance, bringing multidisciplinary teams together to turn insights into work that is both creatively ambitious and accountable to results.
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Building trust, creating clarity and giving teams the space to do their best work.
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In a world of AI, I’m finding the unexpected human idea that makes a complicated message resonate.
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Connecting creative decisions to audience behavior, business goals and measurable impact.
I swear I didn’t pay them…
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![A headshot of a man with short brown hair, blue eyes, and light skin, smiling slightly, wearing a dark blazer over a patterned shirt, against a white background.]()
Ashley has demonstrated an outstanding ability to foster collaboration among team members.
Literally everyone from internal writers and designers to account and program team members and external photographers, photo re-touchers, and directors. She’s in her element taking charge of kickoff calls, brainstorming sessions, and team presentations, while actively creating an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued, resulting in a robust creative process. Her infectious enthusiasm, passion, and leadership inspires her teams to bring their best work to the table. It’s no exaggeration to say that 'everyone loves working with Ashley.'
— John Sullivan, Associate Creative Director / ICFNext
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![Professional headshot of a smiling woman with shoulder-length wavy hair wearing a black blazer and blue top.]()
Ashley's creative vision and strategic mindset were instrumental in driving program growth and earning industry recognition for numerous BGE campaigns.
She has a talent for transforming complex concepts into clear, engaging visuals that resonate with customers. Ashley brings enthusiasm and dedication to every project.
— Katie Daughaday, Senior Marketing Specialist / BGE
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![Close-up photo of a young smiling woman with long brown hair and light skin, against a neutral background.]()
Ashley is an exceptional creative leader.
As her Account Team counterpart for two years, our partnership was marked by mutual respect, transparency, and the ability to challenge each other's perspectives for better overall solutions. Her warm, personable nature makes her easy to collaborate with, often lightening a difficult challenge with her humor and positive attitude. Ashley spearheaded numerous award-winning campaigns grounded in clever human insights, showcasing her talent and dedication. Additionally, Ashley consistently demonstrated an excellent ability to present creative concepts to internal and external audiences, bringing everyone along for the creative journey and addressing questions with openness and ease. She's an invaluable asset to any creative team.
— Adrienne Rettinger, Senior Marketing Manager / ICF
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![Close-up of a smiling man with curly white hair and a beard, wearing a dark blazer and light shirt, against a plain background.]()
In my experience, the best advertising is created when you like and trust the people you work with.
And when you're having fun. Yes! Advertising can and should be fun. So here's some good news: Ashley is really fun to work with. She's other things too. Ashley is smart, creative, dedicated and always striving to make the work better. But when you tie all that up with someone who is bursting with positive energy, then that's the full package. And that's what it's been like creating award-winning work with Ashley.
— Rosser Clark, Senior Copywriter + Creative Director / ICFNext
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![A smiling young man with short curly hair, wearing black glasses and a light blue collared shirt, posing against a plain light grey background.]()
Ashley is a talented Creative Director that deeply understands the balance of art and content.
I've known Ashley for more than 10 years and she has always been a truly dedicated team member, quick to respond, and very creative. I highly recommend Ashley as a Creative Director. She is top notch!
— Jeffrey Rum, CEO + Co-Founder / Ignite
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![Close-up selfie of a smiling woman wearing glasses and a green cap with white embroidered letters, outdoors with trees and mountains in the background during sunset.]()
I highly recommend Ashley Bacco for any position involving design, marketing, branding and communications.
I collaborated with Ashley on multiple occasions, and was consistently impressed with both her products and professionalism. Using the firm's newly created website as a launching point, Ashley applied her design expertise and attention to detail to further elevate Biohabitats' brand. Under her leadership, our creative team infused new life and sophistication into our print material and digital content.
— Amy Nelson, Communications Director / Biohabitats
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![Close-up of smiling woman with dark hair, wearing a black accessory, in front of a window showing trees outside.]()
Ashley is always pleasant, professional, and produces high-quality work.
She can easily pivot to a variety of projects in multiple software spaces with ease. I know that I can trust that Ashley will turn around work on time (many times a rush deadline) and that she will carefully read through provided materials and direction so that her work is thorough and accurate. Ashley is a thoughtful and talented designer with a keen eye for balance, composition, typography and color. I would recommend Ashley to anyone in need of a creative and talented designer.
— Shaina Colvin, Art Director / Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
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![A man wearing a light blue dress shirt, a dark vest, and a patterned tie, smiling and sitting with arms crossed in front of a plain wall.]()
Ashley is great at taking a concept and running with it to produce awesome ideas and convert your thoughts to images.
I've worked with Ashley a number of times to do logo and advertising design for us. Ashley is extremely talented and always delivers on time. I look forward to working with her more in the future!
— Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CEO / VERIFYiQ
