John N.

John is our colossally cool CEO & Co-Founder. John is a student of life; and has most recently graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in political science. John is proud to have served and learned the hard knocks as a Marine in the United States Marine Corps.

John enjoys travelling, trashy reality shows, and crushing dreams on Xbox Live. He is currently on a quest in search of the best noodle soups from around the world. So far he has not found a new noodle shop to supplant the “one on Jones street”.

Dan R.

To say Dan was before his time is an understatement. While his parents were often concerned about his childhood dreams of becoming a Senior Director of Search Services on “this thing called the internet”, Dan always knew deep-down what he was put on this green Earth to do. However, every dream has its challenges, and Dan’s path to Internet guru-dom was not without setbacks.

After a particularly wild night with his Oregon cronies, Dan found himself locked up abroad for a conspiracy to smuggle Lebanese apricot pits into the U.S. At the time, his prison was famous for making inmates compete in soccer tournaments to earn their daily rations. Dan became prison-famous when he was appointed team captain and forced his players to wear plaid jerseys. Although this was a trying time in young Dan’s life, every dark cloud has a silver lining. Dan met his wonderful future wife through an international prison pen pal program. She turned his life around and was instrumental in his early parole.

Now, Dan spends his days predicting imminent search doom (December 2015). When he’s not busy captaining Bay Area soccer teams to maintain his prison-sculpted body, Dan can be found wearing plaid shirts, buying tea-infused soy products from local co-ops, and pampering his two cats–Charlie & Rose.

Denise F.

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Dan W.

Dan is just the savvy Assistant Search Engine Manager we’ve been searching for. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in Fine Arts & Graphic Design. Though Dan’s true love is painting, he made the switch to SEM to pay a little attention to the lonely, left side of his brain.

Dan grew up on a goat farm in Wisconsin and once fit 52 grapes in his mouth…he maintains the two are unrelated. When he’s not in the office, Dan enjoys practicing judo and fighting crime.

Dave M.

Dave is our positively radiant partner in Sales and Business Development. He’s a real entrepreneur and is proud to be the Co-Founder and/or Co-Creator of Spill.com, ALOT.com, Uberdownloads.com and Playfin.com. Truly benevolent, Dave volunteers at REACH, is part of the Goddard Riverside Program and is a founding member of the Philipstown Food Pantry.

Dave enjoys Yankees baseball, Pearl Jam, skiing, soccer, tennis and hanging out with his amazing kids. Dave might look bald, but really he has clear hair! Oh, and he’s better than Dan Rabin at EVERYTHING.

Jason L.

Jason is our landing page testing dude. He earned his B.A. in Graphic Design from the prestigious California College of the Arts, located right here in Jason’s hometown of San Francisco, CA. Jason enjoys playing board games, buying and selling on eBay, eating dim sum and pepperoni pizza.

In his spare time, Jason paints miniature army men. He doesn’t know how to swim—and he isn’t interested in learning any time soon.

Dmitry B.

Dmitry is our stupendous Software Engineer. He received his Master’s degree in Computer Science from Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University. Prior to joining Tightrope Interactive, Dmitry spent many years as a Software Engineer for companies like Ask.com, LG, and Motorola.

A perfectionist at heart, Dmitry loves getting to the bottom of every little detail! He enjoys spending time with his kids, traveling, and going to entertainment parks.

Jeanne C.

Jeanne is our jolly Junior Web Designer with a love of all things food-related. She’s currently completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Web Design and New Media at Academy of Art University. Jeanne is also a master baker, mind reader and costume maker. She truly makes the best cupcakes, from scratch, anyone has ever tasted!

In her spare time, Jeanne enjoys taking on bizarre food challenges. She once ate an entire 10-lb watermelon in one sitting! Don’t let Jeanne’s petite frame fool you—she’s stronger than the average ninja who can walk 2.1 miles to work, in heels, in under 30 minutes.

Mike B.

“Michael Bailey’s story begins humbly enough. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio, but at a young age, began to flash signs of greatness. After being crowned the Tri-State tiddlywinks champion at age six, he got a taste for competition and rode that competitive streak to a promising middle school basketball career. In what can only be called an epiphany, upon being named team captain of his basketball team, he realized the fates had deemed it that he must become a project manager!

Set on his path, he blew through high school and THE Ohio State University, but soon realized that the state of Ohio was a small pond for this project managing big fish, so he packed his bags and with the image of his childhood hero Bill Walton looming large, set his sights on the West Coast.

Ever the prudent financial manager, Michael took to the rails, hopping boxcars and dodging railyard Bulls in an effort to save money as he ran for the coast. Eventually, he decided the hobo life was just too dangerous, and took to buying bus tickets, and busking on city sidewalks, playing one-man-band renditions of Rolling Stones songs taught to him by his hobo pals.

