Our Story

Built in high school. Kept for decades. A reminder that the strongest things aren't rushed—they're built to last.

The name Forge came to me long before I understood why.

As I began building this company, I kept returning to that single word. It captured everything I believed about communication—that trust is earned, clarity is built, and the strongest outcomes are created through intention, not chance.

It wasn't until later that I remembered a project from high school.

As a sophomore in metal shop, I built a vise that I still have today.

The base began in the foundry. I packed a mold by hand, poured molten metal into the form, and waited for it to cool before revealing the casting. I machined the screw from a solid steel rod on a lathe, then assembled each piece into a tool that has followed me through decades of moves, career changes, and new chapters.

At the time, it was simply a class assignment.

Today, I see it differently.

Building something that lasts doesn't happen all at once. It requires preparation before the heat. It requires craftsmanship while the work is underway. And it requires patience to finish the job well.

That lesson has followed me throughout my career.

For more than fifteen years, I've worked alongside public agencies, elected officials, engineers, emergency managers, and project teams during some of the Pacific Northwest's most consequential moments. I've helped communicate through natural disasters, major transportation programs, complex public policy decisions, and issues that carried real consequences for the communities they served.

In those moments, communication isn't about producing another press release or checking a box on a public involvement plan.

It's about helping people understand.

It's about bringing clarity to complexity.

It's about creating confidence when uncertainty is high.

It's about building trust before it becomes urgent.

Like the vise I built years ago, that work doesn't happen by accident. It is shaped deliberately, one conversation, one decision, and one relationship at a time.

That's why this company is called Forge Collaborative.

Not because of a manufacturing process, but because of what the word represents.

To forge is to create something durable through skill, purpose, and perseverance.

That's the work we do every day.

We help organizations build understanding when it matters most.