Genus: Creative

 Favorite book: The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard
 Favorite decadent food: Cheese. Any kind of cheese.
 Little known fact about my childhood: I sold organic vegetables in a wheelbarrow door-to-door in Northport, Long Island from my Dad’s garden. 
 Collaborator Since: Day 1 – 1997

As owner and creative director of The Rhizome Collaborative, Jen brings a unique perspective to the marketing arena as a designer with over 25 years of experience designing logos, print, signage and websites. Her work seamlessly integrates brand elements with photography, video and motion graphics, reflecting her conviction that design and communications are an art form as well as a business process.

Jen is also a certified user experience (UX) designer and well versed in Information Architecture.  Over the years she has worked with a number of non-profits, including land trusts, environmental organizations, firefighters, and arts programs. She’s also designed websites for government, public libraries and other civic organizations.

Other work from her eclectic past includes work for Columbia TriStar, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, New Line Cinema, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and The Metropolitan Opera House in NYC.

Originally from New York, Jen earned her BFA with Honors in sculpture from the School of Visual Arts in NYC. She and her husband Bob have built their house and studio themselves on 7.5 acres of certified forest stewardship land on lovely Whidbey Island. She’s also really good at operating a front-end loader and excavator, should the need arise.

Software & Applications:
MS Office 360, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Audition, Premiere, After Effects), Airtable, Figma, Miro, Canva

Web Platforms & Frameworks:
WordPress, Drupal 8-9 

Specialties: Web UX/UI, information architecture, wireframes, design, facilitation infographics, timelines, motion graphics, interactive content creation, map design, video, brand/style guides

Honors and Awards
Over 24 design awards and commendations.

Certification: OWMBE, UX Design-School of Visual Concepts

 Favorite book: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
 Favorite decadent food: A Seasonal Fruit Pastry from Coyle’s Bakeshop in Seattle
 Little known fact about my childhood: I dedicated my spring break in 5th grade to solving a super complex logic puzzle. My bedroom was filled with index cards and handwritten spreadsheets.
 Collaborator Since: 2020

Patty O’Hara has a masters degree in Human Centered Design and Engineering and over 10 years experience building and managing web sites and web-based applications. Clients have ranged from small businesses to large corporations like Washington Mutual and Microsoft, roles have ranged from Content Manager to User Experience Manager to Front-end Developer.

Having spent many years managing and consulting on intranet sites she has a deep understanding of the complexities of managing large volumes of content. With deep focus on the user, she aims to build web sites that are easy-to-navigate as they are to manage.

When not coding, Patty spends her time learning and creating new things. Her current projects include learning to play the accordion.

Skills:
Google Analytics, Looker Studio, Google Ads, Bing Webmaster Tools, SEM Rush, Meltwater, Synthesio, PowerBI, Majestic, Ahrefs, HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, SQL, React.js, jQuery

Specialties: Web UI/UX, WordPress,  Content Management, User Generated Content, Membership Sites, Maps, Accessibility, Strategic Planning, Requirements & Solutions Definition

Web Integrations: Salesforce, Mailchimp, Google Places, Mapbox, Leaflet, Google Tag Manager, Square, Stripe, AirNow

Software & Applications: VSCode, Sketch, Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign),

 Favorite book: A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
 Favorite decadent food: Tiramisu
 Little known fact about my childhood: My grandma owns a Dairy Queen, and I started working there when I was 12
 Collaborator Since: 2020

Megan has been working in digital marketing and website design since the early days of the internet- back when she stumbled into making Angelfire fan websites and never managed to pull herself back out. For the last ten years she’s only dug deeper into the digital realm, and specializes in SEO and marketing consultation for brands of all sizes.

She loves complex challenges and problems, from working with the United Nations, MSKCC, and Funko to consolidate and harmonize their web presence to helping small local bakeries and plumbing companies develop digital strategies that work for them. She’s worn many hats during that time, from extensive WordPress and website development to SEO technical audits and data analysis.

Megan has been creating stories and helping to organize events for as long as she can remember. She comes from a long line of nerds, event planners, prop makers, and storytellers and likes playing with fire and heights considerably more than is reasonable or safe- and can usually be found working on extravagant contraptions or crafting interactive stories when not at her computer.

Skills: HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, SQL, React.js, jQuery, NoSQL, React Native

Specialties: Information architecture, accessibility, security, search engine optimization, social media marketing, social listening, keyword and audience research, website migrations

Software & Applications: Google Analytics, Looker Studio, Google Ads, Bing Webmaster Tools, SEM Rush, Meltwater, Synthesio, PowerBI, Majestic, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, Yoast, Salesforce, and many more

Web Platforms & Frameworks: WordPress, Sharepoint, Hubspot, Squarespace

 Favorite book: The Coldwater Haunting by Michael Richan
 Favorite decadent food: Pasties from Bucket Bites, Astoria, Oregon
 Little known fact about my childhood: In the fourth grade, I tried to stage a production of Pink Floyd’s The Wall using Kleenex boxes wrapped with white paper as bricks.
 Collaborator Since: 2012

With over 30 years of experience in graphic design, prepress and print management, Kym is The Rhizome Collaborative’s senior production designer for print and web. He possesses an extensive knowledge of design and printing processes, a keen eye for detail and a passion for collecting music. Hailing from his native Hawai‘i, he now calls Washington State home.

