Meet Hermes Creative

Let’s get to the bottom of this. (It’s a long way down…)

Hermes Creative is led by Jules Hermes, a high-impact content and brand strategist with more than 15 years of experience providing the creative and analytical horsepower organizations and individuals need to make their mark in the world. With versatility, flexibility and speed among her many differentiators, she has been the clear, intelligent and trusted voice behind executives leading multi-billion-dollar brands, entrepreneurs on the cusp of frontier technologies and enterprises across a broad spectrum of industries, from space and defense to telecom and energy. In addition to developing integrated marketing and communications plans, processes and tools to drive corporate initiatives, she has been a force in elevating the quality of content and brand messaging on every level, from thought leadership and website development to investor and media relations.

A published author and photographer passionate about documenting scenes of life, her first five books were part of The World’s Children series (Carolrhoda Books, Inc.) and focused on youth in India, Morocco, Bolivia, Guatemala and the islands of Micronesia. She has also interviewed, photographed and contributed to a biography of the 14th Dalai Lama, and has confidentially ghostwritten books and executive bylines that have appeared in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, TechCrunchWIRED, ReadWrite, Tech Target, Beverly Hills MagazineThe CEO Magazine, Thrive Global, Electronic Design, WardsAuto, Police One, MilSat Magazine, Women in Business and Industry and World Pipeline Magazine, to name a few.

Among her work with numerous nonprofit groups, she served as director of communications and public relations for the American Refugee Committee. Traveling to war-torn countries including Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia, she developed strategic partnerships with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the International Olympic Committee and John Hancock Financial, among others, to raise awareness of the global refugee crisis.

A graduate of UCLA with a degree in political science, Jules is an alumni mentor and past winner of the first—and only—UCLA Carol Burnett student Tarzan-calling contest.

HERMES HOUSE PRESS

In 2009 Hermes established Hermes House Press with the publication of PEACE. LOVE. PAWS: The Art of Being Kind, an inspiring collection of children’s art to support the work of the Atlanta Humane Society. Since then, Hermes House Press has released several titles such as: India Self Portrait: An artful anthology of Indian life in past and presentBorderland by Julie Dargis; Permanent Deadline (first edition) by Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Fritz; and Una Experiencia de Rehabilitacion Basada en la Comunidad (Community-based Rehabilitation in the Bolivian Amazon) by Teresa Glass Connaker, which the Bolivian government recently embraced as policy for reaching and providing services to people with disabilities.


Word on the street

“When Jules sees a need or sets a goal, she’s like an octopus, sending out her arms in varied directions pulling in many elements and contingents. She takes fresh, strategic approaches, drawing unexpected people and partners into her efforts for greater participation and awareness. You could not get a more dedicated, skilled, energetic, creative, compassionate writer and initiator than Jules. She carries things through to completion with drive and panache.” — Marybeth Lorbiecki, Executive Director, Interfaith Oceans


“I have had the pleasure of working with Jules over the past year. Jules is an excellent writer and skilled communicator. Her passion for knowledge and innovative thinking is contagious. She is intelligent, resourceful, creative and focused. She takes initiative, goes the extra mile and works over time to ensure that our projects receive the attention needed.” — Karen Gold, CARE USA


“Jules Hermes combines her superb talent, experience, knowledge, and broad outlook to support and help her clients grow and reach their vision, even if it’s not clear to them at the time. I hired Jules to guide me in the process of self-publishing my children’s book, “The Magical Mindful Day,” and to edit many of my marketing materials. She has been an invaluable guide and mentor since day one, and to this day I don’t know what I would do without her. I have great admiration for Jules, both as a writer and entrepreneur, and I feel deep gratitude for all the assistance I have received from her over the years. Jules is easy to work with and extremely reliable. I give her professional services my highest recommendation, without reservation.” — Deborah Salazar Shapiro, MSW, Author and Mindfulness Instructor


“Working with Hermes Creative was a terrific experience. We have had several websites and copy developed over the years with some successes and some failures.  With Hermes we knew success was inevitable. The process was smooth and logical, with results wildly exceeding our expectations! I highly recommend Hermes Creative.” — Mercer Dye, Dye Aviation


“Jules Hermes has been a trusted partner of Beyond Fifteen Communications since 2014. She consistently puts forth extra effort and research to take things above and beyond my expectations, making everything from a press release to a CEO byline more relevant and enticing to readers – in strategic ways I’d never have thought. She quickly turns around assignments and works as a true partner by my side whenever I’m in a pinch and is able to work with multiple personalities and members of my team. The pieces she has written have secured publication in some of the top business and tech publications, as well as newspapers – making my clients shine in the media spotlight, all while she quietly churns out more as our favored ghostwriter.” — Leslie Licano, Co-founder, Beyond Fifteen Communications, Inc.


The position held by Jules Hermes was key to communicating ARC’s message, challenges and accomplishments to the broader community. The 1990s, in particular, was a decade of massive growth in humanitarian needs related to the genocide in Rwanda, the wars and displacement in West Africa, war and famine in Somalia, and the fall of former Yugoslavia and the ensuing ethnic cleansing and refugee flows. These complex disasters and several other conflicts and droughts/famines presented major challenges for the humanitarian world and extreme competition for funding and qualified staff. 

I had witnessed previous communications directors at ARC performing their “duties” well – answering press inquiries, posting press releases and, from time to time, being able to place relevant articles published in local papers. Well, when Jules arrived on the scene, I wondered if I was witnessing the first ‘perfect storm’ to hit the Midwest. Jules was a master at all of the requisite activities – the contacts, the press releases, the articles – but she also came in with the innate knowledge that we must focus on the next generation – we must educate the children on the root causes of war and genocide – we must give them the tools to prevent such tragic history – we must motivate them to make a difference and, at the very least, give them the compassion to respond appropriately when the human condition cries out. 

Jules designed a program, “Focus on Hope,” which targeted schools and children/youth in different venues. She also planned a variety of successful events, which brought attention and understanding of the movement, as well promoting the broader mission. She was able to positively influence content in widely used publications and textbooks on topics related to war, famine and genocide. Her field visits to ARC operations brought inspiration back to headquarters. Her very contagious personality developed relationships with major donors and spawned new connections at many levels. ARC was no longer the best-kept secret in the Midwest – or even in the country. Jules has the gift of being able to communicate with and motivate people of all generations, but with the true depth of understanding to focus hope in the next generation.” — Karen Johnson Elshazly, Former Director of International Programs/Senior Advisor to the President (1979-2007), ARC