The world is full of people pointing at problems. Tracy helps teams find the right problems to solve—and turn them into stories, systems, and experiments that move things forward.

A design leader with extensive experience in human-centered design, innovation, and strategic team leadership, Tracy helps mission-driven organizations, nonprofits, foundations, and creative teams turn complexity into shared understanding. She works at the intersection of design strategy, communication, and systems, guiding teams to define what matters, align around it, and move it forward.

Tracy’s practice combines co-creation, facilitation, and practical tools. She translates research, stakeholder input, and messy ideas into narratives, briefs, decks, and roadmaps that people can actually use. Her approach to generative AI is firmly design-led: AI is a sketchbook and accelerator, used to surface patterns, explore options, and support better decisions—never a replacement for human judgment or voice.

Throughout her career, Tracy has been a strong advocate for design-led innovation and clear communication. She’s known for creating environments where cross-functional teams can contribute, experiment, and see their thinking reflected in the work. Her leadership brings creativity and clarity to projects that involve many voices and moving parts.

Before founding The Kretz Co-Lab, Tracy led brand and campaign work at integrated marketing communications firms specializing in nonprofit, higher education, and state government clients. She helped colleges, public agencies, and community-focused organizations clarify their stories, design integrated campaigns, and communicate complex programs in ways that real people could understand and act on.

She also spent years in global consumer packaged goods, including Newell Brands as part of their Innovation Group and as a founding member of Kimberly-Clark’s Front-End Innovation Design team. Across these roles, she led design leadership, workshop facilitation, and innovation initiatives that delivered meaningful outcomes and helped teams build a more human-centered, design-aware way of working.

Tracy holds a terminal degree in her field—an MFA in Communication Design from Kutztown University—which deepens her practice at the intersection of design, storytelling, and systems thinking.