Delanie West

A hands-on creative leader with over 20 years of award-winning product development, packaging, design & creative global sourcing. Delanie formerly led and restructured creative teams and operating procedure for AW Faber-Castell, Creativity for Kids, known for leading luxury & premium brands in the adult, children and student writing, art, craft and toy segments. She served on the Faber-Castell US Executive committee serving as a leadership and guidance arm with c-level colleagues for the brands employee group. Delanie also represented Faber-Castell in capacity of buyer at international and domestic trade shows. Skilled at international manufacturer relations, she has cultivated strong supplier vendor relationships.

She has been especially influential in mentoring designers and developers new to their careers and today offers mentoring and portfolio review to emerging designers and developers as a part of her ongoing community service efforts.

Delanie is an alumna of Hampton University, and a current MBA candidate at Syracuse University, Martin J. Whitman School of Management, with a dual emphasis on Marketing and Entrepreneurship. She is also enrolled in the Cornell University Diversity and Inclusion in Human Resources six-part certificate program, scheduled to be completed in 2023.

When she's not advocating for those with a creative entrepreneurial spirit, Delanie enjoys trail biking, swimming, and training for a half-marathon. She is a mentor and friend who encourages others to pursue innovative ideas and think big.