Kevin
Chan

VP Technology / Code-aholic

Kevin’s DNA seems to be able to translate caffeine into code. As a Senior Engineer and Mac aficionado Kevin brings a passion for cutting edge information technology and new media to every project he touches. He also understands great design and is intimate with back-end servers.

Kevin's unique balance of technical and design skills, and his involvement in front-end consultation help to ensure that the platforms for our designs are user friendly and brilliantly executed. If you can think it, Kevin can program it into reality. We’ve yet to hear him say “it can’t be done.”

Having co-founded the creatively acclaimed, full-service new media company fix8 in 2002, Kevin is no stranger to success. His notable projects include design and programming for the YMCA, Vancouver Queer Film Festival, and Vancouver Olympics, to name a few. His design experience includes: product packaging, posters, billboards, newspaper advertisements, draw coupons, carrying bags, mini flags, plus other forms of mass media promotions. The strength of Kevin’s campaigns comes from his ability to define clear intentions and carry these through into every detail.

His academic background is equally impressive. It includes Biochemistry and Computer Science at the University of British Columbia; Computer Programming at the CDI of Business and Technology (where he and Dave Shortt first met and collaborated) and recently, Professional Video Editing, which was also offered through the UBC campus.

Born in China, raised in Hong Kong and schooled in both Australia and Canada, Kevin has seen his fair share of the world. But from the moment he arrived in the beautiful city of Vancouver, in 1998, Kevin fell hopelessly in love. In short order, he planted roots, started a business and became an important part of the design community. But he still finds time to cut loose. Away from work, Kevin’s world consists of shopping, eating, playing with his dog Coco, shopping and then shopping some more. Hey, at least he’s consistent.

Giulio
Gratta

Programmer-Engineer / Drupal Dynamist

The son of a physics professor and a physics-trained art teacher, Giulio brings a background in product design, engineering and web design to his role as Programmer-Engineer. Proficient in the languages of the web (PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, Javascript) Giulio also has deep experience with the Drupal CMS and technology frameworks like JQuery, DOM Scripting and AJAX methodologies.

But Giulio Gratta is more than his technical training and awesomely alliterative given name. A Stanford graduate and true Renaissance man, Giulio has gifted B’stro with his wide range of talents, interests, and pursuits.

The quadrilingual Giulio (Italian, French, German and English) doesn’t just build websites and software. During his engineering studies at Stanford and in his own time, Giulio has concepted such items as a folding mahogany, maple and brass music stand and an ergonomic whisk. A sometime professional photographer and enthusiastic amateur chef, Giulio Gratta is a well-rounded thinker and a welcome addition to the B’stro team.

Monique
Trottier

Internet Marketing Strategist / Social Networker

Monique (pronounced Mo-nick like the good French Canadian she is) Trottier is an entrepreneur at heart, which means she’s ideally suited to understanding her clients’ business needs. She has several start-ups under her belt including an online marketing consultancy called Boxcar Marketing.

Monique brings to B’stro an enthusiasm for online marketing and promotions. She’s experienced at bridging social interactions on the web with offline conversation, and she’s adept at helping companies understand and respond to how their products or services are represented online.

An expert in internet marketing and social media, Monique is the force behind the online promotional campaigns for the Harry Potter books, as well as the queen of several online marketing initiatives that placed publisher Raincoast Books at the forefront of the Canadian publishing industry in terms of technology use: Raincoast was the first Canadian publisher to start a literary podcast series and the first to blog; internationally they were among the top 5 publishers to implement new media strategies.

Monique’s online expertise spans blogging, podcasting, web design, email newsletters, search marketing (PPC and SEO), online media relations, and writing for the web. Her experience delivering leading web projects includes the development of the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association website; the launch of VacantReady, an insider’s blog for hoteliers; and the creation of a social media and story-sharing site for Fraser Salmon & Watersheds Program, ThinkSalmon.com.

Because she doesn’t have enough to do, Monique also runs online marketing seminars for business folks who want to be more web savvy, she writes a popular online newsletter Underwire: Full support for non-techies, and she is a favorite guest on Tech TV where she preaches the gospel of search engine marketing and effective e-newsletters.

