We’re a creative collective that uses branding, marketing, communications, and our own lived experiences for the greater good.

The studio—founded and led by James Wu—is made up of a core team plus dozens of collaborators, including strategists, researchers, writers, designers, developers, animators, filmmakers, publicists, marketers, and more. Our members have worked with some of the biggest brands and best agencies in the world, and also possess deep, unparalleled nonprofit expertise. We’re old friends, friends of friends, former colleagues, mentors, and mentees who believe the diverse, versatile nature of the collective is our greatest asset for helping our clients make meaningful change for the communities they serve.

Core Team

James Wu
Managing Director

Mailande Moran
Strategy Director

Mikal Aaron
Strategist

Sydney Granby
Strategist

  • James Wu has 20+ years experience partnering with leaders building a more just, fair, and interdependent world. As the Founder and Managing Director of Studio Tomo, he's had the privilege of working with National Geographic, Duolingo, General Motors, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Natural Resources Defense Council, WITNESS, PolicyLink, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the United Nations Development Programme. Recently, as Partner and Head of Strategy at A—B Partners (now NewWorld) — a multiracial, multi-gendered creative agency committed to centering the voices of Black and Brown communities — he helped build brands and campaigns for organizations working on climate justice, disinformation, reparations, criminal justice reform, and gender and reproductive justice.

    Previously, James was a Senior Strategist at SYP where he led Fortune 500 executives through large-scale transformation. Prior to SYP, James was Head of Branding for the nonprofit impact investor, Acumen; worked in development for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM); and served as Director of Business Development for the digital agency, Modea.

    James is an Emeritus member and former President of the Marketing Advisory Board at Virginia Tech, and serves on the board of the Asian Mental Health Collective. He has guest lectured for the Virginia Tech Honors College Presidential Global Scholars in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, the University of Warwick in the UK, John Jay College for Criminal Justice’s Moelis Social Entrepreneurship Fellows, University of Texas’s McCombs School of Business, and Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He lives in Brooklyn, NY (though his heart is often found in North London, COYG! UTA!) with his wife, son, and Shiba Inu, Tomo — the inspiration for the studio’s name.

  • Mailande Moran is an independent brand strategist, copywriter, and editor. As a language-obsessed, cross-platform creative thinker, Mailande has spent the better part of two decades developing compelling stories that help her clients change the world for the better. Those stories have come to life via engaging brand strategy, naming, website copy, and longform written works; past clients include Meridian Institute, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Upstream, Student U, and Tides.

    As an advocate for a more fair and equitable world, Mailande’s commitment to racial justice is woven into both her work and her community life. She is a founding member of Briteweb’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Working Group, and has expanded her training with Racial Equity Institute and Finding Freedom.

    Prior to her current work, Mailande held strategy and communications roles at organizations including Echoing Green, the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, and Enterprise Community Partners. Other endeavors have included founding an artisan-made textile company, creating the first tablet classroom in a Kyrgyz village school, speaking extensively on topics like curiosity and creativity, and teaching design thinking in Cuba.

  • Mikal Aaron served as a Branch Manager and Executive Team Leader for Target in Alexandria, VA, where she oversaw staffing, training and performance, sales and inventory optimization, brand experience, and culture for a store with over 150 employees.

    Previously, Mikal was a student at Virginia Tech where she received a B.S. in Marketing and a minor in Leadership and Social Change. While a student at Virginia Tech, she served as Chief Marketing Officer for the “wearable self care” startup, SOLEIL; an undergraduate marketing research assistant; and a Student Campus Manager for Amazon Prime, responsible for promoting Prime content to students through social media and live events.

    Mikal was also active in the Virginia Tech and Blacksburg communities, serving as an Executive Board Member and Director of Events for Students of Hip Hop Legacy (SOHHL), a member of Inspiring Women in Lifelong Leadership (IWILL), and a volunteer through the Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity where she supported projects related to food insecurity, providing resources to underprivileged communities, working with children and the elderly, and improving the environment.

    In her rare free time, Mikal enjoys writing, producing, and performing music, dreaming and collaborating with multidisciplinary artists, and spending quality time with her family.

  • Sydney Granby is a Junior at Virginia Tech pursuing a Marketing Management degree, with a double minor in Political Science and Leadership and Social Change. She is driven by her passion for communication and storytelling to induce change on a societal level.

    Through her experience in grant proposal work, volunteering with the Afghan Conversion Project, and her position as Marketing Chair for the Class of 2026, she has gained skills in leadership, collaboration, and problem-solving while still utilizing her marketing and political science background.

    She hopes to continue to develop her skills through internships in the marketing and political science fields.

