This is where story meets structure.

I’m Vondell Burns—the founder of Thankless Production and NDA Haus. I work with people who are carrying ideas, questions, and callings that require more than inspiration. Through storytelling, strategy, and community, I help turn vision into something you can stand on.

This work is creative.
It’s structured.
And it’s led by faith.

Connect

My Work

I invest in creative infrastructure—spaces, stories, and systems—built with discipline, stewardship, and the capacity to endure. I sit as a strategic partner to founder-focused institutions who diagnoses growth bottlenecks, sharpens founder messaging, and strengthens program ecosystems through clarity-driven strategy and storytelling.

Updated September 30

The Last 90 Days

A snapshot of recent milestones, collaborations, and personal growth across creative work, community, civic life, learning, and life.

Civic Life & Public Good

  • Team lead at Breakout Builders: Innovation for the Public Good in Pittsburgh with 100 local and national leaders; co-designed Sustain Trails, a community-controlled flywheel approach to food security on the Northside, with the Pittsburgh Foundation, the Buhl Foundation, JOCA.org, and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
  • Introductions from past Breakouts became a working team on a national housing project
  • Named Narrative Infrastructure lead on the VOA affordable housing RFP
  • In conversation about a creative pathway for Tulsa Tech Week 2027
  • Attended the City of Tulsa's mandatory HUD grant workshop

Writing & Creative Development

  • Legacy and Lis reached the Final Draft Big Break quarterfinals out of 13,000+ scripts: my first script
  • Completed the Sundance x TikTok Microdrama Lab (top 5% of applicants) and wrote the first episode of the series
  • Attended Project Hot Seat at Black Film Space Weekend and left with a new approach from Melissa Quiñones
  • Developing an animated feature; tested it in conversation with a decision scientist in Pittsburgh
  • Published When Being Heard Isn't Enough and introduced The Grief Protocol
  • Applied to the TED/POSCA Global Artist Residency with Still, We Write, a canvas built from Saturday Scribe pages

Arts, Culture & Ecosystem

  • Launched Tiny Patio in a North Tulsa backyard: capped at 50, 61 came from 20 zip codes, every artist paid, 106 degrees
  • Hosted the Shindig on the 501 Archer rooftop with poets from Tulsa and other states
  • Went to Haus with DJ Lilu and Tundi, streamed live on SPILL
  • Black Film Space Weekend in New York: Sheldon Candy talkback, a producing panel, and a legal roundtable with Janine Black
  • Toured the Troy Hill Art Houses and connected with founder Evan Mirapaul on curation

Community Building

  • Produced four official Tulsa Tech Week events (Prompt to Premiere, Haus x Haus, the Shindig, and Saturday Scribe in Pittsburgh) with Black Tech Street, SPILL, Build in Tulsa, Tulsa Five, and NYU Tulsa
  • Launched Called to Create, a faith community for women entrepreneurs; moved through Nehemiah, James, and Ruth, now with a leadership team
  • Hosted The Table: Know Your Worth: The Politics of Being a Solo Creative
  • Sustained The Reset and The Check Point

Speaking, Learning & Ecosystem Participation

  • Brought the POET scale home from Breakout Builders (Operational, Economic, Technical) and ran Prompt to Premiere through it; Political was the letter to shore up first
  • Participated in the AI Vibration with New Leaders Council member Deja White
  • Attended a workshop with Kenya Parham and an AI filmmaking workshop with King Wilonius
  • Moonshot Museum dinner and keynote with Dr. Jimye Brown

Personal Legacy & Growth

  • Spent my first August in Tulsa, and stayed long enough to build Tiny Patio
  • Returned to the Weal rooftop, where I produced my first New York showcase in 2018
  • Spent time inside Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center and dug into a pipeline to Pixar I've been trying to uncover for five years
  • Took feedback from the Artist Creative Fund after a no, and plan to reapply

Infrastructure

Thankless Production is a studio building creative ecosystems and original intellectual property designed to endure.

Saturday Scribe

writing · practice · community

A weekly writing practice rooted in discipline and return—where writers show up, listen, and write together.

NDA Haus

living · creating · working

A shared container for intentional living and creative rhythm—designed to support presence, pace, and return.


Thankless Production

strategy · storytelling · studio

A studio offering narrative and growth strategies for founder-focused ecosystems.

Let's Launch

venture · curriculum · accelerator

A venture development platform equipping emerging founders with the structure, tools, and narrative clarity needed to move from idea to execution.

And more…

About me

I founded Thankless Production and NDA Haus to build and steward creative platforms spanning storytelling, community infrastructure, and multi-city writing practice—working at the intersection of creativity, faith, and systems design.

