About

VP Creative Director/Director & AI Creative Lead, RPA

Sarah May Bates sits at the intersection of marketing, technology, and storytelling. At RPA, she oversees integrated marketing for Honda and has directed award-winning work for brands including Honda, Choice Hotels and Heal the Bay. A three-time Emmy nominee with recognition at Cannes Lions, Sundance, and The One Show, she has shaped campaigns for Honda, Budweiser, Wells Fargo, EA, Starbucks, and PBS Kids.

As RPA’s AI Creative Lead, Sarah is pioneering the use of AI as a creative superpower—bringing cultural instinct, vision, and discernment to when machines truly elevate ideas. She is a vocal advocate for ethical AI integration and champions its role in enhancing human ingenuity, not replacing it. Named She Runs It 2025 Working Mom of the Year, she balances driving global brand narratives with raising two kids who keep her on her toes.

Her perspective has been featured in The New York Times, Adweek, The Drum, and the LA Times. She also hosts the podcast Help Me Be Me, applying her background as an MA in marriage and family therapy to leadership—where she believes the best ideas thrive when people feel free to think differently.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, she’s married, with an 8-year-old and a 5-year old, and she’s passionate about mental-health awareness. She also owns and operates Yay With Me — a site full of practical tools and inspiration to become your best self. Half-Korean and half-English, Sarah speaks on topics related to self-advocacy in the advertising industry.

BRAND EXPERIENCE