 Favorite book:  Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman 
 Favorite decadent food: Dark chocolate
 Little known fact about my childhood: As a teenager I worked in a steel mill in Cleveland, Ohio. I was the brakeman on the train that hauled enormous concrete vats of molten steel out of the blast furnace. It was an insanely dangerous job, but it paid well!
 Collaborator Since: 2021

Cliff has worked at the intersection of publishing and digital technology for over 25 years, first as a technical writer and interactive publishing designer, and later in a variety of product development, evangelism, strategic planning, and business development positions. Cliff has held senior positions at industry leading companies such as Apple, Quebecor, and Microsoft.

At Microsoft, Cliff managed the Encarta Reference Productivity Products group where he led the teams responsible for Microsoft Small Business Planner, the Encarta World English Dictionary, and Encarta Interactive English Learning. He also helped launch, and managed the Microsoft Reader eBook platform, the industry’s first large scale e-reading initiative launched in partnership with Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.

Among Cliff’s notable recent accomplishments is the creation and launch of The Panorama Project—a cross publishing industry initiative focused on understanding the impact of public libraries on title and author discovery, and retail sales.

Cliff holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing from Columbia University in New York, New York.

 Favorite book: Eternal Echoes by John O’Donohue
 Favorite decadent food: Chocolate torte with raspberry sauce
 Little known fact about my childhood: Rather than setting up a lemonade stand as a kid, Chris conscripted her brother to write and illustrate a collection of stories together as their first entrepreneurial venture. They set up a Bookstand in the front yard, where an enthusiastic buyer took the entire lot for $5 with the encouragement to “keep on writing, you two!”
 Collaborator Since: 2025

Since 2020, Christina has served as a freelance writer, coach, fractional executive and professional trainer. Prior to this, she spent more than two decades in nonprofit and public sector leadership roles. Her tour of duty included serving as Executive Director for Edmonds College Foundation and Rosehedge AIDS Housing & Healthcare, as well as senior management positions with Conservation Northwest and Jefferson Land Trust.

Of all the hats she’s worn, working with words is Christina’s first and most enduring love. As a writer, her particular gift is in finding the story inside the data, and translating complex concepts and ideas to “street level.”

Specialties: Copywriting and editing; brand voice and thought leadership; strategic planning and visioning processes; capital campaigns; sales and marketing; website copy; social media content and SEO optimization.

Christina holds a Bachelor of Art in English Literature and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Washington. She is also credentialed as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation.

 Favorite book: Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets
 Favorite decadent food: Super White Tuna Sashimi
 Little known fact about my childhood: I grew up on StarTrek NextGen and Marty Stouffer nature documentaries
 Collaborator Since: 2024

As Rhizome’s Strategic Operations Officer, Shannon Bean-Scalise brings a wealth of expertise to the table. With a background in digital bookkeeping and financial clarity, Shannon is adept at navigating the complexities of data organization and project management. Her certifications as a QuickBooks Online Advanced Certified ProAdvisor and Agile Scrum Master testify to her proficiency in these domains. Shannon’s vision aligns with Rhizome’s mission, focusing on fostering mentorships, community engagement, and promoting ecological and financial literacy. In her multifaceted role, Shannon drives operational excellence and strategic in

Certifications:
Scrum Master and QuickBooks Specialist 

Specialties:
Agile Methodologies, QuickBooks, Business Strategy, Budgeting, Finance

 Favorite book: 1491 by Charles C. Mann
 Favorite decadent food: Italian food
 Little known fact about my childhood: I planted a maple tree from seed when I was 4 years old at the house I grew up in that is still standing today
 Collaborator Since: 2017

Ted has worked on an amazing variety of video and photo projects over the course of 18 years: from leading a Telly Award-winning small business news series for MSN, to covering events such as U2’s PopMart tour, the Cannes Film Festival, the Academy Awards and auto industry events like the Detroit Auto Show and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Equally adept behind the camera or at an editing station, he brings a modern creative sensibility to the craft of storytelling through the visual medium. Current clients include Microsoft, Amazon, Centigrade (Lamborghini), Seattle Children’s Hospital, Columbia Bank, Up Late Northwest TV and Conservation Northwest.

His latest documentary work is called Cascade Crossroads for which he’s won numerous awards. The work chronicles the amazing story of seemingly opposite interests joining forces to restore a critical wildlife corridor while improving Washington State’s vital transportation corridor over the Cascade Mountains.

Additionally, his 3D fine art photography has been exhibited at Sea-Tac International Airport, Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts and The Annenberg Space for Photography, where he has lectured on his artwork.

 Favorite book: Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi
 Favorite decadent food: Cheese. The runnier and smellier the better
 Little known fact about my childhood: I skied the Giant Slalom on the Melbourne University ski team at an inter-varsity ski competition in New Zealand
 Collaborator Since: 2011

Lisa is a sought-after communications professional who is as comfortable advising c-suite executives as mentoring promising entrepreneurs and start-ups.

She’s worked on everything from boat shows to wine to industrial gears to fine jewelry and family foundations. She brings that valuable outside perspective to every engagement. She excels at getting to the heart of your story and telling it in the right way to the right people and right places for your business or organization.

Prior to founding Samuelson Communications, Lisa was a vice president at Parker LePla, a Seattle-based nationally recognized brand strategy firm. There she was also a contributing author to a highly regarded book on branding and leadership, Brand Driven: The Route To Integrated Branding Through Great Leadership.

She holds a BA with honors from the University of Melbourne, Australia and has studied marketing at UC San Diego and public relations at the University of Washington.

Lisa speaks rusty French and Italian, but fluent Australian. A lifelong foodie (yes, you can be a foodie AND eat Vegemite), and travel junkie, Lisa’s favorite memories involve meals, beverages, restaurant experiences and adventures in exotic locations.