Eventually he reached the West Coast, and found his way to Tightrope, where he remains undefeated in the Project Management feats of strength, which means he always has first access to the Creative team and never has to pay for a department lunch. He spends his down time dominating pub trivia nights and winning his next month’s rent money off his friends at their high-stakes underground poker nights.”

Justin K.

Justin is our Director of Marking Operations. He is not a fan of writing company bios.

Jacquie D.

Jacquie is Tightrope’s new Associate Account Manager for our Lead Generation Team. She is a San Francisco Bay Area native (Livermore counts!) who spent two years finishing up her undergrad in communication studies at Cal State Long Beach. After graduating, she move back to the Bay and pursued a career in marketing, landing her at a start-up website in San Francisco. Jacquie has developed a little crush on the city, making the commute not so bad, but plans on making it her home in the near future. During her time in college, she competed on a very active speech & debate team which competed in all over the state, nationally and internationally. For two years, speech gave her the opportunity to travel, meet amazing people from all over the country, perform and see amazing talent. Traveling to different campuses allowed her to see which one was perfect and, after visiting Long Beach State, she was hooked. Living in Long Beach was one of the greatest experiences of her life. Jacquie is a laid back person who just wants to laugh at internet memes, watch cat videos on YouTube, and watch The Universe on The History Channel. When she’s not doing any of those things, she likes to workout and really tries to eat healthy (but she really likes bread). When it’s warm outside, she is hanging out on her friend’s boat on the delta, going hiking, or sitting with her friends around a backyard fire pit.

Pat H.

Pat is one of our newest SEM Marketing Managers and joins us after recently leaving Townsquare Media where he tracked the performance of advertisers and campaigns by site for the music-focused advertising network. He earned his MBA at a small, San Francisco-based graduate university called Presidio Graduate School in December 2011. Pat enjoys riding a bicycle as his primary means of transportation. He also spends a good amount of time at the bouldering area in the climbing gym. He also enjoys skiing at Squaw Valley as much as possible. Most of all, Pat enjoys subjecting other people to his musical tastes.

Mei T.

Mei is our magnificent Junior Graphic Designer/ Web Designer. She has a BFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. Prior to finding her home here at Tightrope, Mei worked as an exhibit graphic designer in New York, designing graphics for museums and visitor centers.

Mei is an avid fiction reader, bookbinder and museum visitor. At the wee age of 6, Mei won a citywide art contest in San Francisco—an award which truly was the start of her blossoming art career.

Mark M.

Mark is our illustrious President and the force behind Tightrope Interactive’s Business & Corporate Development efforts. A true leader, Mark proudly served our country as an invaluable Cavalry Scout in the U.S. Army. He enjoys playing competitive pinball and chowing down on good eats—especially Mom’s “City Chicken.”

Mark is a people person. We’re not sure, but it appears he has taken courses in the art of joke telling. He has an unrelated, identical twin named Banlow whom he met once through a friend at a football game. Mark says it was his most “moving life experience” to date, and he maintains that everyone should seek their “Banlow.”

John T.

John is our nimble Creative Director. He’s won a slew of advertising awards for his creative excellence, including 5 regional ADDY® awards, one national ADDY® and a NewMedia INVISION award.

John has worked with synthesizers and electronic music since the early 1980s. He can fly, literally! He has a level 3 (Intermediate) paragliding license. John is also quite dexterous—he can put his foot behind his head.

Dinggang X.

Dinggang is our vivacious Vice President of Engineering. Dinggang received his B.E. in Engineering Mechanics and Computer Applications from Tsinghua University, and M.S. in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to working here at Tightrope Interactive, Dinggang held a number of lead positions in software engineering.

Dinggang enjoys playing bridge and any type of card game he can get his hands on! He loves hiking and volunteering. In his spare time, Dinggang likes to answer forum questions Jeapordy-style, phrased in the form of a question.

John B.

John is one of our DownloadAdmin Project Managers. He received his Bachelor degree in Public Relations and Media from Mount St. Mary College and a Master’s degree in Information Systems from Marist College. Prior to joining Tightrope, John worked as a Event Coordinator for a local non-profit hospital.

John enjoys watching all sports (unlike Armando), playing tennis, keeping up on the latest Android news, and spending time with his family. He also never misses a chance to liven the Cold Spring office mood with a little ELO.

Brian N.

Brian is our enchanting Director of Product Management. You can find him on LinkedIn.

Lenae N.

Lenae is our stupendous Search Marketing Manager. She specializes in CPC on search engines and social media networks. A double major in college, Lenae has her B.A. in both Psychology and Black Studies from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

She enjoys crocheting while watching tasteless reality TV shows and eating cheeseburgers. When you can’t track her down, there’s a good chance Lenae is cruisin’ in her blue Hyundai Tucson listening to the latest book on tape.