All Collaborators

Aidan Lukomnik, Digital Marketing
Alex Lezberg, Design
Alex Ording, Development
Alex Rupert, Animation
Alexis Sypek, Research
Amanda Yogendran, Strategy
Ana Murillo Quiñones, Strategy
Atigré Farmer, Video
Brandan Davis, Digital Marketing
Boyang Xia, Design
Camille Jackson, Communications
Carol Cho, Naming
Chelsea Herman, Strategy
Christian Mroczka, Animation
Clara Cornelius, Design
Courtney Pitman, Research
Daniel Boyles, Web Development
David Arias, Design
Elaan Ventura Bourn, Design
Erika Harano, UX
Erwin Hines, Design
Eva Green, Naming
Jeremy Knight, Strategy
Jen Leartanasan, Design
Jim Babb, Digital Marketing
Joelle Woodson, Video
Josh Smith, Design
Jyah Anise Hoy, Strategy
Kari Hudnell, Communications
Katie Lee, Design
Kyle Barron-Cohen, Naming
Leigh Silver, Digital Marketing
Leigh Stein, Naming
Lynn Kiang, Design
Mahek Singh, Strategy
Mailande Moran, Strategy
Manasa Krishnan, Design
Maria De La Guardia, Design
Matt Kelley, Communications
Mikal Aaron, Strategy
Mike Preston, Design
Molly Graham, Naming
Rachel Crawford, Accessibility
Rachel Dearborn, Strategy
Rey Carlson, Design
Rhea Wong, Fundraising
Saleem Reshamwala, Video
Samantha Langdorf, UX
Sarah Robbins, Strategy
Shawn Sprockett, Design
Sruthi Sadhujan, Strategy
Stacy Wu, Trademark Law
Sydney Granby, Strategy
Tanya Paperny, Communications
Tully Murray, Web Development
Will Pollock, Strategy
William Charnock, Strategy

Agency Friends

We often work with agencies that not only value our nonprofit expertise, but also who we are and what we represent. Here are some of our favorites.

Our Story

I began my career at the height of the dot-com boom in the early 2000s, starting up a digital advertising agency with college classmates. I worked with some of the biggest brands in the world—Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, Samsung, Verizon, Mattel—but began wondering how I could use my time to help improve lives instead of selling more products that people didn’t really need. I decided to change course, and over the next decade, immersed myself in the nonprofit world. First, I cut my teeth in the fundraising department of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), one of the world’s preeminent performing arts institutions. Then, I joined the impact investing pioneer Acumen, where I sat on the front lines of marketing and communications, helping the organization earn its reputation as one of the most influential nonprofits in the world.

It was in this role that I became mildly obsessed with branding and persuaded the powers that be that Acumen was long overdue for a rebrand. To help lead the way, I tapped the London-based agency, Johnson Banks. Our work together was met with praise by both the design and nonprofit communities, as well as luminaries like Richard Branson and Seth Godin. Through this project, I got the branding bug and was hungry to do more.

After more than seven years at Acumen, I joined the strategic consultancy, SYPartners, to deepen my understanding of how to transform organizations beyond just branding—from the inside out. At SYP, I helped equip executives at Fortune 500 companies with the blueprints, tools, and confidence they needed to lead their teams through times of change and uncertainty. While the experience was challenging, sharpened my capabilities as a strategist, and deepened my understanding of design, I missed the rewards of working with more mission-driven, values-aligned organizations like Acumen and BAM. I also saw the challenges and limitations of the traditional agency model, and wondered how I could continue to work in client services without the burnout, inefficiencies, and compromise of values that seemed to be the norm across the industry.

It was from this place that Studio Tomo was born. I wanted to work with organizations who were committed to building a more just, fair, and inclusive world. I wanted to work with people who had similar values and shared my belief that our identities, lived experiences, far-flung interests, and shared affinities could become our collective superpower. I wanted to do work on our own terms, in our own way, and to give people the freedom they needed to do their best work and lead their best lives, without compromise.

Since setting out on my own in 2015, Studio Tomo has grown and evolved to include dozens of extraordinarily talented and accomplished collaborators who, I believe, are some of the very best in the world at what they do—and are also incredible, kind human beings. Together, we’ve created culturally-relevant brands for organizations big and small, established and new. We’ve also freelanced and partnered with some of the industry’s most renowned agencies, breathing life into some of the world’s most iconic and beloved brands, ranging from National Geographic to Duolingo. And we’ve been able to do this while staying true to our vision and values along the way.

In case you were wondering, the studio is named after our family dog, Tomo—a common Japanese name meaning “friend.” Like many a Shiba Inu, Tomo possesses a fiercely independent spirit and could care less that he’s “not like other dogs.” He knows he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and he’s cool with that. But those who appreciate his qualities (including his many quirks) are rewarded with unconditional love and a deep, abiding loyalty. To all of our clients and collaborators—past, present, and future—thank you for putting your trust in me and our small, colorful, and mighty little collective. 

Let’s keep fighting the good fight.

James and Tomo. Like father, like son.

The Collective Experience

“What makes Studio Tomo a unique group to work with is the deep commitment to people. There is a kindness and heart that’s present in each conversation, and a deep reverence for the people and communities it works for. This is missing from even the most purpose-driven companies. Working with Studio Tomo feels like taking a deep, full breath—acknowledging the weight of the issues we’re working on, but with the levity and calm needed to address them.”

— Jeremy Knight, Strategist

“They're very approachable, like a friend. There's no ego; no assumption that you can't contribute or don't have anything to bring to the table. They’re made up of a bunch of people who are kind, thoughtful, fun, sweet, and just a little bit weird.”

— Joelle Woodson, Creative Director

“James can do it all! We worked together on a pretty complicated project involving many collaborators and stakeholders, and he expertly managed an agency partner, freelancers, and the client—while leading brand strategy too. He seamlessly balances big picture visionary thinking with more tactical implementation and project management. It's very inspiring!”

— Amanda Yogendran, Strategist