Mintz + Hoke Promotes Passionate Creative to Director of Creative Strategy

AVON, Conn. (Feb. 19, 2026) — Mintz + Hoke, the Immersively Different New England brand-building advertising agency, today announced it has promoted Carla Gonzalez from Associate Creative Director to Director of Creative Strategy. 

In her time with the agency, Carla has played a pivotal role across client industries, from education and healthcare to nonprofit campaigns. Some of her favorite projects include an ad campaign for Quinnipiac University, an infographic depicting health disparities for Access Health CT and the History of Pride mixed-reality scavenger hunt for Middletown Pride. 

“Carla is one of the most strategically minded creatives I know, making this a natural next step for her,” said Executive Creative Director Brian Pike. “She’s always pushing to go a level deeper to uncover the unique insight that connects big ideas to real business needs. I couldn't be more excited to see the impact she’ll make in this role.”

In addition to her day-to-day efforts, Carla is also a champion of creativity in all forms. Her passion lies in helping people advocate for themselves and their work and helping them reframe their thinking as they approach different projects. It’s this heart and dedication that Carla brings to everything she does.  

Carla describes the most exciting part of this role is that it allows her to do what she loves most—solve the upfront puzzles that allow for big ideas, making the solution to that upfront puzzle digestible for every agency practice to run with and to make sure it all comes together cohesively for the end customers.

“Success for me is seeing my team succeed and feeling excited about the work,” said Director of Creative Strategy Carla Gonzalez. “This role allows me to do that.”

“I figured out a long time ago I wanted to at least be doing something I loved to do, even if it wasn’t necessarily at a place I loved doing it. I would have been content with that,” Gonzalez added. “Then, after finding this field—the career I would love—I found Mintz + Hoke. Here I have the work I adore, and the people I love doing it for.”

Carla resides in Middletown with her husband Toby and their four cats. In her spare time, she loves creative things for others to enjoy, whether that be through cooking, baking or gardening.  

Connect with her on LinkedIn.