Influential Women Features: Kayla Griffin—Innovative Marketing Technologist, Artist & Advocate for Empowerment Globally
Kayla Griffin is a dynamic Marketing Technologist and emerging contemporary artist whose work spans the intersections of technology, communication, and creative expression. A recognized expert in SEO, AI-SEO, generative AI, public relations, and marketing, she currently serves as a Marketing Technologist for Big Sea, where she champions the advancement of ethical, human-centered AI in the nonprofit sector. Her mission: to help mission-driven organizations grow, adapt, and thrive in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
In addition to her role at Big Sea, Kayla serves as the Director of Marketing for Spontaneous Brilliance alongside longtime mentor Sandra Cavanaugh, where she supports creative programming that amplifies human potential. She also teaches college-level Communication courses, helping students develop foundational skills in media literacy, public speaking, leadership, and critical thinking.
Beyond the professional realm of AI and marketing, Kayla is rapidly gaining recognition as an emerging visual artist with exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles. Her paintings—crafted in oil, acrylic, and ink on canvas—explore the powerful tension between emotional struggle and the resilience of joy. Influenced by artists such as Dorothea Tanning, Steven Kenny, Ferdinanda Florence, and Kazland, her work engages themes of liminality, nostalgia, memory, and the ways joy itself can act as a form of resistance. Her pieces are at once dreamlike and unflinchingly honest, creating a visual language that invites viewers into spaces of both vulnerability and hope.
Kayla’s background spans nearly a decade in higher education, where she served as an Adjunct Faculty member at the College of Western Idaho, teaching communication, leadership, and digital marketing. She also previously worked as an Organizational Development Specialist for the Bureau of Reclamation, specializing in strategic communication, training, and change management. Across disciplines, Kayla has built a reputation for uniting art, analytics, and communication into a holistic approach to problem-solving and innovation.
Her education reflects this same multidisciplinary spirit. Kayla holds a BBA from Boise State University, an Associate of Arts from the College of Southern Idaho, and a Master of Arts in Communication and Rhetorical Theory from Boise State University. She holds a Certification in Artificial Intelligence from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has completed an MFA in Color Theory, and is only 24 credits away from completing a Master’s in Public Administration in Big Data. She is also certified in HubSpot Reporting and Analytics, positioning her as both a creative and analytical leader.
As a writer and artist, Kayla’s work has been published and exhibited internationally. She donates original works to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD) to raise awareness for chronic digestive illnesses and contributes art to AZA-accredited zoos and wildlife organizations to support conservation efforts. Her creative philosophy centers on using art as a catalyst for healing, awareness, and connection.
A passionate advocate for lifelong learning, Kayla draws inspiration from books like Master of Change and A Field Guide to Getting Lost. She is actively involved in professional communities, including the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and regularly attends the Western States Communication Conference. She encourages her students to join PRSSA to begin building networks early and to explore their creative voices with confidence.
Kayla attributes much of her success to a profound dedication to empowering nonprofits and supporting organizations that improve lives. Her clarity of purpose was solidified during a personal health crisis—after nearly dying from surgery, Kayla emerged with a renewed belief in making the world better than she found it. This conviction drives every facet of her career.
She also credits radical collaboration, open knowledge-sharing, and the courage to ask for help as essential contributors to her success. She is deeply grateful to the many individuals who have shaped her journey. Her husband and best friend, Mark Galaviz, remains a constant source of support and encouragement. Early in her career, mentor Sandra Cavanaugh played a transformative role, helping her grow as a storyteller and communications professional and even contributing to saving the Idaho Aquarium (now the Aquarium of Boise).
Her team at Big Sea continually inspires her commitment to learning, collaboration, and excellence. She also honors the guidance of her many art mentors, including Carolina Paz and Milica Popovic, who helped her discover and refine her artistic voice. Kayla extends her gratitude to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders for providing her with a platform to unite artists with chronic illnesses, and to wildlife advocate Suzanne Stone, whose leadership exemplifies the power of community-driven change. And, above all, she credits her many friends—too numerous to list—for uplifting her through challenges and celebrating each victory.
Kayla’s best career advice centers on humility, honesty, and growth. She believes it is not only acceptable to admit when you don’t know something—it’s essential. Asking questions is how you learn. Likewise, acknowledging mistakes, taking responsibility, apologizing when necessary, and growing from those moments are, in her view, markers of true professionalism and leadership.
When offering guidance to young women entering her industry, Kayla emphasizes practical, empowering steps. She encourages them to seek out a mentor they genuinely admire and to learn everything they can from that relationship. She also reminds them that the internet offers endless opportunities to develop new skills through research and courses. Ultimately, she stresses the importance of building your own network and creating your own opportunities. As Kayla often notes, the worst someone can say is “no”—and if they do, you haven’t lost anything, because you didn’t have it to begin with.
Kayla sees the biggest challenge in marketing technology as the very thing that also makes it the field’s greatest opportunity: constant, rapid change. In an environment where technology life-cycles are short and new platforms emerge as soon as others are mastered, marketing specialists are expected to navigate an ever-expanding landscape of tools. Kayla views this not as a burden, but as an invitation to embrace a continual “learner’s mindset.” While no one can know every platform, she believes in learning the foundations of as many technologies as possible—because, as she often notes, far more of them are similar than they first appear.
The values that guide Kayla’s work and personal life are grounded in integrity, generosity, compassion, and resilience. First, she believes deeply in honoring commitments; if you tell someone you will do something, you do it. Second, she values sharing knowledge openly. Rather than guarding skills out of fear of being replaced, she embraces teaching others, trusting that strong relationships and a spirit of collaboration are what truly make a person indispensable. Third, kindness is non-negotiable for her—even toward those who may be difficult. She sees unkindness as a reflection of the other person’s character, not her own. Finally, Kayla lives by the principle of finding a reason to keep going every single day. Life can be hard, but she believes in seeking out small moments of gratitude that make it worth living.
With a powerful combination of technical expertise, creative vision, and an unwavering commitment to service, Kayla Griffin stands at the forefront of ethical AI, transformative communication, and purpose-driven innovation. Whether through her strategic marketing work, her evocative artwork, or her advocacy for social change, she continues to make meaningful impact and leave a lasting impression on the communities and organizations she serves.
Learn More about Kayla Griffin:
Through her Influential Women profile, https://influentialwomen.com/connect/kayla-griffin, through her profile on Big Sea, https://bigsea.co/team/kayla-griffin/, through her profile on Spontaneous Brilliance, https://sandracavanaugh.com/meet-our-team/ or through her website, www.kaylagriffin.art/home
Influential Women
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