Creative Work
for Good

The Neighborly Studio is a creative and casting agency dedicated to authentic storytelling, amplifying real voices and everyday changemakers across the country.

Our Story

We're a tight-knit creative trio—Ryan, Avery, and Nat—with agency chops and grassroots hearts who found each other in the nonprofit world. Over three years, we became a unit: producing national campaigns, casting real people, turning complex messaging into human moments, and winning Webby and Gold Telly Awards along the way. We built editorial and brand ecosystems from scratch, and we did it all with one shared belief: The best stories come from the people living them. We love this work, and never want to stop. So we started The Neighborly Studio.

At Neighborly, we move fast, we laugh a lot, and we treat our work (and the people in it) with care. We’re not interested in manufactured gloss or performative allyship. Our studio helps brands, nonprofits, candidates, and advocacy organizations make meaningful content that cuts through the noise. Whether it’s brand identity, editorial, campaign strategy, casting, or creative direction, we want to create campaigns that uplift real people and start meaningful conversations.

Meet the Team

  • Co-Founder | Campaign Strategy, Casting, Brand Content

    As a Midwesterner, bragging doesn’t always come naturally to Ryan. He’s an editorial director with a proven track record of building high-impact content programs across martech, Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and even presidential politics. Ryan believes great storytelling has the power to change minds (and sometimes, bottom lines). Ryan has created award-winning campaigns as Director of Campaign Strategy and Editorial at The Trevor Project, where his work won a Webby and Gold Telly. He’s contributed to Newsweek, USA Today, The Oxford Political Review, and The Infatuation, and, deeply understands the talent experience; as talent, he has collaborated with brands like the NFL, Taco John’s, Dairy Queen, Sporting KC, and icons like Conan O’Brien and Helen Mirren (yes, he was the Slytherin on Harry Potter: Tournament of Houses on MAX). His brand, casting, and editorial work blend emotional truth with strategy. A Northwestern-educated playwright with a master’s from the University of Oxford, his plays have been staged off-Broadway, at Edinburgh Fringe, and across the U.S. and U.K., with themes that spark conversation and challenge the status quo. He’s the author of 50 States of Mind: A Journey to Rediscover American Democracy, a narrative nonfiction exploration of America’s divides and possibilities, born from a road trip through all 50 states. The book earned a distinction from Oxford and led to his work as a keynote speaker on community engagement and storytelling across differences.

  • Co-Founder | Casting, Production, Project Management

    Avery Kuiper is a creative project manager and storyteller who thrives at the intersection of heart and hustle. She’s led award-winning campaigns, produced powerful stories on the ground and most recently, served as the Creative Project Manager at The Trevor Project, where she oversaw large-scale content productions—casting talent, field-producing real stories, and managing editorial, design, and video workflows. Her work contributed to series like TrevorTalksSharing Space and Learn With Love, the latter earning Clio, Telly, and Webby Awards. Before that, Avery worked at Comcast Advertising, where she helped scale creative operations across national marketing teams. There, she led the implementation of project management tools, training cross-functional teams and streamlining production pipelines. She also contributed to Comcast RISE, an initiative aimed at uplifting small businesses owned by women and people of color—bringing her passion for mission-driven work to a corporate space and helping spotlight underrepresented voices through creative storytelling and operational strategy. Whether launching a brand campaign or untangling a complex production, Avery brings equal parts structure and soul to every project. She’s endlessly curious and deeply committed to work that uplifts queer and trans communities, leads with empathy, and centers joyful, impactful storytelling. She’s always looking for meaningful work, powerful stories, and new ways to bring creative visions to life.

  • Co-Founder | Creative, Design, Strategy

    Nathanio Strimpopulos is a creative leader who blends artistry with strategy, empathy with execution, and bold ideas with measurable impact. With over 15 years of experience spanning international music campaigns, mission-driven nonprofit work, and brand transformations in higher ed and tech, Nat finds creative solutions to help organizations tell their stories with clarity, purpose, and beauty. Before launching The Neighborly Studio, Nat led design and creative teams at The Trevor Project, Carnegie, and Third Man Records, building scalable systems, mentoring diverse teams, and delivering creative that sparked real-world results. From rebranding universities that led to enrollment growth, to directing multi-platform campaigns for artists like Jack White and Margo Price (earning a Grammy nomination along the way), his work has always sat at the intersection of culture, storytelling, and design excellence. Additionally, his post-production creative direction work for Learn with Love garnered three Gold Telly awards, was shortlisted for a Clio Award in Film Craft and was awarded a People's Voice Webby award. Whether he’s building brand systems that scale or guiding a client through a big vision shift, he’s always focused on empowering teams and solving problems creatively through a collaborative spirit and human-centered approach. His passion is to create work that not only looks good but means something.

What We Do

Casting & Production

Real people. Real stories. Real impact.
We specialize in casting real humans to tell their authentic stories. Whether you're producing a national PSA, a docuseries, or a campaign with soul, we handle full-cycle production with precision and care. From casting outreach to interview prep to on-the-ground field producing, we make everyday changemakers shine on camera with deep knowledge in making adults and youth alike feel included and comfortable. Let's build award-winning, empathy-building campaigns.

Strategy & Storytelling

Build your brand identity and understand your audience’s mindset.
At Neighborly, story drives strategy—not the other way around. We help brands and organizations sharpen their message, uncover their emotional core, and tell stories that move people. Whether you're launching a campaign, revamping your comms, or building a narrative for your next project, we bring cut through performative platitudes with clear, actionable messaging. You deserve storytelling that is clear and moves people.

Campaigns & Activations

Campaigns that mean something. Activations that actually activate.
We don’t do campaigns for the sake of it. We craft experiences—digital, print, social, in-person or online—that connect with audiences in meaningful ways. From grassroots storytelling initiatives to nationwide marketing and fundraising efforts, our campaigns spark conversation and convert intention into action. We build moments and strategies that drive activation leading up to and beyond launch day.

Branding &
Design

Design that speaks human.
Branding with soul.

We build brands that don’t just look good; we can help you do more with less, long-term. Whether you’re starting fresh with a new brand identity or reimagining your creative, we work with you to design logos, marketing materials and creative assets that are meaningful, flexible, and rooted in your unique mission. Our aesthetic is thoughtful, intentional, and always collaborative—we won't stop until you're cheering.

Our promise to you:

We will be in contact to keep you comfortable. Some agencies go dark on you for days: expect prompt responses and constant communication.

We do our own work. We are three-battle tested creatives. We don’t outsource our work to freelancers: the people you’re meeting will be designing solutions for you from start to finish.

Collaboration is key. We do everything we can to make sure what we submit matches or exceeds your vision.

Our Work

The Trevor Project Pride in Action Campaign

The Trevor Project Brand Illustration System

Jansport Affirmations Backpack

Let’s get neighborly.

Looking for a team to bring your ideas to life?
Let’s collaborate.
Tell us about your vision and we’ll be in touch.