MISSION MINDED - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Strategy / History
Lead Web Developer Adam Sypnier started making websites before he knew how to drive, learning everything he could to combine his passions for storytelling and interactive experiences with web-based technology. He strives to stay up to date on the latest trends and technologies to best serve Mission Minded's clients.
Prior to joining Mission Minded, Adam worked as a freelance lead developer for a broad range of products and clients in arts, finance, and e-commerce sectors.
When he's not coding up a storm, Adam spends his time exploring, watching every movie, and writing in and outside the world of comedy and the performing arts. You can read more about Adam here.
Strategist Alice Srinivasan brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit development, marketing and community engagement to her role at Mission Minded, benefiting clients such as Toxics Action Center and the Stanford Humanities Center. She has a keen ability to stand in the shoes of fundraisers and create messages and communications that are sharp, relevant and engaging.
Before her time at Mission Minded, Alice worked for organizations ranging from Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains to former Mission Minded client Global Greengrants Fund. You can read more about Alice here.
As Mission Minded's Business Coordinator, Ashlie's organizational dedication is paramount in supporting our team to achieve the highest level of client success.
Ashlie is a passionate person with a zest for exploration and a deep appreciation for nature's beauty. With a firm belief in justice and equality, Ashlie strives to make a positive impact on the world. Known for her unwavering admiration for orchids, her enthusiasm and dedication shine through in all aspects of her work and life.
Beth Barbee has worked in and around marketing and brand strategy for over 25 years - within agencies, as a client, and in a consultative capacity. For the past 15 years she has put her brand-focused expertise to work helping organizations connect the dots between their business and brand strategies for execution across a broad range of communication touchpoints.
Beth has worked extensively with nonprofit organizations, helping them optimize their brand to achieve their goals. Her experience includes work within early childhood education, public media, and public health.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Operations
Job Titles:
- Digital Marketing & Website Optimization Specialist
As Creative Director, Demian leads and inspires our creative team to elevate the creative work across all channels, including visual identity design, print, digital, copywriting, and video. He is dedicated to the craft, finding deep fulfillment pursuing the ‘What if…' aspect of every project and creating smart surprise & delight moments throughout the work.
Demian is passionate about immigrant and refugee communities. He supports organizations that provide pathways and navigation for this vital global community.
Before joining Mission Minded, Demian led multi-disciplinary creative projects and campaigns for client-side teams and global agencies. You can read more about Demian here.
Job Titles:
- Senior Graphic Designer
- Senior Graphic Designer / Tennis
Senior Graphic Designer Denise Gallagher approaches each project with a sense of discovery and provides a unique view-be it playful and whimsical or clean and sophisticated. In addition to design work, she has created custom illustrations for Mission Minded clients, San Francisco Day School, Berkwood Hedge, and OLE Health.
In her free time, Denise is a published childrens' book author and illustrator and is devoted to promoting a love of arts and literature in children. She gives lectures and classes to students from kindergarten through college.
Prior to Mission Minded, Denise's work has been showcased in Print and How Magazine, Communication Arts Magazine's Illustration Annual, New York Society of Illustrators Annual Show, and Society of Illustrators Los Angeles' Illustration West Show. You can read more about Denise here.
Job Titles:
- President of Her Local Public Schools Foundation
- Senior Strategist
Dianne serves as President of her local Public Schools Foundation and is a long-serving champion and facilitator for her school district community's ever-evolving fundraising initiatives. She is also proud of her work as an AVID tutor for aspiring first-generation college bound middle school kids.
Elisa Wiseman is a Strategist at Mission Minded with a passion for helping organizations she believes in, tell their stories and build intentional and valuable brands. Her background in storytelling and advocacy give her a unique perspective on how to leverage brand strategy for organizational growth and innovation.
Outside of work, Elisa is passionate about reproductive justice and immigrant rights. She supports organizations working towards a more accessible healthcare system and those providing support to immigrants and refugees from around the globe.
Prior to joining Mission Minded, Elisa worked as an in-house communications manager for different nonprofits advocating for equity in education. You can learn more about her background here.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Growth & Client Success / Palm Springs
Gabi Pineda (Comanche/Ponca/Latine) is a Senior Designer at Mission Minded with a decade of experience designing impactful visuals in marketing, higher ed, and nonprofit spaces. Her work centers around communities of color-helping to increase POC enrollment at Southern Methodist University as well as the visibility of contemporary, Native peoples through powerful storytelling at IllumiNative. Gabi's passion for social good and community-driven design is unwavering, and she is dedicated to creating designs that accurately represent communities with strength and dignity. You can read more about Gabi here.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner & Leadership Coach
Jennie Winton is a 30-year brand strategy veteran who partners with nonprofits, foundations, and schools to help them articulate a bold vision that fires up their supporters. Since co-founding Mission Minded in 2002, Jennie has served as a strategic advisor for over 300 nonprofits and has inspired hundreds more as a nationally sought lecturer. Today she inspires the Mission Minded team, and our clients, to break the mold on the expected and create magnetic ideas that attract more mission-driven support than ever.
