St. Paul’s Creative Shop

Patty Voje

President

We have Patty to thank for making SPOT so sweet, and not just because of our office candy wall. With over 20 years of experience in design and marketing, Patty understands agency work from every perspective and is passionate about it every step of the way. Besides running a company, Patty spends her time creating her next acclaimed art piece. Her favorite subject to paint? Cattle.

Patty’s talent and leadership helps to make SPOT shine—although her bulldog Ed might argue it’s actually him, making it pretty clear why The Bulldog is one of their favorite spots.

Jonathan Alstad

Creative Director & Copywriter

Really, Jonathan’s title should be Creative Director/Writer/Candy Enthusiast. Lucky for him (and the rest of us), Candyland is located just down the street from SPOT!

It was Jonathan’s passion for creative writing that sparked his interest in advertising, where media titans wage war for attention armed only with money and compelling ideas. His background includes working with everyone from mom-and-pop restaurants to Fortune 500 companies, because, as he likes to put it, every story has potential if you know how to tell it. Now if we could only land a candy account!

If you’re looking for sweet copy call Jonathan. If you need a sweet treat visit Candyland.

Leah Palmquist

Creative Director

Creative Director doesn’t even begin to encompass everything Leah does. But can we help it? She can basically do it all. Her talent and passion for design, digital strategy and social media come together to create a powerful force. Her unique skillset leaves clients amazed and somehow, she finds time to continue her creativity with original artwork.

Leah can often be found at Creators Space, where she explores painting, photography and more, while also helping out with their social media. Like we said, she can do it all.

Tory Scales

Senior Account Executive

Tory’s fun demeanor, creativity, and signature toothpick make him easy to pick out in our office. His experience within this field has given him a killer set of skills which we’re lucky to have. Tory has built a career by putting clients at ease, knowing their work is in his capable hands. His wealth of senior-level agency experience spans a variety of B2B clients across a wide number of industries.

In his free time, you can find Tory at his cabin with his wife (and co-worker) Lisa, sharpening his skills on our office pinball machine, or perhaps heading out to grab lunch at Deb’s Hot Dog Stand.

Jim Martin

Director of Agency Operations

If you Google search “people person,” you’ll see the same picture of Jim you see here. What can we say, he thrives on interaction with others—at work, on the softball field, during a movie, in a quiet elevator—yeah, he’s that guy. But it’s why he’s so good at making meaningful connections. As Director of Agency Operations at Spot, it serves him well to know people’s backgrounds, strengths and personalities, so he can help ensure our team is always in position to succeed for our clients.

Pro-tip: If you see him grabbing a coffee or treat at Creators Cup. avoid eye contact unless you want to have a conversation!

Trish Duerr

Director of Accounts

As Director of Accounts, Trish’s passion for this field stretches from developing differentiating brand marketing strategies to tapping into the digital marketing landscape. With her background in retail and healthcare marketing and skill set for guiding business’ thinking, behavior and communications, she helps ensure Spot clients reach their goals. She has a passion for growing beautiful things—whether it’s her garden and landscaping at home, or her relationships with SPOT clients and helping them grow their businesses.

For inspiration, she loves to walk or drive around residential areas to admire the architecture and landscaping of other people’s homes—which is probably why she’s drawn to the garden at the St. Paul Hotel.

Justin Bundy

Video Director

Justin loves his fiancé. He loves his dog. He loves the outdoors. He loves combing his beard. He loves the Vikings. What can we say—he’s a pretty lovable guy.

Justin’s skillset reads like a menu of video talents. Videography with extra sauce? Check. Animation with a side of humor? You got it. Editing with a double dash of detail? Coming right up. And just like Mickey’s Diner, he’s always ready to serve up something hot and fresh you’ll love.

Rikki Alstad

Human Resources Manager

Rikki spends a lot of time at the happiest place on earth. Sometimes that’s at a certain theme park in Florida, but mostly it’s at home in St. Paul with her adorable pups, Tina and Jovi. It’s probably why she’s always in a good mood, even when dealing with a bunch of unruly creative types at work.

