Hugh Weber, Curator & President
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You might say that Hugh Weber was born to discover stories. You might even say that he was created in a lab by a secret society of science librarians hell bent on revolutionizing the state of modern marketing. However, neither of these statements would be completely true.
The truth is that from the age of eight, Hugh was fed and watered to be the next Mark Hanna [Go ahead, Google it.] For nearly twenty years, he traveled the country helping build campaigns for candidates from the Mayor’s Office to the Oval Office. On this path, he learned a great deal about research and messaging, but he learned even more about the power of story and the hard work it takes to inspire communities.
As President and Curator of Storyline, Hugh is using those skills to reveal the rich stories that often lay hidden in cultures of businesses, non-profits, communities and individuals. In the world of advertising and marketing, where everyone thinks they’re the next Mark Twain ready to create stories, the skills of a story discoverer – listening, observing, refining and adapting – are a rare commodity. Hugh has a gift for taking the passions and purposes of an organization and providing them the perspective necessary to inspire action – whether that action is a simple sale or a lifelong commitment.
Hugh has provided thought leadership and general management for award-winning online and social media campaigns, as well as research, story discovery and strategic management for marketing in niches including colleges and universities, biofuels, technology, health care, tourism, fatherhood, community development and churches.
Hugh was recently designated by Ford Motor Company as a “heavy hitter” in social media and honored as their “social activism” challenge winner in 2009. He has been quoted and referenced by the Washington Post, Glamour Magazine, Pregnancy Magazine, the Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, Wisconsin Public Radio and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. He has been a contributor to books on political technology and new marketing. He is a frequent speaker on the power of story, the proper usage of social media, and his personal shortcomings as a father.
Hugh has been blessed with a life of story-worthy adventures: sharing the stage with Bobby McFerrin, eating steak on David Letterman’s tab and singing on the streets of Dublin during the St. Patrick’s Day festival while nearby young panhandlers screamed the lyrics to “Wonderwall” by Oasis. Hugh prefers acoustic to electric, baseball to basketball and good home-cooked pasta to just about anything.
Hugh focused on collegian acappella at Swarthmore College, but was still granted a degree in Political Science, Public Policy and Black Studies. To prove he wasn’t a one-hit wonder, Hugh also completed a Master’s degree focusing on Research Methods and Message Strategy from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Hugh lives and works with a simple philosophy of “Work. Play. Do Good.” This is embodied through a dedication to exceeding expectations, experiencing the world through the openness and eagerness of a child’s mind, and empowering others for the greater good of community.
He lives in Sioux Falls with his beautiful, intelligent and extremely patient wife, Amy. You can read about their daughter, Emerson, at Dude to Dad, a community he started of over 85,000 new fathers.