I’ve served as an editorial and strategic authority within organizations including Goldman Sachs, Redfin, and Atento Capital, shaping voice, message architecture, and narrative systems across executive communications, global campaigns, and moments of organizational transition. Alongside institutional work, I partner with founders and early-stage teams to translate vision into structure—helping ideas become durable, legible, and scalable.

My work sits between rigor and responsiveness: inside institutions where governance and alignment matter, and alongside builders who need speed, clarity, and creative problem-solving. I work with leaders who treat narrative as infrastructure—and who understand that clarity is a strategic advantage.

I graduated from Howard University and am based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

My throughline is creativity.
My superpower is faith.

Invitation

These spaces exist to meet you where you are—and support what you’re building.

There are many ways in.

Join a writing practice

→ Saturday Scribe

Support the long-term stewardship of creative infrastructure. Sustainers invest in the ecosystems, practices, and platforms designed to endure and empower the next generation.

Become a Hausmate

→ NDA Haus

NDA Haus is a container for those ready to build with intention, move with discipline, and grow in community.

Engage the studio*

→ Thankless Production

Collaborate on narrative systems, strategic positioning, and creative infrastructure designed for durability and long-term leverage.

*For founders and institutions.

Choose what resonates.

Need structure for what you're building?

Selected Body of Work


Authorship

In Frame

Creative writing

Original narrative work examining tension, faith, ambition, and becoming—where structure meets story at the sentence level.


Pros on Process

Editorial

Long-form essays exploring creativity, discipline, and the operating mindset behind meaningful work. A written archive of ideas in motion.



Pros on Process

Video Podcast

A visual extension of the editorial practice—conversations and commentary on craft, process, and the systems that sustain creative work.

Institutional & Client Work

Over 15 years, I’ve operated at the intersection of narrative, strategy, and growth—supporting institutions and venture-backed teams through scaling, repositioning, and ecosystem development.

Collaborate on narrative systems, strategic positioning, and creative infrastructure designed for durability and long-term leverage.

Institutional & Client Work*

Over 10 years, I’ve operated at the intersection of narrative, strategy, and growth—supporting institutions and venture-backed teams through scaling, repositioning, and ecosystem development.

Ellison Investment Group

Served as a strategic growth and storytelling advisor, shaping brand narrative, positioning, and expansion strategy to support long-term development and market credibility.

Atento Capital

Directed narrative architecture, executive communications, events, hosted delegations, and strategic partnerships to shape ecosystem messaging during key moments of growth and transition.

Goldman Sachs

Shaped editorial voice and global campaign messaging across executive communications and high-visibility brand platforms.

Redfin

Directed employer branding initiatives across marketing, recruiting, and leadership teams—aligning narrative, programming, and external messaging to support large-scale hiring and brand credibility.

Mecca Made

Refined brand story and message architecture to support growth, differentiation, and creative direction.

Creative Collective NYC

Contributed to community-centered programming and strategic storytelling within a creative ecosystem serving diverse founders.

Raise the Stakes

Developed strategic positioning and narrative clarity to align mission, message, and audience engagement.



Granular portfolio can be shared upon request

Collaborate on narrative systems, strategic positioning, and creative infrastructure designed for durability and long-term leverage.

Speaking Engagements & Facilitation

I’m invited to moderate, lead, and participate in conversations across keynotes, panels, workshops, and curated dialogues. Speaking is an extension of my work—an opportunity to translate lived experience, institutional insight, and creative practice into shared learning.

AfroTech

Delivered insights on storytelling, capital, and creative infrastructure within the tech ecosystem at Culture House

Martha's Vineyard

Delivered insights on storytelling, capital, and creative infrastructure within the tech ecosystem at Culture House

New Media Ventures Summit

Contributed to dialogue on narrative power and place-based ecosystem development.

BBYO — Art of the Ask

Led a workshop on persuasive storytelling and strategic fundraising for emerging leaders.

REALITY Trek

Facilitated conversations exploring leadership on the front lines of complexity.


Women Empowering Nations

Spoke on leadership, discipline, and building sustainable creative work.

Need a speaker, moderator, facilitator or panelist?

*I'm currently in a focused season and not accepting new inbound requests. If it feels aligned, I'd love to reconnect in May. Let's connect on LI in the meantime.

Certifications

I pursue continuous training in storytelling, venture mechanics, and ecosystem strategy—strengthening the foundation from which I build and, ultimately, invest.

NYU Tisch

Formal training in film, television, and industry systems shaping creative production.

VC University

Foundational training in venture capital, fund mechanics, and investment strategy.

Sundance — Screenwriting Intensive

Craft-focused development in narrative structure, character, and long-form storytelling.

Sundance — Documentary Intensive

Training in nonfiction storytelling, story ethics, and documentary development.


*I'm currently in a focused season and not accepting new inbound requests. If it feels aligned, I'd love to reconnect in May. Let's connect on LI in the meantime.