Harley Jebens

Current

• Senior Information Architect at Tribal DDB
• Community Advisory Board member at La Reunion
• Volunteer, Email newsletter editor at For the Love of the Lake

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Past

• Director of Content at Click Here
• Senior Content Manager at Pyro Brand Development
• Online Site Editor at Dallas Morning News/Belo Interactive

• Reporter at Gamespot.com
• Entertainment Reporter at Austin American-Statesman
• Bartender/ne'er-do-well at Cactus Cafe
• Bartender at Matagorda Inn
• General Assignments Reporter at Matagorda Country Daily Tribune
• Intern at Whittle Communications
• Fact Checker (interim) at Texas Monthly
• Volunteer at YMCA Fairthorne Manor
• Sandwich maker kind of guy at Hip Pocket Sandwich Shoppe
• Camp Counselor at YMCA Camp Grady Spruce
• Factory worker at Phillips Plastics
• Disc Jockey at WNBI

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12 more...

Education

• Rice University
• The University of Texas at Austin
• Phillips High School

• O.E. Grey Elementary School

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1 more...

Recommended

12 people have recommended Harley

Connections

497 connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

Harley Jebens’s Summary

Harley Jebens’s Specialties:

Information architecture, user experience, usability, content organization, copy writing and editing, viral marketing, search marketing

Harley Jebens’s Experience

• Senior Information Architect

  Tribal DDB

  (Public Company; 51-200 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  April 2007 — Present (2 years 4 months)

  I lead the Information Architecture/User Experience group at Tribal DDB Dallas, the Dallas office of Tribal DDB Worldwide, an interactive marketing agency with 36 offices in 21 countries worldwide. The Dallas office is the oldest and largest in the Tribal Worldwide network.
  
  My challenge at Tribal DDB Dallas is to expand the agency’s perception of information architecture beyond that of site maps, wire frames and process flows to encompass all aspects of user experience, from functional requirements to findability to user experience to results-drive optimization.
  
  Tribal DDB clients include PepsiCo, Mountain Dew, ExxonMobil, American Airlines, Nokia, (Red) and the Gladney Center for Adoption.

• Community Advisory Board member

  La Reunion

  (Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; Civic & Social Organization industry)

  August 2006 — Present (3 years)

  La Reunion is an effort to establish an artists' residency program in the historic Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas. More information on the organization and its activities can be found at www.lareuniontx.org.

• Volunteer, Email newsletter editor

  For the Love of the Lake

  (Environmental Services industry)

  June 2004 — Present (5 years 2 months)

  For the Love of the Lake (FTLOTL) is a group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of Dallas' White Rock Lake Park as an urban oasis.
  
  FtLOTL was founded in 1995 when a number of White Rock Lake-area residents gathered together to provide ongoing support for the lake. One of the main ways we do that is with our monthly Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce-Ups events, where volunteers would come out once a month to collect the trash that had accumulated around the shores of the lake.
  
  We have spear-headed efforts to develop a playground at T.P. Hill, bring the Civilian Conservation Corps bronze statue to the park, create the White Rock Lake Museum at the Bath House Cultural Center, and develop the park’s Celebration Tree Grove.
  
  More information on the group and its activities can be found at our website – www.whiterocklake.org.

• Director of Content

  Click Here

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  February 2001 — April 2007 (6 years 3 months)

  I was in charge of the content team at Click Here, responsible for information architecture and copy writing and collecting for our Internet and online media development projects. The content team was also involved in pursuing new business, developing strategies for clients, search marketing, viral marketing, blog marketing and many other aspects of our business.

• Senior Content Manager

  Pyro Brand Development

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  October 1999 — February 2001 (1 year 5 months)

• Online Site Editor

  Dallas Morning News/Belo Interactive

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; BLC; Online Media industry)

  October 1996 — October 1999 (3 years 1 month)

  Helped launch the dallasnews.com and guildlive.com websites for The Dallas Morning News and the Belo Corporation, then helped put systems and procedures in place to kee those sites maintained on a daily basis. Dallasnews.com is the online site for the Dallas Morning News newspaper. Guidelive.com is an arts and entertainment site for the newspaper that helps people plan their entertainment choices - movies, restaurants, art and music.

• Reporter

  Gamespot.com

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Games industry)

  October 1997 — August 1999 (1 year 11 months)

  As a freelance reporter, I filed a story on QuakeCon 97 for GameSpot.com, which led to a regular reporting gig with them that lasted for a couple years (more or less). Good times, good times.

• Entertainment Reporter

  Austin American-Statesman

  (Public Company; 501-1000 employees; Newspapers industry)

  January 1993 — October 1996 (3 years 10 months)

  Worked on the Entertainment desk of the Austin American-Statesman newspaper from 1992 through 1996, helping revamping the paper's weekend tabloids to create the XL ent. supplement, and was part of the initial team that created the Austin360.com website for the paper.

• Bartender/ne'er-do-well

  Cactus Cafe

  (Educational Institution; 11-50 employees; Food & Beverages industry)

  September 1992 — October 1996 (4 years 2 months)

  Bartender at the Cactus Cafe, folk music club/coffee house on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Working here is when I first started to appreciate folk and country music.

• Bartender

  Matagorda Inn

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Entertainment industry)

  March 1992 — August 1992 (6 months)

  Part-time job at the local ex-Holiday Inn/drinking establishment. I had a blast working here.

