The Essential Workers of the Coronavirus Pandemic Induction

Collage of people wearing masks in various settings including school, healthcare, transportation, and grocery store during COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Labor inducted essential workers of the coronavirus pandemic into the Hall of Honor, recognizing their sacrifice and unwavering commitment to keeping America running. We celebrated everyone from care workers to farmworkers, nurses to grocery clerks, childcare workers to teachers. As Creative Lead, I oversaw every visual and storytelling element of this historic event—from stage design to social media content.

A poster recognizing essential workers of the coronavirus pandemic with photographs of diverse workers, including healthcare professionals, food service workers, and delivery personnel, along with event details for a Congressional Hall of Honor induction on September 1, 2022.

How do you visually represent a workforce as vast and vital as America’s essential workers? That was the creative challenge. After aligning with DOL leadership, I partnered with our designers to craft a central visual—an elevator poster—that honored this diversity and set the tone for every element of the event experience.

Invitation to the induction of essential workers of the coronavirus pandemic into the U.S. Department of Labor Hall of Honor, September 1, 2022, at 11 a.m. in Washington, D.C., with images of diverse workers and officials.

A collage of images depicting essential workers like healthcare professionals, grocery store workers, delivery personnel, and sanitation workers, with a title and quote honoring workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A promotional graphic for a live event titled "Hall of Honor Induction of The Essential Workers of the Coronavirus Pandemic" scheduled for September 1, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT. The graphic features a collage of diverse essential workers wearing masks, such as healthcare professionals, delivery workers, and service workers, along with text details and the URL dol.gov.

Main producer for event video

We couldn’t travel the country—but these stories still had to be heard. Because of our workload I had a more direct role in producing the event video. I pivoted to a virtual interview strategy, personally guiding our storytelling approach. I focused on finding voices that reflected America’s essential workforce, drawing out rich narratives in remote interviews and mentoring participants to capture high-quality footage from their own homes.

Packed house for the live event while my team also managed the live video feed to YouTube Live.

Our initial elevator poster idea translated well to our stage branding.

The effect of our event video on the audience.

Another example of how our initial designs were repurposed many ways.

Overall an outstanding tribute to Essential Workers

The Hall of Honor event was a tremendous success—both in execution and emotional resonance. Highlighting the often-unseen contributions of essential workers is a personal passion of mine, and this tribute made a lasting impression. Longtime DOL staff told me it was one of the most moving experiences of their careers—a sentiment echoed by Secretary Marty Walsh himself.