Bio

Christine (Chris) Tieri is a nationally recognized creative strategist, agency founder, and Gallup-certified Strengths coach whose career has blended imaginative design with strategic business thinking for more than 30 years.

She began her professional journey with a BFA in Advertising Design from Syracuse University, including a semester studying in Florence, Italy. Like many ad students of her generation, Chris headed straight to Madison Avenue, working as an Art Director first at boutique firm Geer DuBois, and later at Warwick Baker Fiore, a larger agency serving high-profile packaged goods clients. She developed national campaigns, shot commercials in exotic locales, and experienced firsthand the tail end of the Mad Men era—complete with three-martini lunches.

After six years in New York City, Chris returned to Massachusetts and co-founded the award-winning agency smith&jones with her longtime BFF and fellow NYC ad veteran, Jean Giguere Beaupre. Together, they built a vibrant, creative agency known for smart strategy, clever branding, and one of the coolest offices around—complete with a vintage diner and a half-basketball court, complete with purple floor. When her partner transitioned into academia, Chris evolved the agency into idea agency, a full-service brand development and marketing firm specializing in nonprofits, higher education, healthcare, and mission-driven financial institutions.

Over 24 years, Chris led brand transformations for hundreds of clients across the U.S., delivering powerful storytelling, visual design, and go-to-market strategies. Her work as Creative Director, Brand Strategist, Entrepreneur, and Leader garnered numerous creative and leadership awards over the years including Worcester Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business and 40 Under 40. Chris also became a sought-after keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, presenting on topics ranging from brand storytelling to creativity, leadership, and entrepreneurial confidence. Her clients and audiences have included nonprofit leaders, corporate executives, students, and fellow entrepreneurs.

Chris is also a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and has helped individuals and teams understand and leverage their innate talents to achieve greater impact and alignment. Upon selling her agency, she took on the role of Chief Marketing Officer—and later Chief Advancement Officer—at Old Sturbridge Village, New England’s largest living history museum and one of her longtime clients. There, she oversaw brand strategy, communications, visitor engagement, membership, and fundraising, helping usher in a new era of connection between innovation and tradition.

Throughout her career, Chris has also nurtured a deep love of design and reinvention. She has personally renovated and redesigned over a dozen spaces—from 100-year-old homes to modern offices—blending creativity and functionality in equal measure.

Now in what she affectionately calls “REALtirement,” Chris is diving into creative pursuits like painting, vintage upcycling, interior design, and frequent globe-trotting adventures. When she’s not scheming elaborate plots to reunite with her three sons—currently scattered across the USA—she splits her time between Sturbridge, MA, and Jamestown, RI, with her husband Dennis Antonopoulos and their delightfully opinionated Havanese, Tito.