• General Assignments Reporter

  Matagorda Country Daily Tribune

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Newspapers industry)

  September 1991 — May 1992 (9 months)

  I was the cops reporter, the county commissioners court reporter, covered a couple school districts, agriculture and water issues, chemical and nuclear plant issues, Baptist v. Beer drinker issues down in Palacios, filled in on sports, wrote movie reviews and op ed columns, covered chicken judging at the county fair and rodeo, scandalous elections, bar fights, bear wrestling and more. What can I say, it was a small town paper?

• Intern

  Whittle Communications

  (Privately Held; 501-1000 employees; Writing and Editing industry)

  January 1991 — June 1991 (6 months)

  I spent the winter/spring of 1991 interning at Whittle Communications in Knoxville, Tennessee, working on the Special Reports magazines that were distributed in doctor's office waiting rooms.

• Fact Checker (interim)

  Texas Monthly

  (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Newspapers industry)

  June 1990 — January 1991 (8 months)

  Filled in for a fact-checker on maternity leave at Texas Montly, as my first 'real' job out of college.

• Volunteer

  YMCA Fairthorne Manor

  (Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Health, Wellness and Fitness industry)

  May 1988 — September 1988 (5 months)

  Worked as a 'camp counselor' at YMCA's Fairthorne Manor, in Botley, England, during the summer of 1988. Did a number of things there - ropes course instructor, kayaking/canoeing instructor, grounds keeper, tuck shop operator. Worked with other 20-somethings from around the globe, and spent a lot of time at the local pub.

• Sandwich maker kind of guy

  Hip Pocket Sandwich Shoppe

  (Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Restaurants industry)

  January 1987 — September 1988 (1 year 9 months)

  My friend Tanguy Libbrecht got me a job working at the Dobie Mall location of this fast food restaurant, and then the two of us ended up working at the Sixth Street location most Friday and Saturday nights. Good sandwiches

• Camp Counselor

  YMCA Camp Grady Spruce

  (Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Health, Wellness and Fitness industry)

  May 1987 — August 1987 (4 months)

  Worked as a camp counselor for one summer during college at Camp Grady Spruce on Possum Kingdom Lake, west of Fort Worth. Oversaw a cabin full of 8 to 10 year olds, and instructed them in everything from rifle shooting to archery to sailing to arts and crafts to skiing.

• Factory worker

  Phillips Plastics

  (Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Plastics industry)

  May 1986 — August 1986 (4 months)

  Worked the late shift (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) in the paint department of the Phillips Plastics Corporation after my freshman year in college.

• Disc Jockey

  WNBI

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Entertainment industry)

  September 1983 — August 1985 (2 years)

  I was perhaps the worst disc jockey ever in the history of Park Falls' WNBI radio station. I could play the h--- out of commercials during Milwaukee Brewers' games, though, and mangle the name of every merchant in downtown Park Falls. Good times, good times. Great job, too.

Harley Jebens’s Education

• Rice University

  n/a , Rice University Publishing Program , 1992 — 1992

  Activities and Societies:

  Rice University Publishing Program

• The University of Texas at Austin

  Bachelor of Journalism , Journalism, English , 1985 — 1990

  Interned at Texas Monthly, and a local music mag called Glitch News. Wrote for UTmost and other publications around town.
  
  Bartended for years at the Cactus Cafe and Texas Tavern on the UT campus, as well as at the Performing Arts Center and other venues around town.

  Activities and Societies:

  Society of Professional Journalists

• Phillips High School

  Graduate , 1981 — 1985

• O.E. Grey Elementary School

  4th Grade diploma , reading, writing, 'rithmetic , 1973 — 1977

Additional Information

Harley Jebens’s Interests:

Copy writing, Information architecture, Usability, Viral marketing, Search engine marketing, fly fishing, bicycling, reading, jumping sharks, dancing (around the subject), impersonating Abe Lincoln, befriending orphans, living life like there's no tomorrow (and if there is, tomorrow is Saturday), making vague generalizations, thinnly-veiled accusations and one heck of a bologna sandwich

Harley Jebens’s Groups:

For the Love of the Lake, Big Brothers Big Sisters, La Reunion artists residency program, Hike for Discovery

•    DFW Interactive Marketing Association
•    Texas Exes/University of Texas at Austin
•    Interaction Design Association
•    Boxes and Arrows
•    Creativity Champions
•    Tribal DDB Alumni
•    Informed Ideas For Writers
•    Social Media Today
•    Social Media Marketing
•    User Experience
•    Restaurant Network
•    Dallas User Centered Design
•    UX Design / Information Architecture
•    Wave Integrated Marketing Solutions

Harley Jebens’s Honors:

Nokia Productions - OMMA Award winner, 2008

Dallas County Regional Community-Based Big Brother of the Year, 2008

Advertising Age, Global Agency Network of the Year - Tribal DDB, 2008

Nominee, Dallas Ad League Eagle Awards - Best Copywriter in Dallas, 2006

Work I have been involved in has won Ad:Tech, Ad Insight and DFWIMA awards, and has been cited in the Graphis Interactive Annual.

Author of book "100 Jobs in Social Change," published in 1997.

Column for the Austin American-Statesman selected as "Best in Austin" in 1996 by the Austin Chronicle.

Perfect Attendance trophy, 3rd grade bowling team, 1976, Platteville, Wisconsin.

Harley Jebens’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch