Caroline Torba didn’t take the traditional path to get to her current position as Director of Operations at Orange Element (OE), a marketing, branding and design company in Baltimore. Orange Element has been one of Agency 102’s partners since we were founded, and we’ve collaborated on a variety of projects with businesses in the Baltimore area. We had the opportunity to chat with Caroline about her career journey and how she made the transition from engineer to business leader.

Tell me a little bit about yourself. What is your background?

I went to engineering school in St. Louis where I met my husband, Aaron. We lived in New York City and upstate New York before moving to Baltimore in 2002 to start our family. I had a job in engineering and Aaron was doing some freelance marketing work. As he started to build a client base, the natural next step was to start Orange Element, and that came to fruition in 2003.

What made you decide to make the switch from engineering to marketing?

After working in structural engineering for eight years, I had bounced around a lot to different places and did different things from design to consulting, so I think I was ready for something new. I also happened to be pregnant with my oldest and knew that I wanted to be able to have time and flexibility to spend with my family. Joining Aaron and the team at Orange Element was a great way to do that; I had a lot of autonomy and I could make my own schedule, so it was the perfect fit at the time.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to a woman who wants to work in marketing or  start her own business?

There’s a quote I really like from William Faulkner, “you cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” What resonates with me about that is you can’t necessarily figure out where you’re going unless you have the courage to try a new path. So, I left engineering, which was a stable career for me for a lot of years, to work at Orange Element. It was a huge change, but it ended up being the right choice for me and my family. 

So, don’t be afraid to try something new and veer off path because you can find all sorts of wonderful things along the way when you do.

What has been the biggest challenge for you throughout your career?

The biggest challenge for me has been being intentional about my path. So, not just letting life happen to me and sweeping me away, but being intentional about where I am and what I do, and prioritizing things that are important to me. It’s easy to look at what your neighbors, friends, and colleagues are doing and where they are at and thinking that you should be doing the same thing, but I’m trying to be comfortable in the path that I chose. There are certainly things in life that happen and are out of your control, but it’s important to find the good in those things too.

Why is it important to collaborate with and support women-owned businesses?

It’s really important to collaborate with not just women-owned businesses, but also minority-owned businesses. There is such a breadth of experience there and we can all learn so much from the different perspectives and experiences of these individuals. What a boring, bland world it would be if we didn’t invite more people into the conversation.

What are some of the benefits businesses and agencies can expect when partnering with other local businesses?

We are able to maintain a core of creative brand experts focused on strategy, design and implementation while bringing in trusted partners that align with our values and offer expertise to fulfill on strategy and output. Additionally, we are able to more effectively identify solutions that are keeping up with trends and partner with the experts who understand them leaving us to focus on what we do best.

What is your favorite part of what you do?

My favorite part is being outside of my comfort zone and surrounding myself with really amazing, creative people. They push me to be in spaces that are not super comfortable for me where I’m able to tap into different skills and critical thinking.Where do you see Orange Element going in the next 5 years?

Where do you see Orange Element going in the next 5 years?

As we have for the past 20 years, we will remain focused on creating trusted relationships by building brands that inspire. We will continue to listen carefully and use creativity to set companies apart while looking at technologies that support the integrity of experience. 15 years ago, it was a shift to leverage digital platforms. Today, we’re asking how we lean in on AI to both serve our clients and find efficiencies in our own work. At the core, clients can expect and continue to have direct access to the team that builds your company brand. After all, that was how we brought Orange Element to market.

To learn more about Caroline and Orange Element, visit the OE website, or connect with her on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for more “Women in Business” Spotlights from Agency 102. If you’re a woman-owned business and would like to be featured in this series, send us a message!