DOUG BARDEN

Variety is a good thing, and in my opinion, essential to a healthy life and a growing career.

I've never been one to become complacent.  After all, success has a tendency to breed complacency, which can very easily manifest into failure.  I come from the certitude of needing 20 years of experience, not one year of experience repeated 20 times.  It’s like the ski filmmaker Warren Miller once said; “When you stop falling, you need to stop skiing.”

Though born and raised outside our nation's capital, I was captivated by the venturous draw of the West.  My adventurous spirit took me to the high plains and the University of Wyoming.  With a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Mass Media, I began a career in local TV news, at the tail end of the “golden years” of broadcast journalism: before viewer consumption habits swayed to the mobile and streaming.

From reporting and anchoring to photojournalism and newsroom management, I found myself to be a storyteller at the core.  I was and will always be drawn to the story.  Cheyenne to Reno, the mountains of Salt Lake to the oceans of California and onto the mysteries of Louisiana’s Bayou.  My news career taught me how to harmonize with stress, tell the big stories, and most importantly, how to manage and motivate people.  

Along the way, I have started two businesses and traveled to 55 countries, volunteered with some incredible organizations and gained a continuing education through victories and failures.  I am always pushing to be better, learn more and, most importantly, adapt and reinvent myself.  In 2018 I attended the American Film Institute as a fellow in their Creative Producing Program.

I seize new challenges and adapt to change the same way I approach my life, with panache and a sense of humor.  Whether it’s completing a full IRONMAN or running an organization of 100 people, I will always adapt no matter what walls or locked doors I encounter along the way.