About
I’m Loli Mari Montalvo — a creative director, educator, and artist based in New York. I’ve spent twenty-five years turning complicated ideas into visual systems people remember.
My path runs through agencies and studios in New York, Barcelona, and Paris; through Fortune 1000 conference stages and courtrooms; through classrooms and galleries. What connects all of it is translation: taking something dense — a legal argument, a business strategy, a cultural memory — and making it clear, persuasive, and beautiful.
Creative philosophy
Good creative direction is mostly good thinking made visible. Color, type, motion, and material are how I argue. My job as a director is to find the truest version of an idea and build a system strong enough to carry it everywhere — without losing the feeling that made it matter.
Leadership approach
I lead the way I teach: set a clear direction, then give people the room and the standards to do their best work. I've managed teams, vendors, and stakeholders against real deadlines — and kept clients for years because I treat their goals as my own.
Teaching background
Adjunct Professor of Digital Media at St. Paul's School of Nursing, teaching college-level digital imaging, motion, and visual communication since 2008. I design curricula and translate technical subject matter into student-centered, hands-on learning.
Artistic foundations
Underneath everything is a studio practice — linocut, oil, acrylic, watercolor, and digital — rooted in Afro-Caribbean identity, diaspora, and cultural inheritance. I construct images that are metaphors for inheritance and repair. That practice is the source of my judgment as a director.
Innovation mindset
I adopted AI early and on purpose — as a creative medium and a production multiplier — and I teach others to use it critically and fluently. Being an artist makes me a better AI collaborator: I know what I'm reaching for, so I direct the tools instead of being directed by them.
Credentials
Download CV (PDF)Education
MFA, Inter American University · BA, Pratt Institute
Honors
Pratt Circle of Honor · Outstanding Merit in Illustration · IDEVA Fellowship · University of Calgary Graduate Fellowship · Stanford Certification
Languages
English (fluent) · Spanish (fluent)
Tools
Adobe CC · Figma (Expert) · WordPress · HTML/CSS · MidJourney · Notion
