She eats raw onions. She's a beauty, parts and lifestyle model. Cholula goes on everything. She collects photos of abandoned shoes left in the wild (she calls them “lost sole mates”). She survived an elephant stampede. She sailed in a wooden boat on the Mekong River for 3 days. Her passport has racked up 27 countries and counting. She knows every line to Home Alone 1 & 2 (you believe me, but does your Tommy gun?). She got a callback from the Disney Channel for a TV series when she was 11. She's formulated fragrance. She adores mineral sunscreen, lives an active plant-based lifestyle in pursuit of healthy longevity for herself and the planet...and she monitors airfares like a hearty Midwesterner monitors the weather.
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She took a year off from college and traveled. It seemed like a better idea than textbooks. She lived through nearly four months roughing it (hard) in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam with 17 trips to the hospital. She traded in the roughing months to spend three months studying French in Paris. It was her best year ever with the scars to prove it.
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Currently Raye is senior copywriter for Conscious Minds Advertising. She also has been a copywriter for agencies including Movers+Shakers, FCB NY, Dentsu NYC and Sid Lee LA and global personal wellness company Edgewell Personal Care.
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Raye has a BFA in Branding and Advertising, concentration in Copywriting and Communications from the Savannah College of Art & Design and additional specialty studies from the Fashion Beauty & Fragrance program at SCAD. She recently moved from New York City and now divides her time between the Midwest (Minneapolis) and the West Coast (Palm Springs).
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At one point, Raye was a highly awarded emerging photographer, including garnering international recognition. Today, she's pulls that experience into her verbal stories and writing. But if you're curious about her photography, visit: https://www.rayeebensteiner.com/
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Check out Raye's thoughtful travel Substack "Send a Postcard"
A Historical Snapshot
It was an absurdly chilly day at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll in 2006. It was one of those rainy, cold-soaked-to-the-bone afternoons, and I was miserable. My father had somehow been given an invitation by his D.C. office to the White House Easter Egg Roll. As was customary, Laura Bush would read a book to the children attending. Despite the rain, she pushed away all the umbrellas, got real and sat down among the children. She then reached out, plucked me from the crowd and put me on her lap for a story and one unforgettable moment. My brother Jack, with his itty-bitty digital camera, wiggled and squeezed through the throngs of national press and nabbed this moment for eternity. Politics aside, how often do we mere mortals have a chance to get real on the lap of the First Lady.
"One time when working on a creative brief, Raye and her art director partner came up with an ex-citing idea that really addressed the clientʼs needs in a way that was simple yet never done. I loved it. Our creative directors loved it. Our executive creative director loved it. Everyone at our ad agency who saw it loved it. Raye and her partner proceeded to build it out into a full campaign, with Raye writing well-crafted lines that really helped tie the idea back to what made it so great It.… was presented to the clients, who also loved it."
- Ravi Singh, Senior Copywriter, FCB NY
"I'm extremely grateful to Raye for her unwavering commitment to delivering against on-brief objectives and provocative creative recommendations. Raye is extremely collaborative and a joy to have on the team. She is poised in front of clients, warm with internal team members, and an ace at defending her perspective while understanding when and how to accept feedback. We consistently ask her to rise above and beyond her job description, and Raye always exceeds expectations. "No" is not in her vocabulary; and we're all extremely grateful to her for everything she contributes!"
- Kendall Stemper, Account Director, Dentsu
"Raye excels in radical collaboration. She jumps in on so many different brands with an open mind and a creative attitude. I use Raye's copy as inspiration for my own sometimes. She is always on social and knows how people speak online. Raye shows a lot of patience and maturity in handling feedback and working with the team. Raye connects with people, she meets with people, she introduces herself and invites in others. This business can be a lot of bullies and she is fortunately not one of them."
- Matt Richter, Associate Creative Director, Dentsu
"Working with Raye was a genuine pleasure. She brings real cultural instinct to her work, doesn't just follow trends but knows how to turn a moment into something that truly resonates. She's proactive, a natural ideator, and one of the most receptive people to feedback I've worked with. On top of all that, she's a fantastic collaborator and one of the most receptive people to feedback I've worked with.
- Shawn Lynch, Associate Creative Director, Movers + Shakers
"Raye was one of the brightest talents that I had the pleasure of working with! Beyond hitting the mark with a wide array of options, she is quick and ready to jump on any task with a positive mindset which goes a long way in this industry. If I had 5 stars to give, she'd get them all. She is creative, smart, and has an outlook that makes brands more personable."- Josephine Lassen, Strategy, Sid Lee
"Working with Raye was a joy. She brings real brightness and depth to every brief. Her ideas land fast, her writing is sharp, and sheʼs genuinely kind and collaborative. I loved having her on the team—anyone would be lucky to work with her!"
- Nina Nadazdin, Creative Director, Edgewell
"Raye is one of those forces for which there really aren’t the words — the perfect blend of curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, vision and kindness. She can hang with any of the creatives I’ve ever worked with — in terms of big idea thinking and execution-level craftwork. Her mere presence, buoyed by her insistence on excellence and grace, never fails to inspire her team. I sincerely hope to work with her again."
- Duke Greenhill, Former Chair, SCAD Advertising and Senior Creative Producer, R/G/A
