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Meet the Team

Kendra Wright<span>Founder</span>

Kendra WrightFounder While she's not "founding" companies, Kendra loves to travel, discover marginal pastries and bet her business partners to do something foolish for $5.

Aaron Pederson<span>Partner, President</span>

Aaron PedersonPartner, President A hopeless idealist, Aaron already knows the next project will be a raging success. He can memorize ridiculous amounts of numbers and bake a mean soft pretzel!

Jeremy Emerson<span>Partner, Chief Creative Officer</span>

Jeremy EmersonPartner, Chief Creative Officer If he's not bending your ear with a super fun story, he's probably dreaming up something beautiful to add to the world. Maybe a logo, a rack of ribs or a new secret Negroni recipe!

Cassie Dispenza<span>VP of Strategic Partnerships</span>

Cassie DispenzaVP of Strategic Partnerships You probably just saw Cassie at her 273rd conference of the year, where does she get the time?! Besides being Saffire's brand MVP she regularly performs cookie magic with the UT game on.

Chris Lugar<span>VP of Engineering</span>

Chris LugarVP of Engineering If it's ours and you've used it, Chris the O.G. most likely made it work. Powered by pallets of Coke Zero. He spends spare time teaching his two sons to wave Terrible Towels, while booming old school Boyz II Men.

Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic<span>VP of Client Operations</span>

Jessica Bybee-DziedzicVP of Client Operations Jessica is the ultimate teammate, having worn nearly every hat there is at Saffire! She loves dance and taking her bosses to racy and inappropriate concerts on 6th street.

Laura Mower<span>Director of Finance</span>

Laura MowerDirector of Finance Laura is the master juggler of every financial ball at Saffire. She brings big business savvy to the team and looks at it all through a creative lens (she's a professional photographer on top of it all!)

Jodi Buresh<span>Director of Partnerships</span>

Jodi BureshDirector of Partnerships Go Bison! Jodi's a North Dakotan and a former high school hockey cheerleader who's all our first choice to bring the fun to any event. She's in charge of hiring the beer garden workers. She'll probably even marry one of them.

Ashley Leopold<span>Director of Client Experience</span>

Ashley LeopoldDirector of Client Experience In addition to her ninja coaching skills at Saffire, Ashley is a black belt in Taekwondo, and she knows everybody. Everywhere. She loves a good local craft brew and singing along with 80's hair bands!

Darren Fields<span>DIrector of Ticketing Experience</span>

Darren FieldsDIrector of Ticketing Experience Darren is Saffire's resident cheese-head and eagle scout, with a knack for building strong teams that achieve great things! He's a veteran of the Wisconsin State Fair, loves a trip to Door County and his wife's cookies, not necessarily in that order.

Emily Richardson<span>Senior Cashless Operations Manager</span>

Emily RichardsonSenior Cashless Operations Manager You'll find Emily rocking BlastPass events for Saffire's clients, fusing her passion for live events with technology. She can also kick your butt at a video game, watch out!

Amy Pelzl<span>Senior Manager, Strategic Support</span>

Amy PelzlSenior Manager, Strategic Support When she's not taking the ticketing world by storm, Amy is perfecting the next character accent for a play. Or shopping for earrings. But she might just be happiest sliding behind the wheel, just to see where the next road takes her.

Austin Castaneda

Austin CastanedaSenior Manager of Ticket Experience Austin’s left turn in native Albuquerque landed him in Portland where he fearlessly builds seat maps, tames ticketing wild fires and charms crowds with his euphonium.

Daniel Bunn<span>Tech Lead</span>

Daniel BunnTech Lead How many software engineers do you know who used to live on a house boat, and would rather be out taking amazing HDR photography. We thought so. Dan can build robots, websites and ginormous sand castles with his kids.

Phil Thompson<span>Client Experience Manager</span>

Phil ThompsonClient Experience Manager Phil has tons of experience with websites, marketing & media, so it was a no-brainer to use his radio voice on our phone system! He's always looking forward to playing golf, exploring a national park, or fine-tuning the landscaping in his yard.

Kan Pen<span>Client Experience Manager</span>

Kan PenClient Experience Manager Kan is a customer service pro coming to you from Sacramento, CA. He loves planning and supporting live events, and loves leading clients to raging success online!