Monique is a creative generalist with strong ties to the technology and media industry. She’s a strategic operative with a great feel for what works. And she delivers over and over again.

Monique has a Masters in Publishing, with a focus in new media, from Simon Fraser University and a Masters in English from the University of Manitoba.

She can be found online at SoMisguided.com, which is her personal blog on technology, marketing and the publishing industry, or on her marketing blog, http://www.BoxcarMarketing.com/blog.

Michelle
Guerrero

Office Manager / Deadline Diva

Our mistress of multi-tasking spent her early childhood in Alaska, then moved to California’s Central Valley and finally settled in Northern California seven years ago.

Michelle has spent a lifetime mastering the organizational arts. She managed to raise three beautiful kids, hold down a full-time job and graduate on the Dean’s Honor List with degrees in Industrial Arts and Graphic Communication. With that kind of maturity and calm, co-ordinating B’stro’s projects probably seems like child’s play.

Michelle has spent time as a production artist and computer consultant so she is intimately familiar with all the standard design programs. If there is something she doesn’t know, she finds the right person to ask or simply cracks open the manual. In the face of looming deadlines, Michelle operates completely in “hands on” mode — she has been known to prepare final artwork, fly down the batpole and race through the city to the nearest FedEx. Whatever it takes, she makes sure projects are finished before she calls it a day.

Antonio
Rusevski

Creative Director / Design Ninja

Antonio Rusevski grew up in the Republic of Macedonia, a landlocked country in southeastern Europe, bordered by Serbia to the north, Albania to the west, Greece to the south, and Bulgaria to the east. So it’s no surprise that he brings a phenomenal range of cultural influences to his work.

Antonio is that highly prized unicorn of the marketing world — he’s both a prolific producer of advertising ideas and an exceptionally skilled designer. His eloquent typography inspired a generation of young designers when it was featured in Type Rules! 2 — a book that world-renowned type designers and educators have proclaimed “a must-have” for students and professionals alike” and “a book that will prove its value time and again.”

Anters also enjoys a reputation as somewhat of a human type library. His knowledge of type history is encyclopedic; he can identify type style at a glance (be it humanist, constructivist or Bauhaus); and his visual memory is virtually eidetic, allowing him to design in a given style without the need for reference materials.

Antonio’s career began in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, where he created posters, book covers, and package designs for Koma Studios. Equipped with natural talent and a true passion for the genre, Antonio shot rapidly through the ranks, and was appointed the Art Director responsible for conceiving/creating covers and page layouts for two different weeklies. It was a high-profile role and his success brought Anters numerous design projects for well-known Macedonian pop-bands.

Initially self-taught, Antonio’s ambition led him to search out the wide-open potential of California. He began formal design studies at the City College of San Francisco and earned degrees in graphic design and production. As soon as B’stro started building out the design team, we called dibs on this international design genius. Since then, he has been involved with almost every significant project B’stro has produced, thrilling clients with his elegant conceptual solutions, original designs, and lightning-fast execution.

Ann
Holland

Director of Account Services / Left Brain

Ann Holland brings 14+ years of marketing experience to the B’stro team. Ann spent the past nine years in director-level positions throughout Silicon Valley spearheading numerous product launches and establishing entirely new categories. Ann was an integral part of the marketing team that introduced the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) to the world in 1998, and later directed the launch of a line of market-leading MP3 players that turned on digital music fans years before the iPod.

Her years of client-side experience have given Ann an appreciation for great agency relationships. A successful communicator and master organizer, Ann takes pride in keeping creative projects focused and on target.

Although she’s a fifth-generation Californian who’s lived in Los Gatos since the disco era, her travels have taken her to 23 countries around the world - an accomplishment that merits nods of approval from the multi-cultural B’stro team. Ann graduated magna cum laude from UC Santa Barbara.

Sharon
Kerr

Account Director / Chief Cook & Bottle Washer

Sharon is B’stro’s efficiency queen. She manages the production and delivery of all projects to clients, vendors and publications, making sure nothing slips or incurs excessive charges.

