Since graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and Pre-Health Studies, Alex has been honing her craft both agency-side and in the freelance jungle. With a keen eye for branding, she brings a versatile skill set to the team spanning the identity, digital, and print disciplines. Alex enjoys art and design particularly because of its effectiveness in communicating without words. Her other creative interests include photography, illustration, and visual storytelling.
Most of her friends describe her as bubbly and energetic, but she largely prefers alone time to make pillow forts and read comics late into the night. During her off-hours, she likes trying out new eateries, traveling with family, playing video games, and hiking with her two pit bull rescues.
Barbara has over 25 years of experience in interactive project management, software development and marketing. She earned her degree in Computer Science at the University of California at Irvine where she also received the Distinguished Student Scholar award for her research in Natural Language Processing.
With more than 18 years of brand and marketing experience, Brett is an award-winning multidisciplinary designer with a proven track record in helping companies (B2B + B2C) to realize the full potential of their brands and communications.
Combining a passion for measurement innovation and performance-based marketing with his deep experience in corporate identity, Brett has contributed to the success of brands including Align Technology, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Aston Martin, Cornerstone OnDemand, Dodge, Invisalign, iTero, Keck Medicine of USC, Life Technologies, Merck, Schering-Plough, Sharp Healthcare, Tandem, and Time Warner.
Brett provides a unique perspective, having worked as an integral part of global design teams both in-house and agency-side, providing informed and beautiful design solutions spanning print, digital, environmental, and visual design to over 175 companies of every size, industry, and maturity.
Brett received his BFA in Graphic Design from The Rhode Island School of Design in 2004 and is an active member of the AIGA, the Professional Association for Design.
Brett is an executive level marketing and sales leader, expert at delivering growth, exceeding targets, and leading transformation that drives scale.
He has extensive experience creating and optimizing processes, systems, and playbooks that boost marketing and sales performance and generate new revenue opportunities that are win/win scenarios for our clients that ensure their growth.
Brett is an expert in Digital Marketing; specifically in driving consultative solutions to ensure the growth of our clients across SEO, paid search, paid social, affiliate marketing, account based marketing, Amazon, ConnectedTV, display/programmatic media, and emerging digital media and technologies.
Catherine brings over 20 years of experience in the advertising industry, specializing in client service, account management, and operations. She’s worked at major ad agencies in NY and LA on multiple Fortune 500 clients and ran her consulting practice, CCS101s.
Catherine spent over ten years at Ogilvy & Mather in both the NY and LA offices:
At Ogilvy LA, she led the integrated Ogilvy & Mather 360 team efforts for creative branding and strategy for the newly formed California Health Benefit Exchange called Covered California. She worked on Cisco, Sony LATAM, ampm/ARCO, and TravelNevada.
At Ogilvy NY, Catherine worked on the Goldman Sachs account for seven years, both with the Events group and the Corporate Communications team when she led the account for the agency. She then transitioned to the newly won UPS account, where she set up and led Global RedWorks’ training and operations.
Before her tenure at Ogilvy, Catherine worked at several NY agencies, including J. Walter Thompson, FCB, and Grey Direct. Her client experience ran the gamut of industries, including USPS, Kodak, Volvo, and DuPont.
She holds an AB in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University and has completed multiple post-graduate business education courses at NYU. In December 2019, she completed a year-long organizational leadership and communication certificate at UC Irvine.
In her free time, Catherine enjoys all that life in California has to offer, whether spending time at the beach or in the mountains hiking, biking, running, or paddling. She is on the SoCal Duke Women’s Forum and Gold Rush Adventure Racing boards and volunteers as a floor educator at the La Brea Tar Pits.
As Aria Agency’s Senior Media Buyer, Charlie DeNatale has overseen and executed traditional media plans for over 75 clients. With over 35 years of experience, Charlie has purchased advertising in virtually every city and town in the US (200 DMAs). Charlie prides himself on his adept media strategy, research, planning, buying, and implementation of both direct response and branded media campaigns.
Originally from New York City, Charlie joined the Aria Agency team in 2010. Before that, Charlie served as VP/Advertising for several in-house media corporations and worked as Media Director for New York-based advertising agencies Christopher Thomas Associates and Lobo & Petrocine. Charlie has also led hundreds of media campaigns for higher education, finance, and sports.
A graduate of Upsala College, his career has also included public speaking, radio broadcasting, and sports reporting for national sports networks and news outlets. Charlie currently resides in San Diego, California.
Garrick is a SEM specialist with over 10 years of agency and enterprise level experience managing paid search campaigns on Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Helping clients at Aria Agency acquire new, high-quality consumers through paid search and other various digital marketing initiatives is what fuels him.
