Hello.

My name is Tracy Drake and I live in Charlotte, NC. I am an illustrator, designer & digital marketer with more than 20 years of professional experience in the media/publishing, manufacturing, food & beverage and healthcare industries.

I have been fortunate to have worked at The Charlotte Observer, Trader Publishing, and Abarta Media (now Morris Communications) where I first began designing and developing websites, interactive media/digital advertising, direct mail, newsprint and magazine layouts, cover designs, illustrations, and managing photo shoots as well as presenting ad campaigns to clients. After that I began working at Electrolux Professional as a Marketing Specialist working with chefs, culinary teams, sales professionals, designers, consultants, print vendors and advertising agencies. It was an amazing experience working in the food and beverage industry with an international team on a daily basis. From traveling to the global headquarters in northern Italy attending product launches to managing trade show exhibitions across the US and Canada, the pace was fast and exciting. Our marketing team even won an Addy Award working with Limerick Studios on the short film documentary, “Taste The Stress” filmed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

In 2019, I entered the world of healthcare where I led the marketing and design team for an international nurse recruitment company with offices in the USA, United Arab Emirates and Philippines. Helping nurses and healthcare professionals from around the world taught me about the power of their story, their patience and persistence through completing the immigration process and also what it means to live in this country.

I get my inspiration from music, film, graphic design, illustration, photography, architecture and nature. In my free time, I enjoy illustrating and creating mixed media artwork in addition to writing, playing music and hiking in the Appalachian mountains.