Dawn Wade of Nimbus on Being an 'Empath Leader'

Charting her own course for success

Dawn serves as managing partner and chief strategy officer at Nimbus, responsible for creating and implementing marketing campaigns for brands such as KFC, Papa John’s, Toyota, Metro United Way, Humana and Jack Daniels. She is also responsible for orchestrating collaborations with celebrity talent including Deion Sanders, Shaquille O’Neal and Jack Harlow. 

Earlier in her career, Dawn gained experience in government, the private sector, software development and analytics. In 2021, she was one of 12 business and community leaders appointed to a board that oversees the West End Opportunity Partnership designed to bring new life to West Louisville, Ky.

We spent two minutes with Dawn to learn more about her background, her creative inspirations and recent work she’s admired. 

Dawn, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I am from a small city called Hammond, La. I left there at age 8 and moved to Georgia with my parents.

How you first realized you were creative.

I’m not sure that I would call myself creative. I am a problem solver who uses visuals to give consumers what they want and need in marketing. 

A person you idolized creatively early on.

My brother Jimmy and his wife Tracie. They were my first view of a functional and productive family.

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

Being the captain of the debate team in high school taught me more than many of my classes. I learned how to think ahead and articulate my thoughts constructively for different audiences. 

A visual artist or band/musician you admire.

My all-time favorite band is Frankie Beverly and Maze. Their music speaks to my soul. When my son was born, we played Maze in the delivery room. 

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.

Carmen Berkley wrote a portion of The Empath Leader. It discusses how you are a better leader when you truly care about the needs of others, which allows you to give them what they need at the right time. Empath leaders understand their team and care about their whole selves, not just what they can deliver.

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on. 

Deion Sanders and family with KFC. The ability to positively portray a Black, multigenerational family on TV felt really good because we didn’t just make up stuff about them. We highlighted their personalities in a way that connects with families from different demographics.

Someone else’s work you admired lately. 

I enjoy the work Translation does when they bring young, raw artists and portray them to broad audiences. Such work shows how influential those who are often left out truly are to our culture. 

Your main strength as a creative person.

Not taking the work personally. 

Your biggest weakness.

Wanting to solve all problems with one solution when that’s not realistic.

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

None. No one is doing it the way I am, so I have to chart my own path.

How you’re paying it forward with the next generation of creatives.

I empower a group of young creatives who have big dreams. Some are on my team, and others are in the industry and look to me for inspiration and guidance.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

I would go back to my original path of engineering.