Team
Meet the Kelsh Wilson Design staff. Kelsh Wilson Design creates message-driven marketing communications, in print and on the web, for education, business, and nonprofits. Admissions / Advancement / Branding / Photography + Video
THE KELSH WILSON TEAM
F R E D W I L S O N / Managing Principal
B.F.A. Graphic Design, The University of the Arts
Fred Wilson has built his career around a simple but powerful idea: the strongest communications emerge when strategy, writing, design, and imagery work together from the start. As Managing Principal of Kelsh Wilson, he brings more than three decades of experience to an integrated approach that connects institutional messaging and brand strategy with the creative disciplines that bring those ideas to life.
Fred founded Wilson Design Associates in 1989 after serving as an art director with the Woods Group in the Baltimore/Washington area and Kramer Miller Lomden Glassman in Philadelphia. In 1992, he joined forces with photographer Nick Kelsh to form Kelsh Wilson Design, building a firm around the integration of graphic design, photography, and writing—disciplines that traditionally had been handled separately.
Under Fred’s leadership, Kelsh Wilson has evolved into a strategic communications practice encompassing institutional messaging, branding and identity, admissions and advancement communications, print, digital, and web development. He brings particular expertise to complex, multifaceted communications initiatives, providing the strategic and creative continuity that keeps message, design, imagery, and execution working toward a common purpose.
Fred has led projects large and small for schools, colleges and universities, corporations, and other organizations, combining strategic thinking with a designer’s instinct for clarity, distinction, and memorable communication.
M I C H A E L B U T L E R / Senior Strategist and Writing Associate
B.A., M.A. English, Lehigh University
Michael brings more than 25 years of experience—and an exceptional talent for distilling complex institutions into clear, compelling stories—to his work in brand strategy and communications. He is particularly accomplished in developing institutional brand messaging and creating high-impact capital campaign and admissions communications for independent schools, colleges, and universities across the country.
A key contributor to our audience research and message development process, Michael helps uncover the ideas, qualities, and points of distinction that define an institution and make its story meaningful to the audiences it seeks to reach. He translates those insights into sophisticated communication strategies, creative concepts, and persuasive print, digital, and video content.
Over the course of his career, Michael has played a leading role in major strategic communications initiatives for educational institutions nationwide, helping schools and universities articulate their value, strengthen their brands, advance ambitious fundraising campaigns, and inspire prospective students and families.
L I S A W I N W A R D / Design Director
B.F.A. Communication Design, Otis/Parsons School of Design
Lisa Winward brings exceptional creative range, design intuition, and professionalism to her role as Design Director at Kelsh Wilson. Equally accomplished in print and digital media, she has a remarkable ability to find the visual language that feels authentically right for each client—never imposing a signature style, but instead creating distinctive design that grows naturally from an institution’s character, message, and audience.
A member of Kelsh Wilson almost since its inception, Lisa has developed an unusually deep understanding of both the firm’s creative philosophy and the communications needs of its educational and corporate clients. She plays a central role in shaping the visual direction of the firm’s work, guiding projects from their earliest conceptual thinking through design development and final execution.
Lisa combines bold creative thinking with an exacting eye for typography, imagery, composition, and detail. She is equally adept at developing a new visual direction from the ground up and at helping designers push promising ideas further—always with an instinct for what will make the work more distinctive, more cohesive, and more effective.
Over the course of her career at Kelsh Wilson, Lisa has led the design of a wide range of admissions and advancement communications, institutional publications, annual reports, marketing materials, websites, and digital communications, bringing the same level of imagination and craft to every medium.
M E L I N D A C A R A D E C / Account Director
B.A. Political Science, Elizabethtown College
Melinda “Mindy” Caradec is at the center of the collaborative process at Kelsh Wilson, bringing together clients, creative teams, schedules, and resources to keep complex projects moving smoothly from start to finish. Highly organized, responsive, and resourceful, she combines an exceptional attention to detail with a clear understanding of the larger strategic and creative goals behind every assignment.
As Account Director, Mindy serves as a primary point of connection between our clients and the designers, writers, photographers, and web developers who bring their communications to life. She anticipates needs, coordinates the many moving parts of both print and digital projects, and ensures that everyone remains focused on the priorities that matter most.
Mindy oversees schedules and budgets while helping guide projects through each stage of development, balancing practical requirements with creative ambitions. Her ability to communicate clearly, solve problems, and keep projects on course makes her an essential partner to both our clients and our creative team.
Throughout it all, Mindy brings a calm, thoughtful professionalism to the process—helping ensure that ambitious creative work is delivered with the care, efficiency, and attention our clients expect.
K E V I N M O N K O / Photographer
B.A. English, Temple University
Kevin Monko has an extraordinary ability to create photographs that feel genuine, emotionally engaging, and completely connected to the larger story a project is intended to tell. A gifted visual storyteller, he approaches photography as an integral part of the creative strategy—translating themes, messages, and ideas into images that give them an immediate human dimension.
Kevin combines technical mastery and a keen visual instinct with remarkable resourcefulness. Whether working in an inspiring setting or transforming an otherwise ordinary environment into something unexpected, he has a talent for finding the light, perspective, gesture, and moment that make an image memorable. His involvement often begins well before the shoot itself, collaborating with strategists, writers, and designers to understand not simply what photographs are needed, but what they need to communicate.
Just as important is Kevin’s ability to connect with people. His lively personality, warmth, and quick sense of humor put subjects at ease, allowing him to capture moments that feel natural rather than staged—an especially valuable talent when photographing students, faculty, and others who may have little experience in front of a camera.
A member of the Kelsh Wilson team for nearly two decades, Kevin has photographed extensively for independent schools, colleges and universities, corporations, and other organizations. His work brings authenticity, emotion, and visual energy to the stories Kelsh Wilson helps its clients tell.
K A T H I E W I S S M A N N / Business Manager
B.A. History, Saint Joseph’s University
Kathie Wissmann provides the operational and financial stewardship that keeps Kelsh Wilson running smoothly and supports the firm’s long-term success. Working closely with Fred Wilson, she brings a deep understanding of the business, its people, and its priorities to both the day-to-day management of the firm and planning for its future.
As Business Manager, Kathie oversees financial management and budgeting, workflow and resource planning, human resources, and the many administrative functions essential to the firm’s operation. Her perspective extends beyond the numbers and logistics: she understands how the different parts of the business work together and helps ensure that the firm has the resources, organization, and stability its creative teams need to do their best work.
Kathie’s connection to Kelsh Wilson reaches back to its very beginnings. She has served as the firm’s Business Manager since its founding and, before that, managed business functions for both of its predecessor firms, Kelsh Marr Studios and Wilson Design Associates. That remarkable continuity gives her an institutional knowledge and perspective few others could match.
Steady, thoughtful, and exceptionally dependable, Kathie has been a constant presence throughout Kelsh Wilson’s evolution—helping provide the strong business foundation that has allowed the firm and its creative work to thrive.