In her work as a one-on-one, leadership coach she helps optimistic individuals achieve greater impact, balance, and happiness at work. As a result, Mission Minded clients see greater impact, stability, revenues, and the internal alignment that leads to extraordinary leadership, teams and results.
Prior to founding Mission Minded, she was Chief Marketing Officer for the American Red Cross Bay Area chapter, where she led the brand activation and corporate marketing efforts that resulted in millions of dollars in revenue for communities that needed help when help couldn't wait. You can read more about Jennie here.
Job Titles:
- Video Director and Producer
Jonathan Hinman is Mission Minded's video director and producer, creating powerful, outcome-focused work for clients such as Packard Foundation, San Francisco Day School, and California ChangeLawyers. Jonathan is driven by the conviction that nonprofits and schools must harness the power of video-and elevate its production standards-in order to rise above the fray, connect with audiences on a deep emotional level, and inspire them to act.
Jonathan is passionate about the impact of America's foreign policy on the world, and mitigating poverty and suffering worldwide. He is currently a volunteer for ExtraFood.org.
Before switching to nonprofit, Jonathan spent two decades producing award-winning commercials and videos for brands including Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Sprite, and Audi. You can read more about Jonathan here.
Job Titles:
- Developer
- WordPress Developer
WordPress Developer Joe Sites has been creating websites since before the Y2K bug. He is passionate about web accessibility, with the goal to ensure everyone has a positive experience on your website.
Kelli began her design journey in 2012. She is passionate about helping people, problem-solving, and delighting clients with beautiful, simple visual solutions. With over ten years of experience, she has worked with organizations such as The Motherhood Center of New York, Caring Across Generations, and Pop Culture Collaborative.
Along with a love of design, she co-owns a coffee roasting company with her husband in San Diego, California. Together they host bi-monthly coffee popups out of their garage to build community and connection in their neighborhood.
Whether it's designing a layout, making someone a cup of coffee, or speaking a kind word, Kelli believes in the power of serving others with authenticity, curiosity, and excellence.
As a Senior Strategist, Paige brings curiosity, careful listening, and experience as both a client and a consultant to create effective and practical marketing solutions for organizations. Her consulting expertise includes brand strategy, brand activation, and enrollment marketing. Her recent nonprofit clients include Greater Texas Foundation, St. Edward's University, and PrintAustin.
Outside of work, Paige is actively involved in the Austin art community and volunteers at the Central Texas Food Bank.
At the beginning of her career she held several corporate marketing roles before spending 18 years in higher education, where she developed a passion for supporting the success of purpose-driven organizations. You can read more about Paige here.
Job Titles:
- Partner & Director of Education Strategy
Director of Education Strategy Romayne Levee leads our education practice, working with independent schools and educational organizations to raise their profiles with strategies that benefit school leaders and their communities immeasurably. She has developed dynamic strategic plans and brand strategies for Mission Minded clients from coast to coast, including San Francisco Day School, Friends School of Baltimore, and Marlborough School
Job Titles:
- Member of the Steering Committee of Harvard Business School Community Partners
- Senior Strategist
As a Senior Strategist at Mission Minded, Rona specializes in strategic planning, brand strategy, naming, and governance, and has worked with clients like Canal Alliance, Village Movement California, and EPACenter Arts.
Outside of Mission Minded, Rona is a member of the Steering Committee of Harvard Business School Community Partners that delivers pro-bono consulting to local nonprofits, a Trustee of Marin Academy, and a Director of the Angioma Alliance.
Rona's previous experience includes managing consumer marketing for HBO. You can read more about Rona here.
Job Titles:
- Mission - Driven Strategist
- Strategist
Rosie Powers is a mission-driven strategist who works with nonprofits across brand, website, and digital marketing strategy. Equal parts storyteller, data nerd, and project manager, she enjoys the intersection between "big idea" thinking and metrics analysis that helps nonprofit brands communicate their impact and engage audiences. In her work with Mission Minded, she has collaborated with organizations such as Housing Trust Silicon Valley, Packard Foundation, Ibis Reproductive Health, HERE to HERE, and Wu Yee Children's Services.
