Steven Wade Adams
Strategic Communications Consultant & Documentary Photographer
Steven Wade Adams, DVM, PhD, is a strategic communications consultant and documentary photographer who helps mission-driven organizations navigate strategic change and build stakeholder confidence. Drawing on a background in veterinary and public health, Fortune 50 corporate strategy, and international fieldwork, he bridges rigorous strategy with dignified visual storytelling.
ORIGINS: SCIENCE TO STRATEGY
My foundation is in science. I earned a DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) and an MPVM (Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine) at UC Davis. A formative experience was the opportunity to study under Dr. Calvin Schwabe, a pioneer in veterinary epidemiology and the One Health movement. His philosophy, which championed awareness of the interconnection among human, animal, and environmental health, shaped how I view systems and, most importantly, the relationships between veterinary medicine, human health, and the environment.
Early in my career, I expected research and clinical work to be my long‑term path, so I completed a PhD in Experimental Pathology & Immunology. Over time, however, I realized my primary strengths were in strategic and operational planning—helping organizations make sense of complex systems and chart a path forward.
BRIDGING STRATEGY AND STORYTELLING FOR MISSION-DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONS
I help nonprofits and international NGOs navigate organizational transitions, clarify brand positioning, and build stakeholder confidence through strategic communications - and then bring that strategy to life through dignified documentary photography and film.
This integrated approach stems from an uncommon career path that spanned veterinary medicine and health research, Fortune 50 corporate strategy, international development fieldwork across eight countries, and nonprofit board leadership. Most communications consultants have limited field experience; most photographers have limited strategic training. I’ve spent more than 15 years building both.
CORPORATE STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
Before focusing exclusively on international development, I spent many years in R&D strategy at Pfizer, where I gained deep experience in how large organizations approach innovation, organizational development, business planning, stakeholder management, and communication during major transitions.
That work gave me practical frameworks for clarifying value propositions, mapping stakeholder needs, and aligning organizations around consistent messaging. Combined with my scientific training, it became the foundation for how I now work with mission‑driven organizations facing similar challenges: leadership transitions and restructuring, programmatic evolution, and the need to differentiate in increasingly competitive landscapes.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT & FIELD EXPERIENCE
During my years at Pfizer, I became increasingly interested in the company’s international development efforts and collaborated with the Global Health and Social Impact team and NGO partners that Pfizer supported. Together, this led to field assignments in India, Uganda, Myanmar, Kenya, Guatemala, and Ethiopia.
I’ve collaborated with organizations such as Global Communities, PCI India, the International Trachoma Initiative, and grassroots NGOs addressing global health, education, gender‑based violence, and climate resilience. This fieldwork has given me operational understanding of low‑resource environments, cultural competence across diverse contexts, and a deep appreciation for the communication challenges facing organizations working in complex partnerships across multiple countries.
I’ve served on nonprofit boards, including the multinational NGO Project Concern International, and I founded Project Kalay International, a children’s health initiative in Myanmar. These roles provided a critical insight: most nonprofit communications challenges are rooted in change. Storytelling without clarity of mission is anchorless.
THE INTEGRATED APPROACH: WHY IT WORKS
Developing the Three Levels of Brand Clarity Framework
Over time, I developed the “Three Levels of Brand Clarity” Framework to help organizations pinpoint where their story breaks down—internally or externally—and turn that into a clear message architecture and content priorities the whole team can use.
The framework draws on established strategy and brand principles but is adapted for the realities of the nonprofit and international development sectors. It emerged from watching competent organizations, both for‑profit and nonprofit, struggle to distinguish between the ability to describe their programs and the ability to articulate what positions them to win.
Often, the issue is not the quality of the work but a lack of strategic clarity about what is truly distinctive. Without that clarity, it is difficult to align an organization around a consistent, differentiated mission.
WHERE STRATEGIC STORYTELLING MEETS DOCUMENTARY STORYTELLING
Once organizational clarity exists, effective visual storytelling becomes possible. This is where my documentary photography and film work comes in—not as a separate service, but as implementation of the broader strategy.
My work is designed to build credibility with stakeholders who expect communications to demonstrate both programmatic rigor and ethical integrity. This combination allows me to serve both as a strategic advisor during organizational transitions and as an implementer of visual storytelling campaigns, with a clear understanding of how each narrative serves broader strategic objectives.
WHY THIS BACKGROUND MATTERS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
When you're navigating funding diversification or strategic repositioning, you need more than a photographer or a generic brand consultant. You need someone who:
Understands your operational realities
Can use frameworks for assessing organizational clarity
Implements strategy through field-based documentation to build stakeholder confidence
My work with organizations like Global Communities demonstrates this integrated approach: stakeholder consultations and communications audits to identify gaps in strategic clarity, action plans to reposition hidden assets, and field documentation grounded in actual strengths to support long‑term institutional communication through storytelling.
PERSONAL ARTISTIC PHILOSOPHY
Beyond client work, I pursue long-term documentary projects exploring cultural identity, migration, and women's interiority across societies. These personal projects inform my professional methodology, deepening my understanding of visual narrative, cross-cultural storytelling, and the anthropological approach that distinguishes my work from commodity photography.
LET'S EXPLORE PARTNERSHIP POSSIBILITIES
Whether you’re clarifying your strategic position, navigating organizational transition, or developing strategic visual storytelling campaigns, I welcome the opportunity to discuss how this integrated approach might serve your mission.
I work with organizations that value strategic thinking, collaborative partnership, ethical storytelling, and long‑term relationships over transactional engagements. Contact me to start a conversation.
“During the development of the documentary on San Diego Community Birth Center, Steve collaborated with my staff and members of our community as a respectful and empathetic partner, patiently listening to their input and validating their concerns. Steve artfully and compassionately created the building blocks which were beautifully woven together to highlight the ongoing injustice and senseless tragedy of the Black Maternal Health Crisis while also creating a sense of beauty, hope and celebration for our community.”
- Nikki Helms, Lead Midwife & Clinical Director, San Diego Community Birth Center