Sharon is a skilled designer and programmer who knows The Possible, and then finds the shortest route to get there. She deftly solves creative and technical problems, and thinks paces ahead of most other producers. Having spent several years working in the print industry, as well as managing the production department at Curve Magazine, she has a rich knowledge of paper, pre-press and project workflow processes.

Sharon has a BS Honors degree in Business Studies from Swansea University in Wales, and leaps tall buildings in a single bound.

Jill
Tracy

President & Chief Creative Officer / Rainmaker and Head Baker

Jill is a champion of ideas, building B’stro to be a place where talented, engaged people come together to share strategies, thoughts and stories. Since she started the agency in 2004, B’stro has become known for developing engaging campaigns that create deeper connections between people and businesses.

Prior to founding B’stro, Jill developed brands, marketing communications and campaigns for Silicon Valley startups and Fortune 500 corporations. Her 21 years of marketing experience has helped her develop a keen understanding of business objectives: Jill has been the client. She recognizes what is expected of agency partners and manages B’stro to exceed those expectations.

B’stro, a market leader in Vancouver and San Francisco, has designed and successfully executed original campaigns for a roster of clients that includes global consumer brands, leading educational and health institutions, and innovative non-profit, arts and cultural organizations.

Jill holds a BA in public relations from the University of South Carolina and an MFA in Graphic Design from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She lives in Vancouver with her wife, University of British Columbia professor Jess Tracy, and their daughter.

Paul
Sheldrake

Developer / Wordpress Wizard

As a developer, Paul spends his time walking a fine line between artistic and downright nerdy. But when asked with which descriptor he self-identifies more, the answer comes without a pause: Paul Sheldrake is an unabashed nerd.

Luckily, at the B’stro we love nerds—particularly that special brand of nerd only found amongst those born and bred in British Columbia. Because it’s that kind of up-north nerdiness that motivates one to take on a project like the restoration of the Silver Ann, the last wooden fishing boat to be constructed by Britanna Shipyard in 1969. If it weren’t for the volunteer effort of arty BC nerds like Paul, that ship wouldn’t now sit proudly restored and shining on the docks in Richmond, BC.

Given his proficiency with hard-core nautical wood shaping tools, its difficult to pinpoint to what degree Paul can legitimately proclaim his nerdiness—after all, his Elven is decidedly meager. But, fortunately for his geek cred, Paul’s fluency in Actionscript 3, XHTML, MySQL, Drypal, CSS and PHP are beyond question. Factor in a Bachelor of Science degree in Interactive Arts from BC’s own Simon Fraser University, and it’s no surprise why we’re so happy to count this talented developer as part of the B’stro team.

Nan
Maung

Marketing Coordinator / Social Savant

Born in Burma, Nan spent her early childhood in the United Kingdom before finally moving to Canada with her family in 1992. From a very young age, Nan has been blessed with the gift of gab and soon developed an immense interest in public relations. This led her to pursue a degree in Communications at Simon Fraser University where she also developed a passion for online marketing and social media.

As Marketing Coordinator, Nan is a bubble of energy that keeps the wheels turning at B’stro providing support for all projects and tasks. She has gained extensive experience in account management with work on projects such as Predictive Testing for HD, IAMRICHMOND, YWCA, and Bard on the Beach. Nan also plays a key role in covering any administrative tasks, providing CMS and web application training for clients and making sure that everything is Zen in B’stro Vancouver. 

In her free time, Nan utilizes her energy playing volleyball, training for half marathons and practicing Bikram’s yoga.

 

Mary
Puls

EVP Managing Director / The Whole Package

To put it mildly, Mary Puls’ resume packs a punch. Over her 20+ year career in integrated marketing, our EVP/Managing Director has worked on promotions for everything from Nestle Crunch and Coffee-mate to Hallmark Cards and Compaq.

Not one to limit her expertise, Mary’s marketing experience also includes a powerful gaming element. Before joining B’stro, Mary served as a partner at Other Ocean M, a San Francisco-based agency that provided brands with mobile applications built on gaming principles. Under Mary’s supervision, the agency drove consumer interaction through ongoing brand conversations—including the development of the first ever app for Vogue Magazine.