Rosie's roots in storytelling began with her career as a journalist working in newsrooms with the Washington Post, the Chicago Sun-Times, and ABC before moving into nonprofit communications. She then worked in marketing leadership with Chicago-based nonprofit Greenheart International.
In her spare time, Rosie enjoys volunteering with the Chicago chapters of the Sierra Club and the Planetary Society.
Art Director Sara Buettmann brings her left and her right brain into each project. Using strategic and analytical thinking, Sara is a creative problem solver who quickly becomes in-tune with a brand's personality and visual tone. In addition to leading branding efforts and designing visual communication systems, Sara provides custom illustration and hand-lettering expertise.
Before coming to Mission Minded, Sara has had experience working with Fortune 500 brands like MillerCoors, as well as start-ups and nonprofits just getting off their feet. You can read more about Sara here.
Job Titles:
- Partner & Director of Brand Strategy
As Director of Brand Strategy, Sarah is responsible for the caliber of the strategic product on behalf of all our clients, and the continuing development of our incredibly talented strategists. She joined Mission Minded in 2011 and has led the re-branding efforts for dozens of nonprofits, including Village Movement California, Marin Academy, and Blue Shield of California Foundation.
As an Art Director, Shum brings his wide and varied experience in advertising, illustration, and brand identity to Mission Minded clients, including San Diego Jewish Academy, Uplift Family Services, and Village Movement California.
Shum is passionate about pediatric cancer research and animal welfare and has volunteered his time and services to several Denver nonprofit organizations.
Shum worked at several leading Denver design agencies before becoming creative director at rabble+rouser for more than a decade. He has created award-winning and effective communications for Apple, United Airlines, Vail Resorts, Weber Grills, The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, The North Face, American Express, and Boeing. You can read more about Shum here.
As a strategist at Mission Minded, Tia collaborates with clients to bring their brand and digital initiatives to life through data and storytelling. With a nonprofit background, Tia understands just how important a strong brand is for creating meaningful impact.
Outside of work, Tia is a member and alumni of Prep for Prep, a leadership development program that offers promising students of color access to an independent school education in New York City.
Tia started her career at DonorsChoose on the business development team, where she helped partners meet their philanthropic and business goals through research and data analysis. You can read more about Tia here.
As a Graphic Designer, Ty's strengths include typography, page layout, color theory, and digital photography. He's motivated by the challenge of thinking about ideas and seeing them take shape, creating designs based on a varied set of influences and research, and working as part of a collaborative team. His Mission Minded clients have included San Francisco Opera, Stanford University, and Denver Art Museum.
Ty is part of Aver Collective, a group of designers, artists, writers, makers, and thinkers who produce work based on a mutual quest for personal discovery and outward connection to the extended community through their work.
Ty's background includes work with Virgin Mobile, Pyramid Breweries, and the Disposable Film Festival. You can read more about Ty here.
An infinitely curious strategist and relentlessly creative problem solver, Vanessa has 17 years of experience in marketing and brand strategy across both the private and public sector. Having worked within agencies, on the brand side, and as a consultant, she focuses on helping organizations define, articulate, activate, and operationalize their brand truth to make a mark and move the needle.
A proud Colorado native, Vanessa has worked with organizations like the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration and the Center for Resilience and Well-Being, and volunteers her time on the Associate Board of Minds Matter Colorado and as a mentor for Colorado State University's College of Business Graduate Program.
Vanessa's past experience spans many categories including health and wellness, hospitality, entertainment, real estate, travel, finance, technology, automotive, and more. You can read about her background here.
Job Titles:
- Creative Director
- Founding Partner
Zach Hochstadt co-founded Mission Minded in 2002 to provide nonprofits with the highest level of brand, strategy, design, and digital services. Today, the award-winning agency serves some of the nation's most respected organizations in a broad range of sectors.
Zach has particular expertise in brand strategy, messaging, and naming. He lectures frequently, as well as leading projects on behalf of clients like Colorado Health Foundation, Khan Academy, and Children's Museum of Denver.
Prior to founding Mission Minded, Zach worked in several boutique agencies before joining the American Red Cross. Appointed by Mayor Hancock in 2014, Zach serves as the board chair for Denver Preschool Program. He also founded the Bay Area Disc Association. You can read more about Zach here.
When he's not crafting the perfect soundbite, Zack has volunteered as a writing tutor, worked to increase government accountability, and helped settle new immigrants.
Beyond Mission Minded, Zack's has blogged for MSN, crafted marketing materials for the San Francisco Symphony, published a Sunday crossword in The New York Times, and won a SOLAS Award for funniest travel article. You can read more about Zack here.