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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>President</span>

Aaron PedersonPresident 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, Creative Director</span>

Jeremy EmersonPartner, Creative Director 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 the perfect G & T!

Don Orris<span>Chief Commercial Officer</span>

Don OrrisChief Commercial Officer It only took Don 1 B.S. in Criminology, 4 kids, 5 states, and 30 years as a Level 10 executive sales management ninja in the ticketing industry to finally unlock his true destiny and find an eager team and comfy home at Saffire!

Cassie Dispenza<span>Senior Director of Marketing & Partnerships</span>

Cassie DispenzaSenior Director of Marketing & Partnerships You probably just saw Cassie at her 73rd conference of the year, where's she get the time?! Besides being Saffire's brand MVP she performs cookie magic with the UT game on.

Brandi Jo Wallace<span>Director of Client Experience</span>

Brandi Jo WallaceDirector of Client Experience The youngest ever inductee to her high school’s Sports Hall of Fame, Brandi has bumped, set and spiked hundreds of websites and ticketed events to success! A fierce advocate and coach to clients, her high-fives can leave a mark.

Chris Lugar<span>Technical Director</span>

Chris LugarTechnical Director If it's ours and you've used it, Chris the O.G. most likely made it work. Powered by mountains of Coke Zero, of course. He spends spare time teaching his son Avery to wave a Terrible Towel, while booming old school Boyz II Men.

Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic<span>Director of Partnerships</span>

Jessica Bybee-DziedzicDirector of Partnerships 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.

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.

Amy Pelzl<span>Director of Ticketing Partnerships</span>

Amy PelzlDirector of Ticketing Partnerships 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.

Ashley Leopold<span>Client Experience Manager</span>

Ashley LeopoldClient Experience Manager 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!

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

Phil ThompsonClient Experience Manager Not only is Phil a team member, he's a former client! He has a dreamy coaching phone voice (Phil's a former voice actor) and he'd rather be exploring exotic Topeka, KS or in his backyard doing some more gardening.

Claire Wright<span>Customer Experience Manager</span>

Claire WrightCustomer Experience Manager Claire's an event junkie with just the “wright” eye for beautiful photography. She's an “old soul” trapped inside a young person, and somehow manages to consistently show up with the one thing you never knew you needed. Except a car… she doesn't drive!

Austin Castaneda<span>Ticket Experience Manager</span>

Austin CastanedaTicket Experience Manager 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.

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

Rayce ClemmerTicket Experience Specialist 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!

Jessica Carlo Brand Marketing Manager Don't be fooled! Jessica grew up in New Mexico, but fits right in with the Austin crowd. She is fond of puppies and big snakes, but not at the same time. Unless they are all together on a yacht in the Caribbean. Then, that's cool.

Thema Reed<span> Digital Marketing Manager</span>

Thema Reed Digital Marketing Manager An Austin transplant by way of New Mexico, Thema (it’s TAY-mah) is relieved to find Texans have good tacos (but not as good as New Mexico.) You’ll find her writing all over Saffire’s marketing efforts and social media!

Grace Jackson<span>Marketing Coordinator</span>

Grace JacksonMarketing Coordinator If she isn’t already impressing you with her “out-of-nowhere” hip-hop dance moves inside a random photo booth, Grace is busily marketing Saffire and being a brand champion for clients! Can she top off that Saffire queso for you?

Daniel Bunn<span>Senior Software Engineer</span>

Daniel BunnSenior Software Engineer 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.

Katie Bobzien<span>Designer</span>

Katie BobzienDesigner 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>Front End Developer</span>

Jeff SeymourFront End Developer 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…

Chelsea Dover<span>Front End Developer</span>

Chelsea DoverFront End Developer Chelsea loves a good maker faire and tames wild web code like a pro. She’s passionate about the visual and performing arts and can run a kettle corn food cart like nobody’s business!

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