Mario Garcia
Designer & Storywork Facilitator
Although many from the Freedom Movement team have been with the organization since the start, Mario has truly been there since day one. As Karrie’s husband, Mario provided encouragement and input from the sidelines as Freedom Movement grew from just the spark of an idea back in 2013. While Karrie was dreaming up what Freedom Movement could be and moving forward with the organization’s earliest events, Mario was deeply entrenched in the corporate world of graphic design—from serving a number of clients at a Los Angeles agency to Creative Director roles at Easton-Bell Sports and Getting Things Done.
In 2015, he experienced a significant career transition and quickly found himself back on the job hunt. After an extensive, year-long search for a new corporate position, while taking freelance jobs to make ends meet, Mario felt God urging him to pause the search and invest whole-heartedly into Freedom Movement. From there, he took a leap of faith into the role of Creative Director and has served in this capacity ever since. Today, Mario continues to build and maintain Freedom Movement’s visual brand, overseeing everything from the website, to digital media and marketing, to branding for the organization’s tours, courses and events.
His heart for Freedom Movement mirrors Karrie’s, as he’s found himself a champion for those on the margins since he was a child. He has been honored to see true transformation take place in the lives of the women and men Freedom Movement reaches. For all of the unique challenges that come with working with a spouse, Mario takes great joy in being able to work with Karrie as a unified team in meeting people, whoever and wherever they are, to share with them how the redeeming love of Christ is available to anyone who seeks it.
Aside from his role at Freedom Movement, Mario works with other nonprofit and for profit clients through his own design agency, FiveFive. He formally founded the agency in June 2019, as his freelance clients grew into a substantial portfolio of work, which has since included 21c Museum Hotels, Lululemon, Lime, and Bridge Community Church. In both of his roles, he cherishes every opportunity to mentor and collaborate with other talented designers. Mario strives to create an environment where his designers can grow and flourish in their own style and abilities. Just as he supports Freedom Movement’s mission to empower others, Mario is constantly looking for ways to empower and develop designers to be their best.
