About VHPR

Boyd works with a select group of clients on niche projects that combine his experience and interest in focused story telling (from his newspaper days) and developing creative strategies to tell brand stories utilizing social media tools.

He believes that many corporate organizations, particularly in nontechnical fields, fail to embrace social media because they have not developed a unique band story. In addition, they don’t know how to interact with customers, employees and the community on mobile platforms. This communication effort requires both creativity and an ongoing mix of stories that explain their brand values in words, photographs and videos.

Boyd serves on the Bellevue College Advisory Board for the Tombolo Institute Customer Experience Certificate Program. As part of joining the board he earned the certificate which greatly expanded his knowledge and understanding of the exploding field of data analytics and the critical role it plays in the digital age. Through the CX program and reading about elements of the the Harvard Harvard Business Analytics Program (HBAP) I have gained considerable understanding of the power of using real time data analytics to learn, understand and help organizations respond more quickly to the needs of customers, employees and the competition.

Boyd Vander Houwen

Photo of Boyd Vander Houwen taken with his drone*

He is currently expanding his expertise in visual imagery, by attempting to become a skilled DJC Phantom 3 Drone photographer. So far he has taken both still and video photographs and safely returned his drone—the VHPR—to earth every time. His first “dronie” is above.

In his evolution to this niched communication phase, Boyd has worked as a newspaper reporter and editor/writer at the University of Washington Graduate School of Business. He also managed the employee communications and engagement department for a large corporation and owned and managed a communications firm focusing on public relations, crisis management and employee engagement.

Representative clients through the years have included Baker Boyer Bank in Walla Walla, Washington Federal, First Mutual Bank, Starbucks, Group Health, Premera Blue Cross, The Laird Norton Trust Company and Family Office, and Kinkos.

Boyd and his wife Loma, a retired school counselor and school program administrator, split their time between an apartment in Seattle’s Belltown with a window on activities on Puget Sound and a home on Hood Canal. They enjoy travel and spending time with their son and daughter and spouses, who live in the area, and three wonderful grandchildren.

Click here to read Drones on the Beat: The Future of Journalism