Blair Hickman

Executive coach and strategist for creators, media founders and leaders

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About

Big change is the result of one million tiny steps. But finding what the right next step is can be incredibly hard, overwhelming and lonely.

I'm an executive for for heart-led media founders, creators and content executives who are ready to bring big visions to life or start taking their business seriously. My clients usually come to me struggling to:

Focus on the thing that will move the needle
Protect their capacity
Level up their mindset
Gain the confidence and skills needed to lead
Strategize about how to test new directions, or get the resources they need
Lead a team through high-stakes change
Bring an impactful strategic project to life, without a team

I'm an executive coach and strategist for exactly these moments. People who work with me leave with increased confidence as a business owner and greater clarity on what they want, what their business actually is and needs and what problems matter.

My approach blends coaching and strategic advisory, so you can both learn and access a senior thought partner for those "Please, God, just tell me what to do" moments.

I also work with the whole person. We'll get clear about strategy. We’ll focus, prioritize and plan. But we'll also make room what usually holds founders and leaders back — the emotional work and personal growth required to lead.

About Me

In the last two years, I’ve trained and coached 100+ media founders, executives and creator journalists through gaining the clarity, confidence and skills they need to build their business or launch strategic projects. Before that, I spent nearly 20 years leading audience, strategy and innovation at fast-growing digital media companies. I was ProPublica's first community editor, the founding audience editor at The Marshall Project and joined Vox.com to lead audience the year it doubled in size. I was promoted six times in seven years and left as Executive Director of Strategy and Development. I've worked as a fractional editor-in-chief for SXSW and was a 2025 Sulzberger Executive Leadership Fellow at Columbia, where I incubated what is now Chicago.com.

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Packages

Pop-Up Strategy Session

75 minutes to help you stop overthinking and feel less overwhelmed

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Testimonials

Blair has been the rare combination of someone whose mentoring is pragmatic and genuinely actionable, but also warm, supportive, and emotionally intelligent. I'm particularly grateful for her helping me piece together my own mental blocks to going independent.

- Hussain Khan, journalist, writer and audio producer

What I love about working with Blair is that she combines the right amount of empathy with honest "get-your-life" directness and smart tough love. She doesn't just listen — she sees me. I've ended every session with more clarity and momentum.

- Monica Williams, Founder, Grants for Journalists

Blair is a seasoned newsroom leader, skilled operator, talented creative strategist... She is a stellar problem solver and a force of inspiration and effectiveness.

- Rachel Abady, Head of Creative Strategy, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Pop-Up Strategy Sessions

75 minutes to get unstuck and leave with your next steps ranked. I don’t normally offer single sessions, so there are only 20. Book by Dec 4 and use yours by Dec 10.

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