Kelly Chau

Hello! My name is Kelly Chau. At a young age, I have been interested in forms of self-expression such as writing, music, photography, and so on. Inspired by stories of my late paternal grandfather pursuing photojournalism during the sixties in Việt Nam and my late eldest paternal uncle having been a cải lương (Vietnamese folk opera) singer, confirmation bias or not, I felt connected as to why I needed to pick up a microphone and camera.

We did not have much growing up so the luxurious karate or piano classes were out of the question. Eventually I was able to save up for a DSLR starter kit working part-time jobs and began offering photography services to professionals and local businesses. After graduating, I traveled for a few months while continued freelancing and worked at several small to mid-sized companies. This was the time period when I joined a franchise brokerage agency and implemented a structure within eight months that increased sales and decreased costs in the marketing department leading it to branch out to a new division. This experience helped me realize that I enjoy building structures, teams, and plans for businesses with creativity at the root—staying innovative and resourceful to find solutions for teams and customers are encompassing of that.

At first glance, my experience seems a little chaotic as it is not ingrained within the general systematic approach to a career. However, I perceive it as a strength because I believe being a well-rounded human being yields a strong foundation, allowing for plenty of room for lifelong growth and building transferrable skills.

My background has been rooted in creativity, strategy, productivity, team management, and operations, with storytelling as the guide—each person, product, and business have one to share to either help teach, involve, express, or a combination of the three. I have been drawn to working with entrepreneurs and professionals across a wide range of industries from restaurant, healthcare, technology, and hospitality, and have a personal interest in building a new brand in the future.

With experience in commercial photography, project management (PMP), brand strategy, and content production, I launched Broken Rice Media where I help clients develop a cost-effective yet quality marketing strategy for their businesses. I also own a longstanding nail salon, leading its ongoing rebrand and operations while preserving the quality and care clients have trusted since 1990.

I have recently stepped into higher education as an Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Emory University, bringing my strategic and creative skills to support enrollment goals and student engagement. I am also on a continued small business journey, business development, and additional creative pursuits. Outside of that, I find joy spending time with my family and three dogs while working on personal projects and wellbeing.

Life is an ongoing change. All I know is that everyone faces adversity and life is fickle so it is important to live each day intentionally and that holds a different meaning for each person. My goal is to continue sharing stories that will hopefully inspire others to embrace self-expression as well as find ways to give back to the community with the little time I have on this earth.

Thanks for stopping by. I am located in the metro Atlanta area and available for travel or remote work. If you have questions or would like to collaborate, drop a message and we can grab (virtual) boba tea!

• Project Management (PMP Certified)
• Commercial Photography
• Marketing Management
• Brand + Content Management
• Graphic Design
• Web Design

I had the opportunity to visit amazing places around the world and work with a variety of companies and professionals.

Marketing and Project Management

As a part of the co-founding team at Dream Arc Creative, my role was to develop and implement procedures and manage creative production, team schedule, and vendor relations for clients, white label partners, and the company brand. You can view project examples at Broken Rice Media.

Travel Photography

I always find comfort in traveling especially when I stop to reflect how tiny I am compared to this universe.

Restaurant Photography

At the very least, there is one thing that you can learn from anyone you meet and in anything you do. That is why I enjoy collaborating with entrepreneurs and learning about their businesses.

Lady Nails Case Study

I started a pro bono program to help local businesses with their marketing in 2020 when a lot of small business owners were struggling. A few of them reached out and I was able to answer their questions and create a foundation for them to use.

Out of the two businesses that reached out, Lady Nails had the biggest change implementation that contributed to their customer base growth. Find the results here.

I'd love to meet you! You can learn more about the projects I am working on by visiting any of the links below.

• Visit Broken Rice Media
• Schedule Chat