But that’s not all. Prior to her time at Other Ocean M, Mary held the title of EVP/Managing Director at Publicis Modem & Dialog Los Angeles. There, she was responsible for leading the agency team in the development of strategy and creative for a wide range of integrated marketing solutions, including offline and online promotions, events and sponsorships, entertainment partnerships, direct/CRM marketing, merchandising, premiums and gaming. During this time, Mary implemented promotional marketing programs for a wide portfolio of brands, including Nesquik, Juicy Juice, Wonka, Mighty Dog, Safeway private label, Auto Club and Fleetwood Homes.

Mary began her marketing career at Frankel & Company in Chicago. During this time, she led efforts to launch the Happy Meal system-wide in McDonald’s restaurants. In fact, Mary’s years at Frankel & Company were spent developing promotions of all sorts: such as contests, sweepstakes, sponsorships and local marketing programs household brands like Hallmark Cards, Kodak, Kraft, Dial Corporation and Compaq Computers.

Mary has her Bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from Benedictine University. 

Lauren
O'Donovan

Usability Engineer and Web Developer / Usability Lass

Lauren is a computer scientist focused on understanding and improving interaction between humans and computers. She holds first class honours for her Masters thesis where she designed, developed, and tested a virtual tool to improve the usability of the web for blind computer users.

Lauren also has extensive research experience from working with the European Union to develop resources to teach HCI theory, Usability Engineering, User Interaction Design, and Accessible Web Design techniques. In this era of information overload, Lauren is fascinated by the art of Information Architecture, and takes every opportunity to apply her knowledge and skills to organize digital life.

From the tender age of thirteen, Lauren’s passion for web blossomed when she created her first website through basic html on dial-up. Despite howls from her parents on the constantly unavailable phone line, Lauren’s fascination with computers and psychology of how people use them only grew stronger.

Although Lauren is fluent in all the major web programming languages (and some minor ones too), her talents stretch beyond the conundrums of script and code. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Philosophy and a Master of Science degree in Interactive Media from University College Cork, Ireland. 

Lauren is well aware that classifying her as a nerd is a serious understatement. While not playing computer games or tending to her balcony garden, you can find her nose-deep in a good book or on her snowboard, carving through British Columbia’s finest powder.

Katie
Rottner

Associate Creative Director / Shameless Self-Promoter

When Katie rolled up to the B’stro in her ’98 Dodge Stratus — complete with a custom ”Katie is Amazing“ bumper sticker — we knew we had found a writer who knew how to get her message across. We took her at her word (and her solid portfolio) and invited Katie to join the team as our newest copywriter. She soon climbed the ranks to become Associate Creative Director.

After graduating as a Regent’s Scholar with a double English and Spanish degree from UC Santa Barbara, Katie initially planned on a career as an educator. Katie spent over two years as an English instructor, imparting the finer points of English grammar and literature to students in Santa Barbara, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Valladolid, Spain. Though each classroom was different, one aspect of her teaching style remained constant. Katie was determined to inject life and energy into each lesson.

When faced with the challenge of leading disinterested Santa Barbara freshmen in lessons on Great Expectations, Katie created a stick figure comic book study guide for the story. As an English instructor in Valladolid, Spain, Katie created over a hundred separate lesson plans, including a number of engaging games and innovative activities.

After finding the selfless nature of a teaching career less than ideally suited to her lifestyle, Katie left the educational sphere in 2007 and returned stateside to join the Silicon Valley start-up scene. As a writer for an online reputation-focused PR start-up, Katie learned the ins and outs of Web 2.0 while honing her marketing and project management skills. Searching for a position where she could put her creative, technical, and literary skills to the test, Katie landed happily at B’stro in February 2009.

Enzo
Santos

Developer-Designer / Cheered Up Emo Kid

When he first interviewed at B’stro, Enzo Santos’ design portfolio made us laugh. In a good way. In such a good way, in fact, that we hired him.

Enzo Santos is a talented designer with a wild imagination and a cunning sense of humor. He is a creative torn by two loves—a passion for drawing and design, and an infatuation with programming and development. Fortunately, Enzo seems to have worked out some sort of a system for these two loves to coexist peacefully. We’re not sure how he does it, but it’s a duality that works out great for us. 

