The short version is this. I'm Jean Grow, a Wordsmith with a PHD, a
social and cultural scientist. And, rather ironically my love of words is paired with dyslexia. I'm also a branded inclusion consultant. I spent a decade in the advertising industry and eventually earned a PHD. Then I immersed myself in research and teaching for more than two decades. My passion was, and remains, investigating the intersections between society, culture and media, while tracing the impacts that follow. If I've learned anything it's this: words backed by strategy always have more power to influence.
In 2025 my findings turned decidedly political and wordsmithPHD was born. Given my passion for scientific investigation in support of an inclusive and just society, and my love of words, I share some longer written thoughts under Written Words. While my provocative Word Puzzles are created using words and numbers and I take delight in the board I use and the rules at play. They are always accompanied by short essays. In the end - my words support truth, equity and justice.
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YES, I am a WORDSMITH (38) who’s earned a PHD (9) – 47. I seek to BUILD (9) COMMUNITY (36) TRUST (7) – 52. As I INSPIRE (13) HONEST (10) TENACITY (28) – 51. ​
All of which matter more, and score higher, than wordsmithPHD.
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Here’s to tenacious, honest truths as we build community trust and fight for our democracy!
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Now, if you’re looking for a provocative, strategic writer and truths teller, someone to express your truths, send me a message. And, if inclusive branding is your need, please explore my branding offerings at GROW inclusion. To check out the long version of my journey to WordsmithPHD, read on. The long version just might surprise you.
Now for the long version. I grew up in a blue-collar family. The 5th of 7 kids and the only one born with a clotting disorder, which has made my life ever-more interesting. In my working-class neighborhood kids ran free in hand-me-downs. My father was a skilled-tradesmen, union president, and a die-hard Democrat. My mother, a staunch Republican, tended our home and raised 7 children, working longer hours than he. Their political dichotomy seemed completely normal to me, and I loved them dearly. My oldest brother was a troubled man who became a police officer. While I know officers who use their power for good, my brother was not one of them. My younger sisters and I experienced horrible things at his hands. I am a fighter.
I’m a first-generation college graduate. The first and only person in my family to earn an advanced degree. Though I think it only fair to note I dropped out of college before eventually returning and finishing my BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1980s. Across 15 years I lived in Chicago and launched my own design firm, eventually ending up in advertising. I also experienced advertising’s dark side. Being a fighter helped me survive. In turn advertising’s darkness inspired my academic research. From darkness comes light.
In the 1990s I moved to Wisconsin, though not initially to Milwaukee, my current home. I did creative consulting and eventually took a corporate marketing job. Yet, I itched for something more. Needing a new challenge I returned to graduate school, eventually earning my PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001. Along the way, I commuted long hours, for many years, while raising two children, consulting, and teaching; while the latter two payed the bills. Circuitous routes and tenacity are often good companions.
In 2000 I began my life as an “Accidental Academic” at Marquette University. Twenty-some years later I’ve published more than 50 articles, whitepapers, and/or book chapters. Most address the dark side of advertising. I’m the co-author of Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy & Design (Sage, 6e), sold in 25 countries. I’ve also published, or been interviewed, by more than 20 national publications including Fortune, Newsweek, NPR, and The Chicago Tribune. And, I’ve traveled to more than 30 countries and interviewed advertising practitioners in nearly half of them. Not bad for a kid, with dyslexia, whose childhood origins led to circuitous paths - and I’m still writing.
In 2020 I ditched academia, for reasons too tiring to tell here, and founded GROW inclusion. I decided that my social and cultural sciences knowledge, advertising experience, and deep understanding of the power of inclusion, could help practitioners craft authentically inclusive brand strategies and creative messages. Of course, this can only work if advertising agencies, and the brands they serve, honestly aspire to be inclusive. And this, dear readers, is a very big if.
In 2025 as the America I had come to know began to implode, I pivoted again and added WordsmithPHD to my repertoire. As you have likely figured out by now, my provocative Word Puzzles with their pointed essays and my Written Words, challenge us to rethink our shared social and political trajectory. In the end, as a dear colleague and friend was quick to say of me, I’m “radically honesty.”
Welcome to WordsmithPHD.
Words matter.