“It’s a common problem: you enter a panel thinking the South by Southwest program swapped his first name for his last name, you leave the panel wanting to name your next son Petri. Petri Darby is the guy with the weird name who shows up on non-profit panels everywhere. His materials are case-study rich and very hands-on. Practitioners will learn from his successful, smart teachings.”

– Claire Diaz-Ortiz, author, speaker & former director of social innovation & philanthropy for Twitter

I love this description of me, because it tells a great story in a short space. And I’m both a storyteller, and short.

I tell stories to change lives. Part creative director and brand marketing strategist, part writer and PR pro, I currently serve as vice president of brand, creative & communications for the Austin-based Charles Butt Foundation, a nonprofit pursuing a more equitable and prosperous future for all Texans through education and community partnerships. The darbyDARNIT blog posts are my own musings and perspectives, and mine alone, unless otherwise indicated.

I love used bookstores, politics, and movies. I hate clowns, olives, and quitter socks.

A couple interesting things about me … as far as I know, I’m the only two-time winner of the USA Today Online Haiku Contest. And I once served as Haiku Laureate for TEDx The Woodlands.

My career spans more than 25 years of nearly every marketing and communications discipline: brand strategy and creative direction, public relations and advertising, public affairs and community relations, social media and grassroots organizing, issues/crisis management and copywriting. I’ve worked on the agency and client sides, in the traditional and non-profit arenas, and have represented companies ranging from a premium sipping tequila brand to a specialty coffee roasting company to Fortune 50 oil & gas, chemical, and retail corporations to law firms and nonprofits. Every step of the way, I’ve served on charity, civic, and professional association boards of directors.

Since I get paid to write and talk, I frequently serve as a keynote or conference session speaker and have had many articles, stories, and poems published.

My wife Shannon and I have been married for 20+ years and have two sons. One is a Media Arts major at the University of North Texas pursuing a future in sports broadcast production, working for the Athletics Department’s Mean Green Productions, and reffing hockey. The second is in high school and plays and refs hockey, plays golf, and is a team photographer for the Austin Ice Bats junior hockey team. We live just north of Austin, in the burgeoning suburbs of Cedar Park. I serve as chair of the board for Make-A-Wish of Central & South Texas and as a board member for the Cedar Park Economic Development Sales Tax Corporation.

As a dual-citizen of the U.S. and Finland — a land that is 75% forest with 185,000+ lakes — my soul finds itself most at peace where the woods meet the water. I’m currently working on a side project, Voices of Karelia, to curate, preserve, and share stories of Finnish Karelian evacuees of the Winter War and Continuation War after 400,000 Karelians were forced to evacuate when the Russians invaded in 1939, and am writing an historical fiction novel set during that time period and modern day.