Creative Director. Audience Advocate.
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It's not work if it's fun. I'm Valerie Jonkoff (pronounced Iike you "yawn cough"), a creative director, writer, and storyteller living in Chicago. My creative background is all about storytelling through live events, copywriting/editing, video directing, scripting, message development, and executive coaching. What a list. I live for a good story and believe the power of storytelling can't be overstated.In my day-to-day life, I help clients - from Fortune 500 companies to nonprofits - go full "once upon a time" on whatever project they're bringing to life. I also lead teams of Associate Creative Directors, Creative Associates, and Designers. I am, in fact, bragging when I say I've defied societal odds and proved that my musical theatre degree is 100% applicable in a corporate environment. Chicago's incredible theatre scene keeps my storytelling skills sharp, so I sing and act in shows and venues around the city. I live by the personal motto (and famed Boston Bagel shop), Finagle a Bagel- which just means "I'll figure it out and I'd like a bagel" and am obsessed with my pitbull rescue, Auster. |
A collection of stories I'm loving - both in the stories themselves and how they're told:
If you can stay up that late, you should see this show. Their crossover to virtual in these COVID times has been very cool to see. I don't want to tell you about it. I want you to experience it for yourself.
“The Queen and The Crown: A Virtual Costume Exhibition” gives users a highly-interactive look at the costumes from the Netflix series, The Crown and The Queen's Gambit. This experience is addictive and an incredible way to bring users even deeper into a story.
Everyone's so into murder right now...I, however, am here for the con artists. This podcast does a deep dive into the wild stories female con artists tell and sell.
It's British television at its finest. Angel and Dick decide to move to France and buy/renovate a 45 room Chateau. That's it. That's the show.
The 70's aesthetic has got me locked in these days. I'm loving the bright colors and the irreverence the look brings to projects.
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Karaoke Storytellers is one of the best events in Chicago right now. Once a month, killer storytellers pair a song with a story and bring you along for the ride.
Put your name in a bowl. If it gets chosen you get 5min of uninterrupted time to tell your story. Whatever you decide to tell.
It's unreal. 
I love a party. I really love a theme party. I really, really love a costume theme party. For my birthday it was a Wes Anderson costumed theme party and it did not disappoint.
The instagram wall. Every client lately wants to figure out the cool gram wall and seems to spend a lot of time over complicating it. I love the simplicity of the Paul Smith pink wall in LA. It lets you get as vain as you want. Even when it got defaced....it only increased its grammability.
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There is only one way to watch big moments in politics: The Crooked Media Group Thread. The "Obama Bros" livestream their all-company slack thread along side of live broadcasts. It's hilarious. It's informative. It's like someone is fact-checking for you.
Hosted at the historic Green Mill, this weekly "live magazine" combines performance with social and political commentary.
One of my favorite Chicago non profits that's bringing awareness to mental health & suicide prevention. Their Logan Square coffee shop inspired an NBC tv show,
Cafe Hope. 
29Rooms finally came to Chicago. It defied expectations functioning as more than a gram-trap. The vignettes were thought-provoking, engaging and highly personal making the experience way more than a photo opp.
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