Honoring Jeff Caporizzo
Brand Storyteller • Creative Leader • Artist • Mentor
Jeff Caporizzo "Cap", a visionary brand storyteller and celebrated creative director, passed away on September 17, 2025 leaving an enduring legacy of artistry, mentorship, and generosity. Known for his extraordinary ability to craft narratives that “call people to your banner,” Cap believed that stories are how humans trade information—and that brands are built through the power of storytelling.
A gifted leader and strategist, Cap served most recently as Senior Partner and Executive Creative Director at ICF Next, where he led a 140+ person creative team serving federal and energy sector clients. His guidance helped shape award-winning campaigns and positioned the agency as a creative force within a competitive marketplace.
Previously, Cap held senior creative roles at Edelman, where he built and merged digital and traditional creative teams; Ministers of Design, a scrappy startup where he wore “many hats” to bring digital strategies to life; Bates Creative Group, where he led design and development for high-profile clients; ZilYen, refining brand strategy models; and Ogilvy, where he reimagined the DC creative studio as a strategic powerhouse for advocacy advertising. Early in his career, he founded Creative Powerhouse Design, and served as Creative Lead for Trader Joe’s, where he introduced the quirky, beloved brand to new markets through bold private-label packaging. Cap was especially proud that some of his original Trader Joe’s designs are still on store shelves today, a lasting testament to his creative impact. He began his journey as a Junior Designer at Atelier Creative.
Cap was a longstanding member of the American Advertising Federation DC (AAF DC), where he proudly served on the Board of Directors from 2024 to 2025. Over the course of his career, his bold, beautiful work earned countless ADDY Awards, reflecting the industry-wide admiration for his creativity and strategic brilliance.
“Cap had that rare combination of fearless creativity and genuine kindness,” said Gretchen Carswell, past president of AAF DC. “He elevated every conversation, every idea, and every person around him. Our community is better because of his vision, and emptier without his presence.”
Cap was more than a creative executive; he was a true brand storyteller, approaching every project with a handful of principles: great creative requires risk, delivers beauty, sparks conversation, and achieves measurable results. He shared this philosophy widely, lecturing for the American Marketing Association, Georgetown University, and the University of Maryland’s Robert E. Smith School of Business, inspiring a generation of marketers and designers.
Beyond his professional achievements, Cap nurtured a deep love for art. For over 25 years he maintained a working art studio, most recently as a resident artist at the Wilkins Ave Artist Co-op in Rockville, Maryland. There he not only pursued his own work but also welcomed children to create alongside him, fostering imagination and self-expression in a welcoming, supportive environment.
Those who knew Cap remember a man of kindness, generosity, and boundless creativity. He gave freely of his time, mentored colleagues and students, and celebrated the successes of others as passionately as his own. His laughter, wisdom, and the stories he told—both on canvas and in campaigns—will resonate far beyond his lifetime.
Cap’s memory will be forever cherished by his family, friends, colleagues, and the many artists and creatives he inspired—especially his beloved son Joey, a student at Miami University. Thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Joey and all of Cap’s loved ones as they honor a life so fully and beautifully lived.
Tributes:
“Cap had an extraordinary gift for seeing beauty everywhere—in people, in places, and in the simplest details of daily life. He carried himself with pride and unwavering principles, always living his values. He lived with a passion that was unduplicatable— in his work, his art, and in the people he cared about. To know Cap was to be reminded of the importance of integrity, of beauty, and of living with a full and open heart.”
-Imani Greene, Aamplify Media