Born in the Phillipines and raised in Taiwan, Enzo bounced around several different cities in North America before settling in Vancouver. Enzo followed his creative calling to the Art Institute of Vancouver, where he completed the Web Design and Interactive Media program. 

In addition to his role as B’stro’s newest designer, Enzo Santos is the creative force behind CheerUpEmoKid.net, a satirical and decidedly NSFW web comic about life, love and loss.

Ben
Flores

Interactive Designer / Mobile Master

Monochromatic as his wardrobe may be, Ben Flores is a man of complexity. His clothes are mostly black, it’s true. Look closely, however, and you’ll find that each carefully chosen tog is of a unique texture and material. In the same way, it would be a mistake to take Ben’s job description (“Interactive Designer”) at face value—a deeper dive into his skill set reveals much, much more.

Take his mobile skills, for example. Ben has singlehandedly conceptualized and developed several impressive mobile apps for design-conscious clients in the tech and fashion fields. And though an expertise in mobile design and development might be enough for some, Ben’s interactive knowledge doesn’t end there.

Ben first became interested in design while attending the noted multimedia program at Downey High School—which, coincidentally, was the same high school George Lucas graduated from. (We’re not saying that attendance at Downey automatically qualifies one as an innovator in the realm of advanced technology…but we’re not not saying that either.)

Since high school, Ben has amassed an impressive list of digital capabilities. His design skills include mastery of Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark and InDesign. At the same time, Ben’s web and authoring skills include such programs as XCode, Interface Builder, Flash and Wordpress.

By the time he finished attending the Academy of Art University’s New Media program, Ben had added some serious script language skills to his resume (HTML 5, CSS 3, AJAX, DOM and PHP—to name a few). Toss in a mastery of Final Cut Pro and After Effects to that list of skills, and you’ve got a designer whose talents are anything but one-dimensional.

Nick
Washburn

Content Strategist / Rhythmic Wordsmith

Nick Washburn is a copywriter who knows how to get his message heard. Usually by writing it, but occasionally by yelling it through a microphone over drums and guitar. Drawing on his background as a musician and fiction writer, he bridges his passion for fluid, descriptive prose with a songwriter’s respect for rhythmic, energetic and economical language.

Nick made his way to B’stro in 2010, starting as a copywriter and proofreader. In copywriting, he brings fresh ideas and attention-grabbing copy to every project he works on, making sure to capture the spirit and voice of a brand. And as a proofreader, he uses his deep knowledge of grammar and style to nab any and all typos, no matter how small.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Nick is the kind of guy who can spend a full workday writing copy, walk home, turn on his computer, and write even more. Ever since completing his first thirty-five-page “novel” in middle school (a sci-fi epic about futuristic hover-bikes and the lasers that shoot at them), he has been driven by a relentless need to create through writing.

After graduating high school, Nick traversed the country as a songwriter and guitarist, playing in bands from Oakland, California to Portland, Oregon to Richmond, Virginia. As a songwriter he learned how to get a message across to an audience simply and directly: a skill that would later serve him well as a copywriter.

He was eventually lured back to San Francisco, where he enrolled at San Francisco State University, honing his craft as a Creative Writing major. Soon after returning to the City, Nick found success in both writing and music, with a short story published in the literary journal Thoughtsmith, and numerous headlining shows across San Francisco with his latest band, New Coyote. When not writing, Nick spends his free time biking, building furniture, playing with his band, opening doors for two angry cats and, of course, writing.

Brooke
Francesi

Designer-Illustrator / Type Junkie

For Brooke Francesi, typography, illustrations and grids aren’t just part of her job—they’re a way of life. Toss in her deep understanding of marketing strategy, and you’ve got a designer who knows how to make her designs stand above the rest.

Brooke, a Kansas native, left the Midwest behind with some great experience and a thirst for new ideas. With a unique illustration style and a passion for pushing the limits of typography, her work is consistently innovative, exciting and creative. One of Brooke’s main goals in life is to make the world see letters like she does. Her other goal: taking over the world.

