REEL WOMEN: Digital Surgeon Sophie Goodman

Sophie
(Reel Woman: Sophie Goodman)

Editor’s Note: Five years ago we had an idea. Being a woman-owned publication, it made sense to us to celebrate women who were making a difference in the industries we cover. So, we started a “little” feature for Women’s History Month called “Reel Women.” To say it blossomed into something special would be a vast understatement. It exploded. Over the last four years, we have gotten to know leaders, mentors and visionaries from a variety of creative industries. We have learned about their ups. And how they get back up after being down. This is our 5th Annual REEL WOMEN. For the month of March, let us introduce you to some very special women like Digital Surgeons Director of Content Strategy and Experience Sophie Goodman..

Sophie Goodman is the Director, Content Strategy & Experience at DS. She brings a decade of experience to both the agency and brand sides of the business, and has earned a reputation for merging data and creative vision in innovative ways and for building talented teams of writers, strategists, and creatives throughout her career.

Prior to joining DS, Sophie ran her own consulting business and focused on brand and content strategy for start-ups in the outdoor industry and green tech. She’s produced campaigns for and worked with brands such as Subaru, Outrider, Icelantic Skis, Outdoor Retailer, Johnsonville, and Xanterra, among others.

Sophie is also an accomplished freelance writer and has published features in ROAM, National Geographic Adventure, RANGE Magazine, 5280 Magazine, Boulder Magazine, and Telluride Festivarian Magazine, among others.

Let’s meet Sophie!

What’s your origin story? 

My path to strategy came out of trying to figure out a way to write and make a living. When I graduated from college, I had the choice of following my intended career path–international health and development–or to give this writing thing a try.

I was 22 and ready for an adventure, so I decided to go for it. I took a job heading up the website redesign for Telluride.com; they had gone through a failed redesign and needed someone to come in with fresh eyes. I spent the next couple of years launching and then managing the new platform as well as teaching skiing at Telluride Ski Resort, all while freelancing for National Geographic Adventure and other publications. 

After three years in Telluride and a brief flirtation with academia as a fellow at Georgetown University’s Masters in English program, I really felt content marketing was a better fit for me. I was hired as the Editor and Marketing Director of OutThere Colorado in June of 2016, a startup with the goal of building a brand and launching an editorial platform that spoke to those looking to explore and adventure in their own backyards.

Over the course of two years, my team and I built a nationally recognized brand with innovative content and content marketing approaches, a loyal following, and unprecedented brand engagement. It was during this venture that I hit on what I was truly passionate about: the combination of creativity and analytics, and working with brands that understand that doing good is good business. I developed a deep respect for data and its ability to amplify and protect creative storytelling.

How did you get into the agency world?

It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. At the start of my career, I knew I wanted to write, but I struggled with the insecurity of not really knowing how to make that happen. I learned really early on that I needed to build my analytical skills because just being a great writer wasn’t going to be enough. A lot of creatives in marketing can start to think of data as the enemy, but I have actually found that it’s the combination of creative storytelling and analytics that’s actually the thing that drives resonant campaigns and great storytelling that moves people.

In the Fall of 2018, I started my own content marketing and brand strategy consulting business, and that leap was actually an easy one. I started to get a lot of inquiries from my network, asking if I was available to consult. I realized I had a real opportunity to do some great work with interesting companies in the outdoor industry and green tech spaces, build my portfolio, and grow my professional network. I spent three years running that business before starting with Digital Surgeons in May of 2021.

Who were your mentors? 

There have been many, and I’m really grateful for all of the support that I’ve been given throughout my career. The biggest thing I’ve learned from mentors and from those who maybe didn’t live up to that title is to open doors for others. 

While there will be others, what do you consider your biggest achievement to date? 

Starting my own company and growing it for three years – and years two and three were during the pandemic!

What drives you to create? 

I think it’s just the desire to make sense of the world in a beautiful way.

What shows/movies/songs are doing the best job of portraying strong women on TV?

Qveen Herby is my latest music crush. She is so wholly and unapologetically herself. We talk a lot about the need for women to uplift women not only in our industry, but also in the professional world in general. Qveen Herby is the ultimate role model for this while also putting out her art and being so confident without reservation. Oh, and her music is dope too. 

Is there still a boys club?

Maybe, but I find that the more insidious one is the “insider’s club”. The “those that get it, get it, and those that don’t, don’t” kind of mentality. The agencies and the strategists that have staying power are the ones who open doors, who understand that diverse perspectives is a strength, not a weakness. 

Coffee, Lunch or Happy Hour. Name a famous woman (living or dead) you would like to attend each function with.

Coffee: Emily Bronte. I find Wuthering Heights to be one of the most haunting and stunning novels of all time. But coffee would be enough because I think her melancholy would be hard to hang with for more than an hour or so.