Bre Lenzmeier

Bre LenzmeierClient Experience Manager Bre is a former Saffire client and a NDSU Bison and Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling season ticket holder who can help pin down every issue you can imagine!

Bettina Giallanza<span>Client Experience Manager</span>

Bettina GiallanzaClient Experience Manager Bettina is a coach with a smile for miles! If she's not helping you remember "where you know that actor from," she's cheer-leading you through the on boarding process while making you feel super smart and cool.

Sabrina Smith<span>Client Experience Manager</span>

Sabrina SmithClient Experience Manager Sabrina loves working with people, she's a client's best friend and most dedicated personal trainer at the same time! Her dream trip would be watching a lunar eclipse on a Hawaiian beach with her daughter and pup!

Rayce Clemmer<span>Ticket Experience Manager</span>

Rayce ClemmerTicket Experience Manager When he's not meticulously building a seat map or ticketing support plan, he's re-alphabetizing his classic Nintendo and Gameboy cartridge collection. Rayce is your typical bilingual home-brewer who dreams of winning the Scotland Highland Games!

Katie Bobzien<span>Senior Designer</span>

Katie BobzienSenior Designer Passionate about the Pacific Northwest, Katie balances a love of Portland and Seattle by running half marathons in Vancouver, B.C. When she's not designing, she's designing! Custom stationery, that is, aided by her puppy and kitty at her side.

Jeff Seymour<span>UI Lead</span>

Jeff SeymourUI Lead What? A developer who loves video games? Jeff takes it a step further with a passion for digital art, fine Japanese cuisine and a mastery of the IKEA floorplan. He just wishes they stocked more hot sauce!

Katrina Hirsch<span>Front End Developer</span>

Katrina HirschFront End Developer Always dreaming of her next trip to Iceland, Katrina cultivates code and fills her workplace with plants. She collects antique cameras, tattoos and tarot cards. Step inside…

Sam Youngs<span>Support Engineer</span>

Sam YoungsSupport Engineer Sam is a Portlander who dreams of his next trip to Japan, and slings code to help support all of Saffire's beautiful custom websites and keep the platform running smooth.

Jesse Allred<span>Digital Marketing Manager</span>

Jesse AllredDigital Marketing Manager Jesse is our team's biggest bookworm and knows her way around SEO and SEM. She's also a live concert fanatic, making her the ideal team member to market Saffire and our clients!

Kris Boehm<span>Ticketing Key Account Manager </span>

Kris BoehmTicketing Key Account Manager Kris is a ticketing and client support rock star ready to bring his talents to the rescue of any Saffire client!

Brandy Humphrey<span>Ticketing Key Account Manager </span>

Brandy HumphreyTicketing Key Account Manager Brandy's a native Washingtonian and veteran box office manager for some really cool venues who's lived in six different states, ready to tackle any ticketing need!

Charlie Bills<span>Ticketing Support Specialist</span>

Charlie BillsTicketing Support Specialist Charlie is a software junkie and live events run in his blood, which makes him a perfect fit on the Saffire Ticketing Support Team - he understands systems and is always happy to help!

Todd Allen

Todd AllenField Operations Manager, BlastPass Todd's your guy when it comes to producing a live event, he'll even bring a guitar and a trusty label-maker to keep it lively and organized! When he's not building an event, he's busy planning his dream campground!

Octavius Perrington<span>Field Operations Manager</span>

Octavius PerringtonField Operations Manager Octavius will take you on in any board game of your choice, and is a real event junkie. He loves to see people come together in celebration of a common theme, and dreams of his next mountain hike!

Lee Strenge<span>Asset and Equipment Manager</span>

Lee StrengeAsset and Equipment Manager Lee is the master of all equipment in the warehouse, he can tell you where every device is at any time. When he's not keeping us organized, he's custom illustrating and animating mimoji!

Stacy Klobe<span>Executive Sales Assistant</span>

Stacy KlobeExecutive Sales Assistant Hailing from Austin, Texas, Stacy comes to Saffire after an illustrious career as an educator, ready to help Saffire's super-powered sales team become even more super!

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