About Lyra Creative Studios
Lyra Creative Studios is an integrated communications agency that provides creative services to health, arts, and cultural organizations, maker businesses, and social enterprises. As part of our passion for change-making, we offer innovative, story-driven marketing and media campaigns to help our clients achieve their economic, philanthropic, and social goals.
We know that our clients care deeply about making an impact. Using the science of communication to create compelling content and data-backed strategies, we work closely with businesses and organizations to align and elevate their brand, generate more qualified leads, and build lasting customer relations.
We are a passionate collective of creative communicators eager to leverage our strange magic to produce awe-inspiring results for changemaking businesses. Our diverse backgrounds help us go beyond generic (i.e. ineffective) content and harness the heart of your brand. When we collaborate with you, we unveil your most compelling and remarkable strengths.
History of the Collective
Lyra Creative Studios was founded by Rachel Wayne, a creative marketer and serial entrepreneur based in Orlando, Florida. She observed that many content marketing and PR agencies relied on cheap hacks rather than their clients’ riveting stories. As changemaking businesses and nonprofits must go beyond sales-speak to truly captivate their dream customers or donors, Wayne founded Lyra Creative Studios to help make these clients’ marketing magic.
Today, the Collective includes a diverse group of magical people, all of whom share a professional commitment to strategic yet honest storytelling. Our specialties range from meaningful media relations to smart SEO to dazzling design.
If you’re interested in joining our collective, drop us a line.
Meet the Team
Our core team of creatives choreographs the strategy for our extraordinary clients. Meet them below.
Rachel Wayne, Founder, Head Magician and Content Marketer
Rachel Wayne began her communications journey in Gainesville, Florida, where she spearheaded a project to bring Property Assessed Clean Energy financing to Alachua County. Meanwhile, she energized the local theatre scene by producing inclusive, culturally conscious productions and developing workshops that applied dramatic and visual arts to social issues.
She then became a staff writer, social media manager, and Public Information Officer at the University of Florida, where she served as associate editor of the award-winning Ytori Magazine. While working at UF, she earned her Master’s in Visual Anthropology.
As a performing arts instructor and professional performer, Rachel strives to empower those in the domains about which she’s most passionate: dance, culture, health, and communication.
Gigi Marino, Head Lion Tamer and Media Strategist
Gigi Marino is a branding expert and experienced editor who combines her diverse background and strategic mindset to help businesses, higher ed institutions, and scientists elevate their brands. She is a dynamic, efficient communications director and creative editor with more than 25 years of experience.
Utilizing the razor-sharp skills of a journalist, the people-friendly skills of a manager, and the intellectual curiosity of a science writer, Gigi provides a comprehensive communications strategy that delivers results.
With an MA in English from Penn State University, she brings a robust understanding of rhetoric and persuasion to the table.
Diana Griffith, Head Illusionist and Visual Communicator
Diana Griffith is an editor, writer, and photographer who helps businesses and brands highlight their achievements. A graduate of Penn State University with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism, she has served as a strategic communicator, copywriter, and publications editor for health, higher ed, and government. As a working photographer for more than 30 years, she has specialized in shooting photos for publication, including portraits of people in the workplace and event photography.
Why the Lyra?
The lyra is a circular aerial apparatus that has been used by aerial dancers in the circus for more than a century. It represents unity, continuity, and history: all things that Lyra Creative Studios prioritizes while empowering its changemaker clients to make a difference in the world.