About Brooke

Brooke has a penchant for dreaming big, having meaningful impact, and empowering others to reach their highest potential.

Called a "cultural innovator" and “visionary” with “boundless creative energy,” Brooke Hall has a deep commitment to impactful, transformative work. She’s repeatedly focused on initiatives that bring people together, inspire change, and uplift her community. Her projects have aimed to serve as platforms for expression, connection, cultural impact, and collective joy.

As the founder and CEO of the award-winning creative agency What Works Studio (one of the 0.1% of female-founded creative agencies in the U.S.), she has built a reputation for partnering exclusively with clients who are committed to serving their communities and making a positive impact on the world.

She has spearheaded transformative, purpose-driven projects, including the launch of What Weekly, an arts-centric online magazine that celebrated Baltimore’s vibrant culture and Charles Street Social Club, an event series that brought together the city’s artists and entrepreneurs. Her ventures aimed to help redefine Baltimore as a center for creativity and innovation.

She took a bold leap to launch Light City, a large-scale international light festival that drew over 400,000 attendees in its first year, generating $33 million in economic impact for Maryland (a 956% ROI). Part of the vision was also launching Light City U, a weeklong social innovation conference alongside the festival, which sold out in its first year.

By year two, the festival grew to 470,000 attendees and $44.3 million in impact (a 1,097% ROI). In its third year, Light City cemented itself as Baltimore’s largest and most impactful recurring annual event, bringing in 442,500 attendees and another $33.5 million in economic impact.

Now, after trusting in the unseen forces that guided her biggest decisions, Brooke is living in the place she always dreamed of—sunny Southern California—surrounded by the energy, creativity, and beauty that inspire her daily.

This journey of self-discovery led her to profound insights about creativity, mindset, and living in alignment. Now, as a professional speaker, Brooke shares the wisdom and practices she gained along the way, empowering others to unlock their highest potential, live authentically, and expand their perception of what’s possible. Through her talks, she reveals how to turn visions into reality and create a meaningful impact in the world.

Her awards and recognitions include Innovator of the Year, Top Female CEO, 25 Women to Watch, Mayor's Certificate of Recognition, and Social Innovation Fellow. She has been honored with the Silo Breaker Award and Baltimore Transformer Award, among others, and named a Young Cultural Innovator Fellow by the Salzburg Global Seminar. Her work has captured the attention of outlets like The Guardian, CNN, New York Magazine, Fast Company, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree from the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University, with a concentration in Honors Philosophy and Literature. She’s a certified meditation teacher and trained under mindfulness pioneers Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. She completed training in Biofield Tuning and Yale’s Science of Well-Being course.

As a writer and photographer, Brooke’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Baltimore City Paper, Spin Magazine, and beyond.