An Insider’s Outlook… Creativity and Culture
According to CareerBuilder, today’s millennials – those born between 1981 and 1996 – spend an average of only two years and nine months in one job.
But 33-year-old Chelsea Campbell is bucking the trend. On November 30, 2023, she celebrated her fifth anniversary as an employee of BDI, with no plans to leave anytime soon.
We asked Chelsea to tell us why her dedication to the company is so atypical from that of her average cohorts.
In answer to our question, Chelsea chose two words to describe what cements her to BDI: Creativity and Culture.
Here’s what she had to say…
“When I was in college and decided to be an art major, I had no idea what that road would look like. I loved to draw and paint and take photos, and I also loved design. My first job was working as a graphic designer in the Student Missionary Union at Biola. It felt amazing to be part of the creative team and working in a collaborative environment.”
That became her focus in pursuit of a career. When she interviewed with BDI, she was drawn to the organization’s appreciation and cultivation of creativity – and knew it was the place for her.
“I’ve loved it enough to stick with it ever since!”
As a graphic designer at BDI, “My job is to capture the vision that the client services team puts forth and try to bring it to life through colors, typography and images,” Chelsea says. “I feel pretty lucky that these are my tools!”
At the same time, she believes that even if we don’t make visual art, we’re all capable of thinking creatively. She sees it all the time at BDI.
“You have to be creative to determine how to reach the donor – to help nonprofits reach their goals – so it is energizing to hear the client services team discuss the strategy side of things. Then designers turn it into something visual… the writers turn it into words. It’s like we’re all funneling the same goals through our own talents or skill sets.”
She also appreciates how BDI encourages team members to express their personal forms of creativity, which are often kept under wraps.
“One of my favorite memories at BDI was in 2019 when several of us decided to transform the hallway outside the design studio into what we called the ‘Brewer Gallery.’ We invited everyone to submit artwork and really pushed the message that you don’t have to be an artist to make something special.
“We received all kinds of pieces like poetry, paintings and sewing projects. It was so fun to see how many BDI employees had this hidden artistic side to them.”
Chelsea says it’s examples like this that reflect BDI’s unique culture – another factor in her tenure at BDI.
“I knew I wanted to work somewhere that really cared about their employees and that’s certainly how I’ve felt here. It’s in the employee benefits. It’s in the extracurriculars like the wellness programs, Recharge retreats and other activities that bring everyone together since they began working remotely after COVID. It’s also in conversations with leadership and other coworkers.
“I feel like there’s a community here that is fuller than what I’d expect from other organizations, and it has survived and thrived even throughout BDI’s exceptional growth. When my friends talk about where they work, it’s nothing like this.”
And maybe, Chelsea surmises, regardless of our ages or generational labels, it’s because we’re all drawn together for a bigger purpose:
“The work we do is inherently meaningful – we are trying to impact lives. Even though I’m not client facing, I feel like my work matters. And to work with a group of people that share all these memories really adds to it.”
Now that’s a trend worth holding on to!
Checking in with Chelsea
Since we first interviewed Chelsea for our Employee Spotlight in 2021, she still works from her home in Los Angeles (Highland Park), where she lives with her husband, Zack, and dog, Scully, a frequent visitor with Chelsea at the Monrovia office. In her latest creative endeavor, she and an artist friend are painting themed designs on tapered candles and selling them on Instagram. “They’re called June Baby Candles,” she says, “because we were both born in June!”
Stay tuned for more Insider’s Outlook articles, where BDI team members share their insight!
