COLOUR OUTSIDE - Key Persons


Ashley Earwood - CMO, Founder

Job Titles:
  • Founder
  • Marketing Director
From managing national foodservice brands to overseeing NPO communications, Ashley brings with her a diverse background from the marketing and advertising industry. Equipped with a Masters degree in Integrated Marketing Communications, she is passionate about helping companies narrow their focus in order to find their unique voice. As a mom of 3 young kids, she is a master multi-tasker and always thinking on her feet. Exercise, lattes, and family time keep her grounded. Ashley's favorite weekend activity is taking day-trips to explore her beautiful home state of California.

Ciara Boatner

Job Titles:
  • Manager of Marketing & Business Development
As a 3-year captain of her college basketball team, Ciara is enthusiastic about connecting with people and building impactful relationships. After a short stint as a college basketball coach, she hung up her whistle to empower brands to stand out against the competition. When Ciara's not organizing her inbox or requesting to meet for a cup of coffee, you can find her on a Peloton bike or relentlessly cheering on her coach of a husband, Julian and the William & Mary men's basketball team.

Gavin Pledger

Job Titles:
  • Creative Director
  • Founding Partner
Originally from London, Gav brings to the table a pinch of humor and over 18 years experience as a professional graphic designer and illustrator. From large, nationally recognized brands to small-scale startups, he's worked with a wide range of clients across multiple industries. Equipped with an Art Foundation Degree and a Bachelor of Arts (with Honors) Degree in Architecture & Design, Gav believes attention (or in his case obsession) to details makes the difference between good design and great design. As Creative Director, he collaborates with teams to bring brands to life in print and on screen. A family man and father of five, Gav likes to unwind playing soccer, hitting the gym and pursuing his life-long ambition of becoming an enlightened ninja warrior on the meditation mat.

Justin Schoonmaker - Managing Director

Job Titles:
  • Founding Partner
  • Managing Director
Justin manages Colour Outside's business operations and helps lead brand strategy for its clients. Armed with 11 years of branding and creative work at America's second-oldest university, William & Mary, Justin loves to partner with organizations to help steer well-established brands. Every year, in the face of public protest, Justin starts listening to Christmas music Thanksgiving week. He also has a thing for OrangeTheory Fitness, jazz, Tom Brady, and nice shoes. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia with his favorite people in the world: his wife Angie and their four children.

Melissa Payne

Job Titles:
  • Communications Designer
Melissa brings an international perspective to Colour Outside due to her extensive world travels. After graduating from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, with a BFA Degree in Graphic Design, she immediately landed an internship with the international branding agency Interbrand. Soon afterwards, she was hired and relocated to work in their Amsterdam office. During her residency in Europe, she had the privilege to work in several of their international offices including Cologne, Madrid, New York, and London. In 2012, she returned to California and worked several years for the Clorox Company, primarily as a packaging designer but also working on various branding, print, and presentation projects. When she's not wow-ing the world with her innovative designs, Melissa enjoys food (the cooking & eating of), traveling, learning new things, listening to NPR, drawing, painting, reading, and history.

Natalie Harger

Job Titles:
  • Director of Brand & Content Strategy
Born into a family of career writers and PR professionals, Natalie has a longstanding fascination with written words. What began as childhood backyard plays and high school yearbook copy, grew into published editorials and company rebranding projects. As a regular columnist for a 60-year-old nationally recognized publication and a former brand strategist and graphic designer for two of Virginia's fastest growing mortgage companies, Natalie brings a unique perspective to the Colour Outside team. From brand guidelines to blog posts to advertisements to tag lines, Natalie handles a variety of copywriting projects for clients. She likes to think of brands as if they are people; it takes effort to understand them, they can surprise you, and you can (and should) have an ongoing relationship with them. Natalie lives in Norfolk, VA with her husband, Travis, her daughter, Samirah, and her two cat children. She's a fan of boxed red wine and British chat shows. She enjoys reading and wants to write short stories one day, mostly for her own amusement.

Scott Hale - COO

Job Titles:
  • Director of Operations
Hailing from (the great city of) Manassas, Va, Scott is the glue that holds Colour Outside's operations together. With an eclectic background that includes running a touring improv comedy group, paralegal work, providing software training to U.S. Army personnel, and information systems management for a major university, Scott aids in Colour Outside's business and project management. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia with his wife Lyra and four children.

Travis Harger

With a passion for storytelling, Travis' decade of experience in the destination, entertainment, wedding, and mortgage industries uniquely equip him to tell brand stories for Colour Outside's clients. With a background in short films, documentaries, music videos, and commercials, he enjoys crafting compelling narratives for companies to better engage with their audiences. He believes successful brands are the ones that embrace the power of video. Experienced in developing marketing strategies and producing creative visual content, Travis helps companies clarify their brand while navigating through the digital tools available to them. He respects the importance of both an aesthetically pleasing shot and a concise, compelling message. Travis resides in Norfolk, VA with his wife, Natalie, and his daughter, Samirah, and enjoys reading, music, and art.