Gracie Padrón and Alex Steimle formed Padrón Design Studio in 2017 with the goal of helping primarily performing arts nonprofits, tech startups, and small businesses define their visual brand. Over time, it became clear that nonprofits needed a deeper understanding of digital marketing to reach their diverse audiences. We hired the best designers and marketers in the industry to meet our clients’ needs. This meant expansion beyond graphic design and web development to offer a full lineup of digital marketing services.
With the increased need for digital marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced exponential growth. Nonprofits suddenly needed to expand their digital services to retain their grants.
Padrón Design Studio rebranded into Padrón & Co. in February 2022 because we are not only a design studio, but a full-service marketing agency.
Our hiring structure makes us different by design. Our full-time employees have diverse backgrounds as passionate freelancers or working at nonprofits, small businesses, or agencies. They help decide which clients we bring on board, so you can partner with marketing professionals whose core values align with yours because they have been in your shoes.
Padrón & Co. is a leading creative, marketing, and digital communications agency that helps nonprofits and small businesses make meaningful connections and further their missions.
Branding Consultant | Graphic Design | UI Design | Digital Artist | Web Design & Development
Gracie was born in Camaguey, Cuba, and immigrated at the age of six to Miami with her parents, brother, and whatever possessions they could fit into suitcases. None of them had ever left the island nor spoke English and her parents’ university degrees were suddenly worthless. Her mother managed to find work as a graphic designer in a Spanish-language newspaper for over a decade before cancer forced her to retire early. Gracie spent six years by her bedside in hospitals while also attending her local university and working full time as a designer herself, until her mother was finally declared cancer-free.
In 2016, she was selected to be graphic designer for Houston Grand Opera. She packed up all her belongings once again, this time into her little Hyundai hatchback, and started anew in Houston, Texas. A mere year later, at the age of 26, she had enough contacts and clients to start Padrón Design Studio, which offered digital marketing services to mostly performing arts nonprofits and small businesses.
Her business grew approximately 30% per year, slowly but confidently, until COVID-19. Nonprofits were suddenly forced to pivot to digital marketing to keep their programs alive and 20 new clients joined in 2020 alone. Gracie was forced to hire quickly as she had just given birth to her first son and couldn’t handle the workload. In 2022, the company was renamed Padrón & Co. to better capture the wide range of services offered.
After seven years as founder, creative director, and lead marketing strategist, Gracie and her team have helped over 100 companies grow their causes, raise more money, reach more people in need, and get more visitors to their sites. Her capital campaigns have helped nonprofits bring in over $25 million in donations and grants, and her work with small businesses has helped them bring in over $100 million in new work.
She dedicates every spare second to her wonderful husband Alex, 4-year-old son Matthew, and newborn son Henry.
Digital Marketing & Advertising | Social Media Management | Copywriting & Editing
A not-quite-native Houstonian, Daryl was born in Nuremburg, Germany where her dad was stationed in the U.S. Army. She found her way to Texas as soon as she could and earned her B.A. in Communication and M.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Houston (#GoCoogs).
Daryl has worked in marketing and communications for more than 25 years. Her experience includes positions in television production at KRIV Fox 26; public relations for the Houston Humane Society, Six Flags AstroWorld, and the American Heart Association; and digital marketing for the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston.
She lives in the Meyerland area with her husband (whom she married on the island of St. Thomas via a Carnival Cruise), two teens and two cats. She enjoys reading, baking, and digging in the dirt in her garden.
Project Management
Minhthy is a first-generation American and native Houstonian with a B.A. in Communication/Public Relations from the University of Houston.
Her professional growth began in communications with a focus on Asian American communities, lending her expertise to nonprofit organizations and local political campaigns, including notable figures like Ellen Cohen and former Mayor Annise Parker. From there, Minhthy delved into the dynamic world of video games before finding her niche in the startup/tech sphere.
While her career trajectory led her through various roles including human resources, customer success, and project management across industries, Minhthy’s passions always remained tethered to marketing and communication. Now, she’s back where it all began!
Nestled in the Spring Branch area alongside her husband and two cats, Cobalt and Elsie, Minhthy enjoys cooking, traveling, hiking, reading, and literally any kind of crafting. If you happen to be scrolling through Netflix, keep an eye out for Minhthy. You might just spot her in Episode 7 of “Cook at All Costs!”
Graphic Design
Cori is someone who finds all things interesting and loves to learn, which is how her journey led from theatre arts, to journalism, to studying American Sign Language before she landed on design. She sees the balance of strategy and creativity in many things, especially so in creating quality work for clients.
Cori has primarily worked with nonprofits throughout her career as a designer, both in-house and freelance. She is passionate about putting her skills toward causes that influence social change and make for a better community, especially for her home state of Texas.
She lives in Spring with her husband, border collie, and temperamental cat. She loves discussing movies and TV, going to breweries, collecting cool coffee table books, and drawing.
Internal Processes & Structure Management | Web & Graphic Design | Motion Graphics
Laura has 20+ years of experience in design across various modalities, from special fx make-up and animatronics to custom slipcovers and visual design.
She feels strongly that the design process and design thinking can be leveraged to reach the best solution for clients, regardless of the medium.
Graphic Design
Catherine Cantú is a Mexican-American designer based in Houston, Texas. Her style is best described as expressive and colorful. Aiming to bring out the deeper meaning behind each design and connect it to something bigger. She earned her B.F.A in Graphic Design from the University of Houston. From illustration to handmade crafts and gaming, she likes to give everything a shot.
Brand Development | Graphic Design | Illustration | Web & UX/UI Design
Caitlin grew up in Orange County, California and originally planned to study film directing in college before discovering graphic design. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art & Design. She is a self-taught digital illustrator and has been working in the industry since 2017.
Prior to joining Padrón & Co., she worked as a graphic designer and illustrator with Radiant Digital (for companies such as Chevron and Catalyst). She also spent time working in-house for Prostate Laser Center and Manushag, an Armenian children’s magazine.
Caitlin enjoys writing novels, developing comic books and video games, and has a great love of cinema and filmmaking. She is happily married and is a loving cat mom to Whiskey, Saké, and Gin.