Lunch: Serena Williams. Serena has been a hero of mine since I was a little girl watching her play in the US Open for the first time. Watching her play changed my own tennis game as I grew and learned more about the game, and I remain in awe of her strength, resilience, and versatility both on and off the court. I am continually inspired by her, and I would just love to hang out with her.

Happy Hour: Ella Fitzgerald. I was gifted an album in high school of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong singing Gershwin songs (it was a CD, yes I’m that old), and I have been completely transfixed by her voice since then. I’m totally fascinated and in awe of virtuoso musicians, so I would just love to meet her.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled against Roe v Wade. What can women in your industry do to defend a woman’s rights?  

I absolutely oppose the decision. I unequivocally support a woman’s right to choose her own destiny, her own path, which includes full autonomy over her own body. This applies to all choices, including the choice to end a pregnancy and the choice to have a family because women lack support on all sides of the issue. So, what can we do? First, we can advocate within our agencies to work only with brands that support women’s rights and not those that actively fight against them.

Additionally, if a parent does decide to have children, a huge barrier to career advancement is the lack of affordable, convenient, and high-quality childcare. Patagonia leads the way in a lot of ways, and they also lead the way in supporting families with on-site childcare (they’ve offered on-site childcare since the early ‘80s), thereby ensuring that they can retain talented working parents and ensure diversity at all levels of leadership.

Not all companies are big enough to offer this kind of support on their own, but I think there are ways to build programs with partnerships and co-op models that would allow women the right to choose to have both a family and a career without costly career gaps. 

Not enough companies are thinking about choice, and so it’s going to take persistent advocacy for the freedom to choose our own paths, whatever those may be.


REELated:


What keeps you up at night? 

Climate change. There’s no greater threat that we face in the modern era. But businesses wield more power than ever before. In survey after survey, we find that people trust businesses far more than they trust governments, nonprofits, media, and other institutions.

The more that businesses can start to understand to their core that doing good is good business, the better chance we have at remedying some of the damage that we’ve caused. And that’s where I feel like I fit in best and can make the most difference – championing businesses that are willing to do some good in the world, and not forgoing profit, but amplifying their impact with a tactical mission to make the world a cleaner, safer place.

What’s up with Beyoncé being nominated for 4 Best Albums of the year but never winning? 

Ugh, I don’t know!


Nominate Someone You know For Reel Women


Sophie
(Reel Woman: Sophie Goodman)

Editor’s Note: Five years ago we had an idea. Being a woman-owned publication, it made sense to us to celebrate women who were making a difference in the industries we cover. So, we started a “little” feature for Women’s History Month called “Reel Women.” To say it blossomed into something special would be a vast understatement. It exploded. Over the last four years, we have gotten to know leaders, mentors and visionaries from a variety of creative industries. We have learned about their ups. And how they get back up after being down. This is our 5th Annual REEL WOMEN. For the month of March, let us introduce you to some very special women like Digital Surgeons Director of Content Strategy and Experience Sophie Goodman..

Sophie Goodman is the Director, Content Strategy & Experience at DS. She brings a decade of experience to both the agency and brand sides of the business, and has earned a reputation for merging data and creative vision in innovative ways and for building talented teams of writers, strategists, and creatives throughout her career.

Prior to joining DS, Sophie ran her own consulting business and focused on brand and content strategy for start-ups in the outdoor industry and green tech. She’s produced campaigns for and worked with brands such as Subaru, Outrider, Icelantic Skis, Outdoor Retailer, Johnsonville, and Xanterra, among others.

Sophie is also an accomplished freelance writer and has published features in ROAM, National Geographic Adventure, RANGE Magazine, 5280 Magazine, Boulder Magazine, and Telluride Festivarian Magazine, among others.

Let’s meet Sophie!

What’s your origin story? 

My path to strategy came out of trying to figure out a way to write and make a living. When I graduated from college, I had the choice of following my intended career path–international health and development–or to give this writing thing a try.

I was 22 and ready for an adventure, so I decided to go for it. I took a job heading up the website redesign for Telluride.com; they had gone through a failed redesign and needed someone to come in with fresh eyes. I spent the next couple of years launching and then managing the new platform as well as teaching skiing at Telluride Ski Resort, all while freelancing for National Geographic Adventure and other publications. 

After three years in Telluride and a brief flirtation with academia as a fellow at Georgetown University’s Masters in English program, I really felt content marketing was a better fit for me. I was hired as the Editor and Marketing Director of OutThere Colorado in June of 2016, a startup with the goal of building a brand and launching an editorial platform that spoke to those looking to explore and adventure in their own backyards.

