Cyd Hatch, The Girl Who Brands: Wastebooks, Photography and Storytelling

<p><strong>Christine's story, in her own words:</strong></p><p>I'm a tea and polka dot junkie, bulldog momma, and passionate supporter of women's empowerment…But most of all, I'm a storyteller.</p><p><br></p><p>As a kid, I would regale friends and family with my retellings of <em>The Three Billy Goats Gruff</em>. As an adult, I still love to tell stories, but now I don't talk about silly goats and trolls. Instead, I tell the stories of people, their passions and brands.</p><p><br></p><p>In college, I fell in love with the story of mankind: history. I loved researching, writing and presenting about the people and events that shaped our society. After graduating, I decided that it was time to help make history, so I hit up Capital Hill and joined US Senator Jeff Flake's Press Office. It was here that I truly came into my own as a storyteller.</p><p><br></p><p>In Senator Flake's Press Office, I had the opportunity to see firsthand just how big an impact the right story could have. I managed the Senator's social media accounts, wrote press content and ensured that the right photos were taken at the right time and ensured that the Senator's public image helped build support for his goals and ideas. One of the Senator's projects was to expose and eliminate congressional waste. Unfortunately, most of that waste was described in reports so bland and boring that reading them was downright painful. We needed a story, a narrative that would make people sit up and pay attention.</p><p><br></p><p>So, we created the Wastebooks. </p><p><br></p><p>The Wastebooks were digital reports that poked fun at all the strange things Congress spent money on. By translating congressional speak into an engaging, easy-to-read format, we created something people <strong>wanted</strong> to read. </p><p><br></p><p>We told a story. </p><p><br></p><p>As a result, the Wastebooks were a total grand slam being  featured in USA Today and other major news outlets and put Senator Flake's campaign against governmental waste on the map—and all be