Dolly Ross

Chief Operating Officer & Chief Strategist

As Chief Operating Officer at Clear on Black, Dolly is responsible for directing business and marketing planning, contract development, negotiation and adherence, human resources, and project delivery systems.

In her role as Chief Strategist, Dolly analyzes projects and their requirements in the initial development phases and brings insights and planning direction to each project.  This is instrumental in the Diagnostic & Discovery Phase when working with the design team during project programming.

She combines her MBA from Pepperdine University with an M.A. in English from California State University, Los Angeles, and a B.S. in Journalism from University of Colorado in Boulder to build the firm’s team culture and oversee its organizational and financial structure.

oh, and another thing...

What is your favorite word?  Why?  Fracas.  It sounds like what it is, and it’s a hilarious word that is sadly under-used!

Favorite vacation spot…and why.  I loved Tobago.  It has no pretense or fluff or interest in tourists.  It just is what it is.  The food and the music are such a reflection of the climate, the life, and the people. Steel pan and reggae make complete sense.

Is there something you would like to do – that is probably or definitely impossible-that you’d like to do anyway?  I have always wanted to hold an eagle.

Blog Posts by Dolly Ross

Why Your Projects Should Lock Down Roles & Responsibilities & What Can Happen When They Don't

 by Carl Ross and Dolly Ross | September 29, 2017

If there’s one thing that a hotel owner can do to best protect and guide a project it’s this – nail down the roles and responsibilities of your project team members before your next project begins.   By doing this, everyone (including yourself) has a clear understanding of what exactly is expected from whom and when and which budget it’s coming out of.  

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A Look at Hospitality Design Change from the Inside

 by Dolly Ross | December 08, 2015

While it’s a daily occurrence for many of us to open an industry trade journal and look at hospitality design and how it is evolving from the guest perspective, we rarely pause long enough to consider how design is evolving from the business-of-design perspective which, as the COO and CFO of my company, is the space I live in most of the time.  As I look back at 20 years of interviewing design candidates for Clear on Black, our boutique-sized firm, I see some fairly radical change in how we’re doing the business of design.

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