A positive, persistent, and fun attitude is what he brings on a daily basis along with detailed optimization skills. He has a passion for travel, playing tennis with his dad weekly, eating Vietnamese food, and keeping up with his rescue dog, Bear.
Grant is a Senior SEO Strategist with over 30 years of experience in marketing focusing on digital channels, content, and performance-led successes for local, national, and international companies and organizations. Grant’s SEO experience spans real estate, healthcare, addiction treatment, e-commerce, senior care, technology, travel, and employment verticals, often sharing his expertise and insights as a speaker at SEO & marketing conferences around the US and around the world.
With more than 17 years of experience in digital technology, Josh has dedicated the last eight years to digital marketing. He’s managed large online campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, produced print and radio media for non-profit groups, and developed and edited creative content for various projects.
Josh is certified in all Google Ads competencies and Google Analytics and won the title of “Digital Breakfast Champion” while executing over 100 morning Google webinars with businesses all over the country. While working as the company’s first “Digital Ambassador” for Google AdWords, he was a featured Google speaker at more than 60 in-person business conferences around the US and abroad.
For five years, Josh held the Director of Paid Search Media position at Dreamscape Marketing. He helped develop and manage several high-performing PPC and digital accounts while maintaining several public speaking engagements at conferences and private events for senior living, dentistry, and addiction treatment. When he’s not helping companies transition to more cost-efficient digital media, you can probably find Josh rooting on his Phoenix Suns, playing acoustic guitar, or searching online for the nearest disc golf course.
Melanie comes to Aria Agency with 15 years of professional experience in content production and marketing. With a strong organic search and SEO background, her specialty lies in producing quality content that aligns search, brand, and performance objectives across all consumer touchpoints.
Among various in-house positions, she’s worked as Senior Content Writer for two major digital marketing agencies, including Submit Express, where she wrote for small to medium-sized businesses, and Bruce Clay, Inc., considered the “father of SEO.” At Bruce Clay, she honed her SEO copywriting skills and had the opportunity to write for larger, enterprise brands.
As Director of Content at Aria Agency, Melanie leads a strong team of senior copywriters who write for the Aria blog, website, and the agency’s clients. She holds a B.A. in journalism from California State University Northridge.
Naghmeh is the SEO Manager at Aria Agency, responsible for technical search engine optimization (SEO) and developing ongoing content strategies to improve our clients’ organic traffic and presence. She has over ten years of experience working with national and international clients across various industries, including enterprise-level businesses, real estate, retail, publishing, and e-commerce. She always strives to deliver excellent in-depth, thorough work and meets the highest standards.
Before joining Aria Agency, Naghmeh worked for two of the nation’s leading SEO firms: first as SEO Analyst for the venerable Bruce Clay, Inc, and then as SEO Architect Manager for ForwardPMX (AKA The Search Agency).
She has performed effective SEO strategy on many nationally known brands such as eBay, Century 21, Realtor, Weather Channel, Redbull, Grammy’s, CapitalOne, Pacific Dental, Investor’s Business Daily, etc.
Paul brings over 20 years of experience in creative agency leadership and account management, with a strong passion for brand strategy, creative, web, SEO, and digital advertising. He has delivered solutions for global consumer brands, foundations, universities, medical research centers, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations.
As a systems-level thinker, Paul has led the development of over a dozen web and digital programs for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He has orchestrated marketing initiatives in mental health and regenerative medicine for the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center.
As an active backcountry skier and cyclist, Paul has also balanced his professional expertise with a deep personal love of the outdoors and the environment. In his home state of Colorado, he has spearheaded integrated climate change, sustainability, and resource conservation campaigns for Keystone Policy Center, Rocky Mountain Institute, City of Boulder, and Town of Vail.
Paul is a visual artist and painter, a collector of guitars, an aficionado of history, and a proud dad of two teenagers. Throughout the year, you can find him hiking in the mountains near Boulder with his three dogs, Hazel, Desmond, and Zoe.
Stewart Gandolf, MBA, is Chief Executive Officer of Aria Agency. He began his career with leading advertising agencies, including J. Walter Thompson, where he marketed Fortune 500 clients such as Wells Fargo and Bally’s Total Fitness. Over the past 20 years, Stewart has marketed and consulted for over 1,000 clients, ranging from small and medium-sized businesses to multi-billion dollar consumer corporations.
A frequent speaker, Stewart has shared his expertise at over 200 venues nationwide. Stewart has also written for many leading publications as an author and expert resource.
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