She began her quest for world domination in 2007, leaving Indiana University with a design degree in hand, and joining the staff of Fort Wayne’s Aptera Software. There, through great design work and forward-thinking strategy, she rose from design intern to web marketing team lead in just two years. In 2011 she crossed the country to pursue her career in San Francisco, joining B’stro’s design team, her first job in California.

When finally taking a break from design, Brooke can be found experimenting with new types of cuisine and exploring her new home. And with the fantastic design work she’s contributing here at B’stro, we are definitely glad that she’s not in Kansas anymore.

Lise
Rubarth

Program Director / Champion in Charge

Lise Rubarth is a champion—literally. It’s true that Lise has played on two different national championship teams in two different sports (softball and rugby). However, she’s earned her champion status twice over with the innovation, expertise and dedication she has exemplified throughout her career.

Over the course of Lise’s 20+ year professional history, she has built a substantial background in web, interactive and video production, agile software application development, print production, and process management. At the same time, she has consistently demonstrated her ability to bring together diverse multi-functional teams in the creation of rich and compelling interactive projects. In her current role as Program Director at B’stro, Lise applies her knowledge of agile methodologies to all our in-house processes. On a daily basis, Lise utilizes her expertise in technology, media, and complex information systems to streamline everything we do as an agency.

Prior to joining B’stro, Lise improved processes for Ribbit, the Silicon Valley subsidiary of British Telecom. As Program Manager at Ribbit, Lise managed development projects and teams in Brazil, India and the UK to deliver the VOIP platform and associated web applications. 

Earlier in her career, Lise found success in a market that aligned perfectly with her passion for sports. As Senior Project Manager for Mediazone.com, Lise managed interactive website projects, as well as live event and on-demand streaming video around the globe. In this role, Lise managed streaming video for NBC events that included the Rugby World Cup, the New York Marathon, and Wimbledon (a feat that included live video streamed from six courts). As part of this role, Lise managed requirements, schedule and performance of all component projects, while working to ensure the ultimate success of each project through dedicated tracking, monitoring and reporting processes.

In the early years of her career, Lise’s dual passion for sports and technology took her to two separate Olympic Games. The year 2000 found Lise in Sydney as Production Director/Senior Producer at Quokka Sports, helping to create and operate the first ever NBCOlympics.com. Working on the ground Down Under, Lise was responsible for capturing and transmitting multiple live feeds from 231 live events in 16 days, creating an international system of distribution that told the story of the Games through NBC’s Olympic website. In her work for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Lise was responsible for the production and management of all sporting event information. In those days, that meant managing the content of interactive kiosks and CD-ROMs, as well as online content, editorial direction and event coverage for the official Olympic website.

In her free time, Lise enjoys photography, Egyptology, and reading up on the latest in technology.

Heather
Norvall

Designer / Motion Maven

Designers generally tend to be pretty passionate about their job. But there’s passionate, and then there’s Heather. Approaching all of her work with endless, Red Bull-powered energy and enthusiasm, Heather offers an ever-increasing range of talents, fueled by a relentless need to, in her words, “Learn how to do everything.” And she’s definitely on her way. In addition to being an exceptionally talented designer, Heather’s resume boasts expertise in CSS, HTML and PHP coding, as well as motion graphics and 3D modeling.

Heather was brought to San Francisco and the world of design in a somewhat unusual way — she pretty much just wanted to see downtown. Whenever her family would travel from her hometown of Woodbridge, CA to the City, her parents would bring her to tourist spots like Golden Gate Park or Fisherman’s Wharf. Not that those aren’t nice places, but she always knew where she really wanted to be. So instead of just taking the train to get there, Heather competed to earn her place in the graphic design program at downtown SF’s Academy of Art University. Once there, she built up a pretty serious skill-set, developing a deep understanding of web and print design, typography, motion graphics, 3D modeling, video editing, CSS, PHP and HTML.

Her passion for design started even earlier, although Heather didn’t realize it at the time. Drawn from an early age to the art behind advertising, Heather was designing her own typefaces before she even knew there was a name for what she was doing. A high school graphic design class solidified her destiny, and after graduating from the Academy of Art and honing her skills as a freelance designer, she arrived at B’stro.

