Mine Salkin
I work at the intersection of story and meaning — building narrative systems that define messages, resonate with audiences, and support growth.
I started in journalism. Moved into strategy. Built systems. The through-line has always been the same: find what matters, make it clear, make it work.
I've worked with universities, global SaaS companies, healthcare organizations, and brands navigating category creation. The problems look different. The solution always starts in the same place — getting the story right.
Journalism → Strategy → Systems
Journalism
Reported and edited across technology, culture, and human behavior. Bylines in VICE, The Globe and Mail, and others. Learned to find the story that matters — and say it clearly.
Strategy
Applied that editorial instinct to commercial problems. Brand positioning, enrollment systems, messaging architecture. Helped organizations articulate what they do and why it matters.
Systems
Clarity at scale requires structure, not just skill. Built content ecosystems, editorial frameworks, and narrative architectures that make everything downstream more coherent.
That progression isn't incidental. Each phase built on the last. Journalism gave me the instinct to find what matters. Strategy gave me the frameworks to communicate it. Systems thinking gave me the discipline to make it last.
The way I approach problems
Most messaging problems aren't communication problems. They're structural problems — the story isn't clear yet, the audience isn't defined yet, or the narrative foundation doesn't exist yet. I start there.
Clarity isn't a style choice. It's a decision about what you actually want people to understand — and what you're willing to say plainly to help them get there.
I work from the outside in. What does the audience actually need to understand? What decision are they trying to make? What's getting in the way? The answer to those questions shapes everything — the narrative, the structure, the tone, the channels.
I don't separate strategy from execution. The best frameworks are ones that make writing easier, not ones that get filed away. I build things that teams can actually use — and I stay close enough to execution to know whether they do.
I think in systems. A strong message isn't just a headline. It's a set of decisions that cascades through every touchpoint — from the first ad someone sees to the conversation they have with a salesperson six months later. I build for that cascade.
What I believe about this work
Clarity is a structural problem
Most messaging failures aren't about talent. They're about the absence of a shared framework. Getting clear is the work before the work.
Audiences decide, not organizations
The best messaging starts with how people actually think and move — not with what organizations want to say about themselves.
Precision and accessibility aren't opposites
Complex ideas can be made clear without losing rigor. That's not simplification — it's translation. And it's harder than it looks.
Good systems outlast good copy
A strong narrative framework gives every future piece of content a better starting point. That's how clarity compounds over time.
Execution is part of strategy
A strategy that can't be executed isn't a strategy. I stay close to the work — because that's where the thinking gets tested.
Credibility is earned through specificity
Vague claims don't build trust. The more precisely you can articulate what you do and why it matters, the more believable you become.