Meet the team
At Verdant&, we’re deeply grateful for the people who make this work possible. Every idea, collaboration, and moment of progress comes from a team willing to explore and grow together. We know the best work comes from spaces built on trust, curiosity, connection, and care, where people feel supported but also stretched in the right ways.
Our work is a shared journey. It asks for courage, generosity, and the willingness to step beyond the familiar. We’re truly thankful for the talent and heart each person brings to Verdant& and for the chance to build something meaningful side by side.
founder
MEET Amara
Led by founder Amara, our collective is shaped by a belief that the most compelling work is earned—through experience, precision, and perspective. Many of her strongest ideas have taken form far from a desk, forged on steep alpine trails and remote landscapes where clarity matters and excess falls away. That sensibility carries through everything we create.
Amara holds a degree in Marketing and brings nearly 15 years of experience across the full spectrum of the discipline, including brand strategy, identity development, website design, social media, and campaign leadership. Her career spans destinations, hospitality, retreat and travel brands, and purpose-driven organizations, often working at the intersection of place, story, and experience.
Her approach blends restraint with ambition, pairing intuitive creativity with thoughtful strategy. The result is work that feels elevated but grounded—designed not to chase attention, but to command it quietly. Under Amara’s leadership, every project is crafted with intention and longevity in mind, reflecting a belief that true luxury is found in a deep sense of place.
Meet the Team
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Melinda Luksch
Melinda Luksch is a designer, brand strategist, and leadership coach who knows that great branding isn’t just about looking good—it’s about making an impact. With a sharp eye for design and a mind for strategy, she helps businesses define their voice, refine their presence, and show up with confidence.
Her background is as dynamic as her work. She holds a BFA from Oregon State University, is a graduate of Seth Godin’s AltMBA, and has trained extensively in leadership development through Lightyear Leadership. With over a decade of entrepreneurship, 10,000+ hours of yoga training, and a career that spans design, branding, marketing, and coaching, Melinda has a one-of-a-kind perspective on what makes a brand truly resonate.
She’s worked with everyone from yoga studios to florists, personal trainers to engineers—helping small businesses craft identities that are both stylish and strategic. Her work isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about clarity, confidence, and creating something people remember.
When she’s not designing, strategizing, or shaping brands with precision and style, Melinda is in the mountains of Bend, Oregon, with her husband, daughter, and pups—or off leading retreats, collaborating on creative projects, and helping bring big ideas to life. With a sharp eye for what works (and what doesn’t) she knows how to turn vision into something real. Wherever she is, inspiration isn’t far behind.
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Jennifer El Hage is a branding expert specialized in branding and visual identity. She studied Art Direction at ALBA and earned a Master’s in Graphic Design with a focus on new media from IED Florence, Italy. She began her branding career with Google Italia and has taught branding and advertising at IED Florence and ALBA. Today, she runs her own boutique branding studio in Beirut, serving around 100 clients globally in F&B, luxury retail and the arts & culture industries. Jennifer also leads Jentonic, a lifestyle brand at the intersection of culture and Lebanese essence, while committing to her love for coffee, dark chocolate, South America, and Arabic calligraphy :)
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JP left a stable tech job to pursue a nagging pull toward visual storytelling. He now works in video and photography on the road, documenting real moments with curiosity, faith, and a willingness to learn as he goes. His work reflects the courage to start without guarantees and the belief that stories shape how we understand the world.
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Sterling DePaul is a multidisciplinary creative with a background spanning photography, film and television, marketing, and product production. With over five years working in photography and seven years in film and TV, Sterling brings a strong visual foundation and on-set experience to every project. Over the past three years, they’ve applied that creative expertise to marketing and product production, helping brands shape compelling stories, launch thoughtful products, and connect authentically with their audiences. Known for blending creative vision with practical execution, Sterling works comfortably across concept development, production, and delivery.
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Lauren Spinner is a graphic designer and self taught artist living on Vancouver Island, BC. Lauren loves imperfection; her work is distinguishable by her incorporation of organic, hand-drawn shapes and lines. Living on the beautiful, rugged, west coast of Canada, Lauren often draws inspiration from her natural surroundings; the forest, the ocean, and the stormy winter season that befalls the region. Lauren adores working with her hands. Since she was a little girl she has always found peace and mental clarity in creative time. As an adult, she is trying to reconnect with, and let her creativity run wild, every chance she can get.
let’s work together
Ready to design something meaningful?