Speaking of creative types, Rikki is an amazing artist herself—be it painting, drawing, photography or creating a playlist—she can do it all and do it well. That’s probably why she’s always been drawn to The Argyle Zebra Gallery.

Josh Braaten

Digital Strategist

Josh just wants to know everything. Ever since building his first Geocities website back in the early ‘90s, he’s been obsessed with the internet and how he can leverage it to gather data that empowers better branding and marketing decisions.

From building the world’s first brand analytics platform to spending over a year wearing Google Glass and playing World of Warcraft (that’s in-game time, mind you), you can’t wash the geek off him—and he’s okay with that.

As a learning-obsessed St. Paul native, Josh wants to give a shout out to the St. Paul Public Library (George Latimer Central Library) for its stunning architecture and wealth of knowledge.

Theresa Kurth

Senior Account Executive

Even though Theresa insists that she’s from Le Mars, Iowa, and not the actual planet Mars, we’re still not sure. How else can you explain her phenomenally critical eye for detail, unworldly ability to adjust to changes on the fly and super-human strength to manage multiple projects at the same time—all with a smile and a laugh?

When she’s not analyzing data, developing strategy, reviewing creative or signaling the mothership, she claims to enjoy concerts, festivals, art galleries and sporting events. It’s why the Union Depot makes a perfect spot for her; she’s able to get to all these places while her spaceship is unavailable.

Iowa—yeah, right.

Anna Biljan

Account Executive

If Anna walked in the office juggling chainsaws… we aren’t sure anyone would be surprised—she’s already pretty well known for being able to juggle a mountain of work. Anna’s a wiz at helping SPOT clients with their marketing needs and helping them see their vision come to life.

Outside of work, she can be found with her head buried in a book or exploring downtown with a stop at a local dive bar, like the The Gopher Bar in Lowertown.

Patrick Garvey

Account Executive

Patrick thrives when he’s making connections. Whether introducing clients to solutions they never considered, or connecting the dots between project ideas, he uses his creativity to solve problems. Naturally, he’s an exceptional liaison between Spot and our clients. Patrick helps people to see things with a different perspective—a rare skill that makes a real impact.

Born and raised Minnesotan, Patrick insists that he doesn’t have the accent, but you might hear a bit of his northern twang when he’s enjoying a local brew at Tin Whiskers in Lowertown. He enjoys staying active by golfing, running, hiking, snowboarding and even boomerang…ing. This list is always growing, as Patrick takes pride in learning new skills on a regular basis. What’s more, he sees travel as an opportunity to open up new perceptions of reality. Trippy.

Kevin Roed

Account Executive

Kevin is a resourceful Account Executive with both agency and in-house marketing experience. He has the ability to make people feel comfortable, appreciated and heard in his conversations.These attributes make him an ideal fit for the Spot team, as he understands our clients’ needs and will go out of his way to find a solution, no matter the circumstances.

Outside of work, Kevin loves spending time in the garage with a wrench. In other areas of the home, Kevin’s handiness is obvious. His abode is in a perpetual state of remodeling, because the way he sees it, a project always has room for improvement. Fatherhood has turned Kevin’s life upside down, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He is in his element when spending
time outdoors with his kids.

Kelley Stafne

Creative Director

Kelley’s 20 years of experience working with Fortune 100 companies like 3M makes her a valuable member of our creative team. She specializes in elevating and evolving brands through her design work across a variety of print and digital platforms. While she’s used to the pressure of working on big-company brands, Kelley never passes up an opportunity to flex her creative muscles on smaller, local brands too, making her design skills strong.

Working with Kelley is definitely like a walk in the park—maybe that’s why she loves Mears Park so much, luckily it’s just outside our office window.

Brigitte Fox

Associate Creative Director

Brigitte is our Associate Creative Director, and her diverse list of skills is truly staggering. She picked up many of her talents in leading creative roles at packaging and marketing agencies, working with established brands like Best Buy and General Mills. But some of Brigitte’s other skills have less certain origins, like her ability to cook minute rice in 58 seconds, or her knack for choosing the perfectly ripe pineapple at the grocery store. It’s all incredibly inspirational.