In her free time, Heather can be found watching movies at the Castro Theater, tracking down vintage copies of J.D. Salinger books, and defending her title as winner of the most PlayStation 3 game trophies in the office. And, of course, learning how to do everything.

Lisa
Schaffer

Director of Client Services / People Person

Go-to client relations gal and all-around rock star account manager, Lisa Schaffer is a people person in the first degree. With a remarkable record of achievement in strategic relationship building, sales, business development, and public relations, Lisa provides clients with the benefits of her personable demeanor and experienced business pedigree. Lisa’s background has taught her firsthand the importance of branding and marketing as a business builder, making her uniquely suited to tell our clients’ stories in new and innovative ways.

After studying at the University of British Columbia, Lisa made her foray into the professional world in a Venti way at Starbucks. She spent 15 years with the coffee purveyor, progressing through a variety of positions from in-store operations to human resources culminating in her experience as a Territory Manager for outside sales. Throughout her career with Starbucks, Lisa found herself drawn to the business development division—and as she grew up the ranks, she was able to distinguish herself in the foodservice industry, where she directed over 120 foodservice accounts, building successful relationships for the Starbucks Coffee, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Tazo Tea brands.

Lisa has also brought her strategic relationship building skills to non-profits and business leaders in Vancouver. As Community Relations Liaison for Richmond Multicultural Community Services (RMCS), Lisa used her exceptional written and oral communication skills to engage the business community with the work of the RMCS. Building on this community engagement experience Lisa joined Lonsdale Event Rentals as Director of Sales. Developing strategic sponsorships agreements, marketing initiatives and trade show presentations Lisa ensured retention and full penetration of sales in her accounts. Before joining B’stro, Lisa oversaw strategic public relations programs as VP/Account Director for Nixey Communications. In this role, Lisa managed multiple accounts with a specialty in arts and culture and green economy clients. Her work with the Vancouver Queer Film Festival garnered unprecedented international and local media coverage equating to millions of dollars in PR value year over year.

Lisa has a passion for connecting people and building community and volunteers her time and talent to serve as Board Chair for The Vancouver Friends for Life Society an inspiring non-profit that offers holistic and alternate therapy for people with life threatening illnesses.

Bruno
De Bondt

Senior Drupal Developer / Drupal Muscles from Brussels

Whether it’s back-end coding or literary script, Bruno De Bondt is a a writer who truly inspires. His Drupal code reads like prose—while his journalism speaks volumes without excess. Want proof? Bruno’s expertise with language, both written and numerical, have established him as someone who is literally writing the book on Drupal 7. (Nerd alert: The book is published by O’Reilly, the leading publisher in the technical world of OSS, or open-source software). (insert geeky author name here), make room.

Bruno (or “the Drupal muscles from Brussels” as he’s known around the office) studied international and Internet journalism in his native Belgium. However, his fascination with open source software led him to take on technical writing and website management. With contributions to Drupal publications, including Drupal Watchdog, and modules like Workbench (as well as his frequent attendance at DrupalCon), Bruno has become an active contributor in the Drupal community..

At B’stro, Bruno has already made his mark with clients such as UCSF, BCCDC and Good Clean. When not contributing to the advancement of Drupal, Bruno is like any other active Vancouverite: he enjoys practicing Aikido, swimming and biking.

Pavlos
Daniel

Drupal Developer / Programming Powerhouse

Pavlos Daniel is a man of many talents. From advanced knowledge of Drupal OSS, SVN and GIT version control to tips on keeping curly locks looking lustrous, Pavlos’ powerful mind is one we’re thrilled to have on the B’stro team.

A native of Cypress, Pavlos brings not only a Mediterranean flair but a wealth of developmental expertise to B’stro. With a Masters in Computer Science (focus in Computer Networking) and extensive programming experience (from companies like BrightLemon and Fresh Networks in the United Kingdom) Pavlos is an expert in web development and technology. On top of Drupal, Pavlos is fluent in PHP, MySQL, HTML, Javascript and WordPress.

While not keeping up-to-date with current and emerging network and Internet technologies, Pavlos indulges in anime, Sci-Fi and mystery books.