ABOUT THE DAMES
We started The Dames in 2020 because we’d both spent years watching good businesses get bad marketing advice—chasing shortcuts, inflated metrics, and tactics disconnected from any real strategy. We knew there was a better way to work, and we wanted to build it.
That belief is still what drives us. Resilient marketing is built on substance, consistency, and perseverance. We bring decades of agency, in-house, and corporate experience to every engagement—and we’re still learning, still skeptical, and still unwilling to promise what we can’t deliver.
We work best with SMBs where expertise and reputation drive customer decisions, including professional firms, manufacturers, healthcare organizations, career tech and higher ed institutions, SaaS companies, and other businesses that compete on credibility. If your marketing needs to reflect the actual depth of what you do, we’re probably a good fit.
What working with us looks like
Most marketing agencies are built to scale. We’re built to stay. When you work with us, you’re working with us—not a salesperson who pitches and disappears, or a coordinator who relays messages, or a process that substitutes for judgment. We are in it: on your account, on your calls, and always thinking about how to help your brand succeed.
Are We a Good Fit?
Still have questions?
Please reach out! We’d love to chat.
MEET THE DAMES
As a communicator, I’m known for big-picture thinking and the determination to actually execute it. What drives me is the craft of making client expertise visible, understandable, and emotionally compelling. The work I love most: helping clients communicate not just what they do, but why it matters.
My work spans brand messaging, content strategy, public relations, and earned media—the kind of integrated communications that builds real authority. Before founding The Dames with Annalisa in 2020, I worked across agency, in-house, corporate, and nonprofit environments in industries including healthcare, manufacturing, education, and more. That range taught me something I believe deeply—resilient marketing is built on communication that connects with hearts and minds.
Founder and member of the same book club since 1997, I love to read and learn. Every. Single. Day. My high-strung chocolate lab, named after C.S. Lewis, often makes me question my sanity, and my 80s playlist on Tidal is heavily influenced by Billy Joel. My days usually start with freshly ground coffee or black loose-leaf tea of Kenyan origin, and they sometimes end with a bit of bourbon. A fan of hiking and history, I hope to someday visit Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon and trek to the top of Half Dome.
Jen Carroll
Annalisa Hilliard
Drawn to understanding how things really work beneath the surface, I enjoy digging into new ideas around a wide range of topics, giving them the kind of patient, thorough attention that leads to continual growth. That inner drive found a natural home in the technical side of marketing. SEO, GEO, website architecture, UX/UI, data analytics, and conversion optimization are disciplines that punish shortcuts and reward genuine curiosity.
Like Jen, I’ve worked for a wide range of clients across manufacturing, e-commerce, real estate, education, SaaS, healthcare, and more. That range taught me technical problems are rarely just technical—they’re connected to how a business communicates, how customers find it, and whether the infrastructure exists to support growth. That’s where Jen’s work and mine converge, and it’s what makes our partnership work.
When I’m not deep in a client problem, I’m indulging my passion for plants and my appetite for learning. I care deeply about social justice issues (poverty, racism, and gender inequality among them), and I crave time outdoors. Relaxation looks like coffee, craft beer, biking, and rewatching Schitt’s Creek.