Although she loathes flying, Brigitte has lived in four other countries, including Turkey, South Korea, Italy and Switzerland. If that’s not enough, she’s traveled to 59 others. When she’s not trotting the globe, Brigitte makes time for 4 AM runs. The peace and quiet of early morning helps her stay centered and take on the day. If her lively energy is any indication, it’s definitely working.

Angie Hoople

Senior Art Director

How do we get Angie’s creative juices flowing? Just add water. No really, she loves the outdoors and any water source she can immerse herself in—oceans, lakes, rivers, puddles, the occasional cocktail—you name it, it inspires her. It’s clearly how she adds a splash of the unexpected, a refreshing twist of originality and a tidal wave of creativity to every project she touches.

When she’s not developing amazing print, digital and video creative, you can find her and her son enthusiastically looking for puddles to jump in or exploring the Minnesota Children’s Museum.

Teri Springer

Senior Graphic Designer

Teri’s sense of humor and infectious positivity make her fun to work with. Her boundless creativity and eye for detail in her design work are a joy for our clients—and to the kids she mentors through ArtBuddies.

Teri has some interesting hobbies, and she has the tape to prove it. Literally. On VHS tape. When she’s not enjoying her collection of obscure James Spader movies and how-to videos, she can be found camping, playing with her two cats, or gardening. If you happen to bump into her at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market say “hello” at your own risk—she’s famous for long midwestern goodbyes.

Tara Sullivan

Graphic Designer

Tara’s passion for everything design makes her a valuable intern at SPOT. Her attention to detail and creativity is evident in both her work and flawless nail polish designs. She joins the team with a new graphic design degree from the University of Minnesota.

Tara’s love for design has led her to explore a variety of mediums within this field. You can often find her at a local coffee shop working on her latest animation, illustration or storyboard. Thankfully, the Black Dog Cafe is a close walk from our office for any brainstorming sessions or early morning coffee runs.

Mary Cooper

Production Artist

Mary brings corporate and agency experience as a talented Production Artist to Spot. Her versatile creativity is limitless, but she’s particularly adept at Photoshop, color correction and retouching work. Mary’s extensive career background includes client work for Target, General Mills, Best Buy and 3M. Organized, efficient and process-driven, she is obsessed with finding the most efficient way to enhance creative agency processes.

Mary brings incredible enthusiasm to the Spot team, and her upbeat approach to work and life is obvious. If there’s ever an awkward pause in a group conversation, Mary’s the type of person you want around to break the silence. When she’s not picking up the slack for the socially inept, you can find Mary riding her sportbike, downhill skiing in the winter, gardening in the summer and always spending time on the water.

Julian Williams

Post Production Supervisor

Much like his ability to grow facial hair, Julian’s imagination knows no bounds. It’s probably because he spent so much time as a child visiting the Omintheater at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

It’s also why he’s always exploring. Exploring new campsites. Exploring new recipes. Exploring ways to get his cat Cooper to stop walking on his kitchen counters. And exploring ways to make our clients’ videos look the best they can with a critical eye focused on every detail—color, pacing, motion, sound effects and more.

Laura Downs

Production Artist

Laura has a dozen years of packaging experience, and it’s clearly helped her to become the full package Production Artist. She’s a wiz with just about every design program, but Illustrator is her bread and butter. Keyboard shortcuts are fused into her muscle memory, so if you ever have a design in mind, Laura can make it happen in a GIF…err…jiff. Her eye for aesthetics is a sight to behold.

In her free time, Laura enjoys spending time outside—especially in a forest, garden or Rice Park right here in St. Paul. She finds plant life fascinating and could tell you everything there is to know about all sorts of flora. While gardening, Laura tends to attract all the woodland critters, whom she promptly befriends and names. Christopher the Chipmunk and Marvin the Muskrat can attest to Laura’s awesomeness.

Erik Lehrke

Production Artist

Erik’s creative industry skills are as impressive as his collection of vintage music posters—and that’s saying something. He’s a master in production, layout, trouble-shooting and workflow management. Need someone to polish your project? Talk to Erik. He’ll get it done with his technical expertise, Adobe Certification and talent for finding efficient time-saving solutions.

