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Using Collaborative
Storytelling
To Strengthen

Culture, Advocacy, and Action
Who IS SHANE
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WHO Is Shane

With over two decades of advocacy and creative leadership experience, Shane Lukas is an activist, speaker, and award-winning designer who helps organizations navigate complex issues with care.
What He Does
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Bald man with a goatee wearing a dark shirt speaking passionately with hand gestures against a purple background.

What He Does

Through keynotes, workshops, writing, and creative strategy, Shane guides organizations and communities in using collaborative storytelling to strengthen trust, deepen engagement, and translate values into meaningful, measurable action.
Why Shane
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Smiling man with a goatee wearing a purple shirt and dark jacket with red text on it, against a blue background.

Why Shane

Shane is the founder of the award-winning creative agency A Great Idea, author of The Advocacy Advantage, host of the Power Beyond Pride podcast, and a TEDx speaker. He has partnered with organizations across sectors to support advocacy, culture-shaping strategy, and real-world impact.
Person holding a purple sign that says 'QUEER POWER welcomes immigrant neighbors!' with lightning bolt graphics.

WHO Is Shane

With over two decades of advocacy and creative leadership experience, Shane Lukas is an activist, speaker, and award-winning designer who helps organizations navigate complex issues with care.
Bald man with a goatee wearing a dark shirt speaking passionately with hand gestures against a purple background.

What He Does

Through keynotes, workshops, writing, and creative strategy, Shane guides organizations and communities in using collaborative storytelling to strengthen trust, deepen engagement, and translate values into meaningful, measurable action.
Smiling man with a goatee wearing a purple shirt and dark jacket with red text on it, against a blue background.

Why Shane

Shane is the founder of the award-winning creative agency A Great Idea, author of The Advocacy Advantage, host of the Power Beyond Pride podcast, and a TEDx speaker. He has partnered with organizations across sectors to support advocacy, culture-shaping strategy, and real-world impact.
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My first introduction to activism came early. I grew up in an unstable home and I lost my mother at 11. I quickly learned to be self-sufficient out of necessity. All of this lit a fire inside me to make life better for myself and those around me.
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Smiling man with a short mohawk hairstyle and beard, wearing a plaid shirt over a white tank top and a pendant necklace, standing in front of green foliage.
That instinct led me to volunteer at Planned Parenthood. It was the 80s. A time when reproductive rights were under attack, and support was scarce. This is where I really started to see the gaps in our system. While I was there, I met a woman who changed the course of my life. She was a force: grounded, fierce, compassionate, and unapologetic about loving people exactly as they were. She showed me what advocacy looked like when it came without judgment.
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This is where I really started to see the gaps in our system.
That was a pivotal moment. It taught me that when we have privilege and resources, our responsibility is to build or walk alongside others in creating opportunities so they can make the best decisions for themselves. Not to shame or correct, but to support.
When people have more information and fewer barriers, they make choices that move them toward their own best interests.
That belief became the foundation of my life and my work.
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I went to college for broadcast journalism because I wanted to tell complex stories, but big media outlets weren’t having those conversations. So I created my own spaces instead. I performed spoken word and poetry. I worked 17 different internships. I came out as queer. I served with AmeriCorps supporting high-risk youth. I created a program for men in the sex industry through a self-published zine. I followed my curiosity, explored my identity, and worked with the communities that shaped me.
I was loudly living my truth.
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Eventually, I landed at Monster, where I really sank my teeth into design. I loved the mix of creativity,
problem-solving, and how storytelling could give power to the movements I cared about most. 

With another decade under my belt, that passion led me to start my own design and content agency, A Great Idea—an empathy-led creative agency focused on finding solutions for organizations that are pushing toward a more human, inclusive, diverse, glorious world. Over the years, the agency has grown into an award-winning studio serving community organizations, foundations, healthcare, education, and entertainment companies across the country.
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Over the years, the agency has grown into an award-winning studio
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That work opened doors: landing a TEDx talk, starting the Power Beyond Pride podcast, writing a book, and gaining opportunities to support movements and communities in reshaping the world around them.
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Three diverse individuals side by side with the text 'How do we show up right now?' and 'Power Beyond Pride Reply All' on a yellow background.
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Speaker Shane Lukas on TEDx stage with a purple presentation slide titled 'Hiring Sex Workers: Good for Business, Great for Our Future'.
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Three diverse individuals side by side with the text 'How do we show up right now?' and 'Power Beyond Pride Reply All' on a yellow background.
Video thumbnail featuring Dominique Jackson with her name in large text and smaller images of three other people below her.
Speaker Shane Lukas on TEDx stage with a purple presentation slide titled 'Hiring Sex Workers: Good for Business, Great for Our Future'.
Smiling man with glasses wearing a red and gray argyle sweater, with text 'Randy Kim Podcaster' on a purple background and a yellow play button overlay.
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At the heart of it all, my mission
is simple:

To inspire and empower people and organizations to expand their voice, their impact, and their way of being through storytelling — because sharing stories strengthens communities, and strong communities create change.
The world is vibrant because each of us carries something unique — and meaningful change happens when we create space for that to emerge in others.
Work With Me
Shane Lukas