Bios
We've worked hard to assemble a team capable of addressing every aspect of every project. The fact that these creative and production professionals know their stuff is evident in the work. So instead of mini-resumes, here are little windows into the way we think, what motivates us, and the unique qualities each of us brings that serve our clients so well.
Partner
Rick Barsotti
Rick is a communication fanatic. He believes that clear communication throughout the creative process is paramount to the delivery of meaningful branding and marketing strategy. Therefore, his interaction with clients and partners is direct and honest, yielding both uncommon creative and trusted business relationships. Which makes him living proof that being a fanatic is sometimes a good thing.
Partner
Sean Dunn
Sean is a fervent evangelist for brand-focused thinking that ties customer psychographics to creative messaging and visual identity. A storyteller by nature, he is relentless in his pursuit of innovative ways to increase brand value and relevance. His ideas lead to the design of meaningful vehicles that allow people to inspire people. Can we get an "Amen?"
Managing Director
Chris Lehtonen
Chris has built her career by leading emotively charged creative campaigns. She has a distinct ability to help clients build brands – and great customer relationships – from the inside out. Or, as she sees it, from the soul of a client's organization to the hearts of the customers. The key in doing this is the integration of strategy and creative, and embracing new ways to reach a diversified market through technology and media that will facilitate that integration. It's an approach that has served her well professionally, although personally she prefers the integration of wine and cheese.
Creative Director
Mike McGinty
Mike believes that behind every brand lies a compelling story, waiting to be told. One merely needs to chip away the parts that don't contribute anything useful, like Michelangelo revealing the David within an enormous block of marble. Mike's finely honed chisel gives him the ability to craft a story in any medium, from multimedia web sites to illustrated flip books and everything in between, making him an invaluable creative leader. He loves his work, though harbors an eternal loathing for ellipses, and the use of apostrophes to form plural nouns.
Design Director
Rainey Straus
Rainey's penchant for continued exploration and multidisciplinary study make her a uniquely qualified designer who regularly achieves formidable results. Her focus is to synthesize outstanding visual design with ease of use to expand the engaging nature of our digital products; and in this, she is unmatched. Her observation, insight and expertise are essential in establishing and growing prominent feature-rich Web presences for many of Groove's clients.
Director of Technology
Joel Berghoff
Joel likes to go unnoticed. Professionally speaking, at least. From his perspective, it's his code that puts the design in motion and the less attention his work gets, the more the design and the user experience can shine through. Joel has been working with multimedia for over ten years and he knows how to contribute at every stage of a project. From initial brainstorms to launch, he brings invaluable insight and execution to the process.
CEO, InfoMotor
Tyler Peppel
A Master of Science from MIT. Software patents in the U.S. and Japan. The original design for Apple's QuickTime. Tyler keeps himself pretty busy. When he's not founding IT companies based on digital communications technologies, he's sitting on the boards of Silicon Valley startups or developing digital imaging techniques for the movies. But what he's most passionate about these days is the infinite possibilities data visualization holds for clients. With InfoMotor, he has found the perfect way to combine his considerable expertise with his B.S. in Visual Communications to create products that offer incredible business value for clients.
Account Director
Freda Byrne
Matching the venue to the message is Freda's specialty. An expert in media, she brings fresh ideas to every project because she constantly looks for new avenues and touchpoints that help people connect to brands in today's rapidly evolving landscape. From the executive suite to kids on the street, Freda finds innovative ways to reach out because she understands that the desired response drives the creative process. Each element fills a role in creating a captivating experience for the audience. And the impact of each individual part is multiplied through integration
Director of Operations
Jeff Chelew
Jeff has been living operational greatness for the past eight years and has no intention of slowing down. He considers listening to be key to his job, and treats everyone at Groove as an "internal client" when addressing their needs and concerns. Two-way communication is also important, and ensures everyone has a full understanding of what to expect from him as well. Consistently applying these principles is, from his perspective, what keeps the Groove gears moving smoothly and helps the agency deliver work on time and on budget.
Account Manager
Brian Leonard
Brian's professional path has an unusual arc. He began in broadcast radio and TV before moving to the stage to perform stand-up comedy in the 80s and 90s. Along the way he picked up writing assignments for corporate and broadcast clients (including Sam Donaldson and the BBC), which in turn led to directing for the camera. As eclectic as it sounds, there is a common thread to each chapter: good storytelling. After slaving over a hot keyboard all day, he relaxes at night by directing Petri dish-dwelling organisms in reenactments of famous Hollywood movies. His Citizen Spore is a classic.
Designer
Bruce Godshall
Bruce creates interactive solutions that are inherently beautiful, fluid, engaging experiences. His ability to render the technology invisible is the very essence of expressing a series of meaningful moments and represents what we consider the only way to effectively connect with people. His consummate design intuition and personal passion form an integral part of Groove's design group.
