Elevated Thinking Ethical Leadership Exceptional Results

Highland Creek Advisors is a strategic advisory firm dedicated to helping leaders solve problems and drive growth without compromising their core values.

Our diverse team combines senior-level expertise from government, finance, economic development, international trade, and storytelling to craft practical strategies that deliver tangible results.

Whether advising on global trade and investment, designing community-driven economic initiatives, or shaping impactful people-centered narratives that resonate, we empower our clients to achieve ambitious goals while maintaining the highest standards of integrity—turning today's complex challenges into tomorrow’s lasting opportunities.

Our Services

At Highland Creek Advisors, our team brings decades of senior leadership across the White House, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Federal Reserve System, global trade missions, major financial institutions, and award-winning media. We know how to turn strategy into action — and ambition into lasting results.

  • We design bold, place-based strategies that drive growth, resilience, and opportunity — strengthening businesses, communities, and the policies that connect them.

  • We help our clients navigate shifting global markets, manage risk, and seize new opportunities with strategies grounded in ethical leadership and real-world experience.

  • We craft powerful narratives and high-impact campaigns that don't just tell a story — they build momentum, shape markets, and drive change.

The Story Behind Highland Creek

Highland Creek Advisors draws its name and spirit from Highland Beach, Maryland — a historic community founded in 1893 by descendants of formerly enslaved African Americans, symbolized by our logo, the lighthouse emitting light across the sea.

For Don Graves, our founder, Highland Beach is more than a place — it’s part of his family’s legacy. His great-grandparents built one of the first homes there, and generations of his family have carried forward its tradition of resilience, community-building, and leadership against the odds.

Highland Beach was created as a safe haven for Black families during an era of segregation — a place where excellence thrived despite exclusion. Its story is one of vision without concession: of building institutions, economic opportunity, and community pride with integrity at the center.

At Highland Creek Advisors, we carry forward that legacy. We believe in growth that strengthens communities, leadership that honors values, and strategies that build a future where opportunity belongs to everyone. Just as Highland Beach was shaped by leaders who saw beyond the limitations of their time, we partner with clients to chart bold, ethical paths forward — grounded in history, guided by purpose, and built to last.