A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Marketing & Advertising, Rylee Jean Ebsen is an award-winning creative leader with over a decade of experience building brands, growing audiences, and crafting impactful content. As a Telly and Webby Award-winning writer and director, she has collaborated with top agencies such as Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB, and Maximum Effort to create iconic campaigns for global brands like Kellogg’s, Disney, Google, and ESPN.
A former executive at Snapchat, Rylee joined the company in its early days, helping drive its meteoric growth from 1 million to over 190 million daily active users. She directed high-impact creative campaigns, managed a 30-person team, and collaborated closely with the CEO to guide the platform through its IPO.
Currently serving as the Head of Digital and Creative Strategy at The Right Now, Rylee spearheads Now Studio, TRN’s cutting-edge creative production division. With a mission to redefine brand-led, social-first content, Now Studio blends data-driven insights, social media expertise, and production innovation to create culturally relevant and impactful campaigns for brands and entertainment clients.
Rylee’s storytelling expertise extends beyond advertising. Her short film Boomerang, starring SAG Award winner and Emmy nominee Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), premiered online with Short of the Week and garnered multiple festival awards, including Best Film at Just for Laughs. She is also a graduate of the Directors Guild of America’s Television Director Development Initiative and is currently working on her debut feature film.
With storytelling in her DNA—Rylee is the granddaughter of Hollywood icon Buddy Ebsen and comedy legend Stan Freberg—she honed her craft at NYU Tisch and The Groundlings, specializing in character, improv, and sketch. Rylee continues to direct commercial productions globally, combining her passion for storytelling with her visionary approach to creative strategy.