Over the course of two years, my team and I built a nationally recognized brand with innovative content and content marketing approaches, a loyal following, and unprecedented brand engagement. It was during this venture that I hit on what I was truly passionate about: the combination of creativity and analytics, and working with brands that understand that doing good is good business. I developed a deep respect for data and its ability to amplify and protect creative storytelling.

How did you get into the agency world?

It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. At the start of my career, I knew I wanted to write, but I struggled with the insecurity of not really knowing how to make that happen. I learned really early on that I needed to build my analytical skills because just being a great writer wasn’t going to be enough. A lot of creatives in marketing can start to think of data as the enemy, but I have actually found that it’s the combination of creative storytelling and analytics that’s actually the thing that drives resonant campaigns and great storytelling that moves people.

In the Fall of 2018, I started my own content marketing and brand strategy consulting business, and that leap was actually an easy one. I started to get a lot of inquiries from my network, asking if I was available to consult. I realized I had a real opportunity to do some great work with interesting companies in the outdoor industry and green tech spaces, build my portfolio, and grow my professional network. I spent three years running that business before starting with Digital Surgeons in May of 2021.

Who were your mentors? 

There have been many, and I’m really grateful for all of the support that I’ve been given throughout my career. The biggest thing I’ve learned from mentors and from those who maybe didn’t live up to that title is to open doors for others. 

While there will be others, what do you consider your biggest achievement to date? 

Starting my own company and growing it for three years – and years two and three were during the pandemic!

What drives you to create? 

I think it’s just the desire to make sense of the world in a beautiful way.

What shows/movies/songs are doing the best job of portraying strong women on TV?

Qveen Herby is my latest music crush. She is so wholly and unapologetically herself. We talk a lot about the need for women to uplift women not only in our industry, but also in the professional world in general. Qveen Herby is the ultimate role model for this while also putting out her art and being so confident without reservation. Oh, and her music is dope too. 

Is there still a boys club?

Maybe, but I find that the more insidious one is the “insider’s club”. The “those that get it, get it, and those that don’t, don’t” kind of mentality. The agencies and the strategists that have staying power are the ones who open doors, who understand that diverse perspectives is a strength, not a weakness. 

Coffee, Lunch or Happy Hour. Name a famous woman (living or dead) you would like to attend each function with.

Coffee: Emily Bronte. I find Wuthering Heights to be one of the most haunting and stunning novels of all time. But coffee would be enough because I think her melancholy would be hard to hang with for more than an hour or so.

Lunch: Serena Williams. Serena has been a hero of mine since I was a little girl watching her play in the US Open for the first time. Watching her play changed my own tennis game as I grew and learned more about the game, and I remain in awe of her strength, resilience, and versatility both on and off the court. I am continually inspired by her, and I would just love to hang out with her.

Happy Hour: Ella Fitzgerald. I was gifted an album in high school of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong singing Gershwin songs (it was a CD, yes I’m that old), and I have been completely transfixed by her voice since then. I’m totally fascinated and in awe of virtuoso musicians, so I would just love to meet her.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled against Roe v Wade. What can women in your industry do to defend a woman’s rights?  

I absolutely oppose the decision. I unequivocally support a woman’s right to choose her own destiny, her own path, which includes full autonomy over her own body. This applies to all choices, including the choice to end a pregnancy and the choice to have a family because women lack support on all sides of the issue. So, what can we do? First, we can advocate within our agencies to work only with brands that support women’s rights and not those that actively fight against them.

Additionally, if a parent does decide to have children, a huge barrier to career advancement is the lack of affordable, convenient, and high-quality childcare. Patagonia leads the way in a lot of ways, and they also lead the way in supporting families with on-site childcare (they’ve offered on-site childcare since the early ‘80s), thereby ensuring that they can retain talented working parents and ensure diversity at all levels of leadership.

Not all companies are big enough to offer this kind of support on their own, but I think there are ways to build programs with partnerships and co-op models that would allow women the right to choose to have both a family and a career without costly career gaps. 

Not enough companies are thinking about choice, and so it’s going to take persistent advocacy for the freedom to choose our own paths, whatever those may be.


REELated:


What keeps you up at night? 

Climate change. There’s no greater threat that we face in the modern era. But businesses wield more power than ever before. In survey after survey, we find that people trust businesses far more than they trust governments, nonprofits, media, and other institutions.

The more that businesses can start to understand to their core that doing good is good business, the better chance we have at remedying some of the damage that we’ve caused. And that’s where I feel like I fit in best and can make the most difference – championing businesses that are willing to do some good in the world, and not forgoing profit, but amplifying their impact with a tactical mission to make the world a cleaner, safer place.

What’s up with Beyoncé being nominated for 4 Best Albums of the year but never winning? 

Ugh, I don’t know!


Nominate Someone You know For Reel Women