When Erik isn’t aiding the SPOT team, he’s catching up with the latest science podcast or YouTube channel, volunteering, or following one of his favorite radio stations—like The Current Although he loves listening to music, his ears are also always open to hear about your project’s needs.

Lisa Scales

Production Artist

Lisa’s production and design experience has given her both a creative eye and an eye for detail. No glasses needed—her skills are that sharp; whether it’s successfully getting files to print or helping keep our heads above the water with edits.

Born and raised in Minnesota, Lisa can often be found at the cabin swimming, boating and relaxing in the outdoors with her husband (and co-worker) Tory, two boys and dog Lewey. When her eyes aren’t on work, they are usually pouring over a recipe, an episode of Schitt’s Creek, or her next book. Which easily makes Subtext Books her favorite St. Paul spot.

Dana Kraft

Production Artist

If detail is your thing, then Dana is your guy. With over 20 years in marketing production, Dana brings extensive quality control to SPOT. You can ask him anything regarding prepress, printing standards or media development and he’ll have an answer. His scientific mind doesn’t miss a thing. The more complicated the project the happier he seems to be. Whether it’s a creative mailer, POP or custom package, there’s not a challenge he won’t take on.

The Minnesota Science Museum is a good place for big thinkers like Dana to visit…and, well, think! If you’re like-minded you might want to check out their current exhibits.

Erik Olson

Copywriter

A prolific doodler and veteran copywriter, Erik brings 20 years of writing experience as well as a background in design to the SPOT team. His talent for detail unites with his ability to see the whole picture, making him a crucial component to any project. His infectious smile and varied early morning music taste both bring a great energy to our office. Even our visiting office dogs know to go to him for the best treats.

When Erik isn’t poring over words, he can be found exploring downtown, often visiting the Fitzgerald Theater. Hmmm, what an important, classy, and… tall building? Does the Fitzgerald remind us of anyone we know?

Andrew Vanderiet

Copywriter

Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it’s what fuels our cool-cat copywriter, Andrew. He’s never met a rabbit hole he won’t go down, a website he won’t pore over or YouTube channel he won’t scour to find out as much as he can about the projects he’s working on. It’s how he always develops smart, in-depth and effective messaging for SPOT clients.

His curiosity doesn’t stop at the end of the workday, though. In his time off, Andrew can be found learning about different world cultures, finding new running trails, exploring different cities or trying to find fish tacos during a Saints game at CHS Field.

Tye Schulke

Video Producer

Meet Tye, our producer guy. Tye’s interests pull him in lots of different directions—like up north to canoe or hike, or over to the stadium to catch a Minnesota United soccer match, or downtown for a fancy meal at Meritage. But when it comes to producing videos, he’s laser focused on every detail. He utilizes his vast experience writing and producing award-winning TV series for national networks to help create outstanding videos for SPOT clients.

Kristine Bodenburg

Resource Manager

How does Kristine orchestrate the symphony of projects, deadlines, schedules, skill sets and personalities of the creative team at SPOT? Is it her decades of hectic restaurant management experience? Or maybe it’s her master’s degree in organizational leadership? Could be, but we think it’s because she has three kids under the age of seven—yikes. It must be how she can stay on top of meeting all our clients’ deadlines without breaking a sweat.

Amazingly, she still finds time to go to live concerts, bake yummy treats for her family, host backyard pool parties and follow her favorite professional football, baseball and hockey teams, including the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

Kate Voje

Accounting Specialist

Kate brings loads of experience and a sunny, helpful personality to the Spot team. As our Accounting Specialist, her passion for numbers shines. Kate’s previous role was at the College of Veterinary Medicine with the University of Minnesota’s HR department. A Minnesota native, Kate feels right at home at our St. Paul office.

Kate values new experiences, and she’s had plenty of memorable ones throughout her travels to nearly every state. She even had a 20-year stint living out west in Idaho and Washington. Back home, Kate enjoys gardening, tap dancing and camping. Need some home renovation tips? Kate has you covered. Over the last few years, she’s transformed her condo into a stunning space. If a home interior hides any potential, Kate’s sure to see it.