Designer
Tito Chazo
From the day Tito walked into the Groove office, he has taken charge of the assessment, understanding and application of the evolving brand standards on our key accounts. His dedication to this holistic view allows us to engineer and deliver experiences that guarantee brand accuracy and continuity – even as these clients extend their reach to digital media.
Designer
Jason Rector
Jason's journey in design began in an effort to expand his family's line of skateboarding products into a snowboarding line. Once he took a few classes in design, he knew he had found his true calling. His passion grew along with his experience, and today his work shows a sense of timelessness that comes from both traditional design and modern techniques. He continues to adapt and evolve, making him an adept multimedia designer.
Designer
Todd Hedgpeth
Todd believes good design is more than just a box on a shelf or a logo on a business card, it is a lifestyle. Good design makes our daily tasks simpler and more enjoyable. It enlightens, guides and informs us. It tells a story visually that reinforces the concept and strategy behind every product, campaign and brand. As a design specialist for over the last 10 years, he also understands the importance of a strong visual component and has helped a variety of clients both big and small realize their full potential in a graceful and effective way.
CFO/COO
Rob Forrest
"There's always a way, and it shouldn't take long." That's Rob's mantra. It might seem simple, but it has helped Rob deliver successful results time and again. Drawing on his broad background of senior executive and ownership roles with companies large, small, mature, growing, and just starting up, Rob considers it his primary responsibility to remove barriers and provide solutions—a philosophy he applies to his interactions with clients and colleagues alike. Whether he's developing a creative partnership, simplifying internal demands on staff time, or helping a client through a recession, he focuses his energy on finding the answer, and the plan, that best serves the client.
Programming Lead
David Holzgang
David believes technology should support a creative brand, not limit it. Having written more than a dozen books on technical subjects, and with a broad range of information processing and business experience, he knows how to translate complex technical issues from techo-speak into everyday language. That allows creative vision to be matched to business needs in innovative and relevant ways by leveraging technology rather than being hobbled by it.
Producer
Amy Brackett
Amy has been called a bull by more than one client. She considers it a compliment because she's known for diving into projects head-first and for her willingness to do anything to get the job done. Her innovative, thoughtful responses to production challenges have earned her a loyal following. Amy prides herself on going out of her way to meet client needs; however, she draws the line at foot rubs.
Producer
Melanie Barter
Melanie likes to juggle – jobs that is. She is very comfortable having many balls in the air and getting them in order. She also likes to collaborate in projects from start to finish because she feels being part of the big picture is where the fun stuff happens. Melanie's desire to own a job and communicate what's what with her clients could be construed as control freakdom. But to her it's just producing.
Producer
David Creech
For over 20 years, David has lived the evolution from film to video to digital, the internet, and now the phone. Technology has changed; solid production principles haven't. His philosophy is to create harmony onscreen by fostering harmony behind the scenes. Only then can a great story shine through and an emotional connection be built. He has donned many hats in his career – director, writer, editor, director of photography, camera operator, art guy and more – so he's figured out the best philosophy to making the production process as enjoyable as it should be: Life is too short not to have fun. And always wear a hat.
Producer
Jenny Fewell
As a rule, Jenny believes in the principle of "anything worth doing is worth doing well." That translates to a genuine desire to improve things when she sees the need or the opportunity. In her role as producer, she works to promote an atmosphere in which all team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas. She often takes the lead in this, and encourages others to do the same with a candid, open style that builds trust. On the down side, she thinks her willingness to speak her mind sometimes works against her. Then again, it gives her a big personality that more than makes up for her small height.
Client Services Manager
Kelly Littlejohn
Kelly manages multiple websites and produces executive presentations for Groove's Presentation Services department. In the Web space, she focuses on the nitty gritty of user interaction and strives to enhance it because she really does believe that, as the saying goes, life is in the details. In the Presentation Services space, she rolls up her sleeves with a team of designers to develop a vehicle for pitching the next greatest innovation of our time. Because she also really believes that behind every world-changing idea is a fantastic PowerPoint deck.
Producer
Kristin Nielsen
Being a middle child, Kristin is very comfortable in her role as a producer. She's frequently in the middle of her clients and her creative teams, working with everyone to create the best work – and the best work experiences – possible. In over 15 years of producing videos, commercials, animations, websites and more, she's become quite good at balancing the clients' needs and the creative team's wishes against the demands of project schedules and budgets. But she's even better at settling their disputes over who gets the last doughnut.
Client Services Coordinator
Emily Surface
Emily works best under pressure, which is why she is so well-suited for her position. She can often be found with her headphones on so she can fully concentrate on sorting through user emails from seven help desks, running multiple user data reports, and managing website content on behalf of clients. You could say multi-tasking is her bread and butter. Or, more accurately, her pita and hummus.