Courtney B.

Courtney is our exuberant account executive in our downloadables division. She graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a B.A. in English and a minor in Creative Writing. Prior to joining us here at Tightrope, Courtney wrote for several magazines and newspapers in the Hudson Valley and she has her very own blog devoted to the mothers of Newburgh, NY.

When she’s not writing for us, Courtney can be found reading and working on her fitness the fun way with Zumba. She testifies to being a walking encyclopedia of useless knowledge and would give any Jeopardy contestant a run for their money! Courtney loves just about anything to do with the great outdoors, including hiking, boating and the Adirondacks. She especially loves being on the water (despite a massive phobia of slimy, squirmy fish)!

Yifeng Z.

Yifeng is our tenacious System Administrator. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of California, Irvine. Starry-eyed as a child, Yifeng dreamt of becoming an Astronomer and Astrophysicist. But, his love of technology took him in a different direction and landed him here at Tightrope.

A true IT Technician, Yifeng enjoys researching IT technology and network security and administration in his spare time. He’s also a table-tennis champ with an affinity for reading up on history and philosophy.

Angelee F.

Angelee is our incredibly cool and freckly Copywriter. She received her B.A. in Random Trivia at the University of California, Berkeley and she is proud to say that she was the first female Sports Editor at the Daily Cal.

Angelee is a diehard fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and clothing with stripes! She watches way too much T.V. (crime dramas and reality T.V. shows to be exact) and is plotting ways to become a reality T.V. star. When she’s not watching TV, Angelee loves traveling, eating food, and reading good books.

Louise M.

Louise is our lovable PHP Software Engineer. She creates intangible things. Prior to working at Tightrope Interactive, Louise spent her time building a website to help moms connect with each other.

When she’s not shooting zombies or cooking, Louise spends time taking care of her wonderful son, amazing husband, and incredible sister. Louise enjoys useless debates with her husband and long walks in the park.

Franco Y.

Franco is our highly caffeinated Chief Technology Officer. After studying Architecture and Computer Science in college, Franco is proud to say that he can build things in both the real and digital world!

Franco has consumed about 15,000 shots of espresso in the last 10 years of his life and he attests he has NEVER used Twitter or Facebook (at least not without using an alias). When he’s not drinking espresso, Franco enjoys fishing, building computers, and watching just about any show that’s on the USA Network.

Bill B.

Bill is our newest Copywriter. When he isn’t busy cranking out page after page of casual yet grammatically correct prose, Bill spends most of his time playing guitar & bass in local bands, reading, and frequenting many lesser-known corners of his native San Francisco. His trivia prowess as well as abilities at the pool table, dartboard, and shuffleboard tables have earned him the moniker “”Billy Bar Games”" and he is all too willing to show people how he got the nickname.

Before coming to Tightrope, Bill spent a lot of time in education–on both sides of the desk. He earned his BA, Teaching Credential, and MA in English Literature from San Francisco State, and worked as a high school English and Beginning Band teacher. His father always told him to get a job doing what he loved, and since it’s near impossible to find steady pay for looking at cats on the internet or watching The Simpsons, he is happy to be part of the Tightrope team, where he gets to write all day.

Herna C.L

Herna (pronounced “Er-Na”) is our Office Manager, party planner and master of the snacks. Herna is a closeted band nerd and loves music and dancing. After playing the clarinet her entire childhood, she picked up playing traditional Philippine folk instruments and currently teaches both youth and adults all over the Bay Area, as well as plans community events in her spare time. Herna lives in Downtown Oakland with her comic-book-loving husband, 4-year-old daughter, and 2 chihuahuas.

Marc E.

Aside from being Tightrope’s senior systems administrator, Marc is the most loyal Red Sox fan in existence today. He strategically moved to New York, got married and recently had a baby, so that he might create a new Red Sox fan in enemy territory. The master plan has begun. When not changing diapers for his cute new baby, Marc is an adrenaline junky. He loves skiing, rock climbing and biking. Marc also loves to apply the problem solving skills he uses at work, to fixing everything from his car to his house.

Jared H.

Jared is our Web Development Engineer. He received a degree in Information Technology from Marist College. When he’s not coding, Jared enjoys hiking with his Fiance and their Corgi-Dachshund mix Mindy, playing poker and games of all kinds, and rooting for the New York Giants.

Walter K.

Brendan M..

Dale O.

Dhwanit P.

Teale W.

Teale is our Associate Account Manager. She is a very proud graduate of UC Santa Barbara where she majored in Global Studies and played Division I Water Polo for the Gauchos. After college she was a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Guinea, West Africa and is always happy to share her experience but don’t call her a hippie!

When Teale is not in the office she enjoys swimming, reading a good book and faithfully rooting for the 49ers. She loves to travel and will never turn down a Dirty Martini or a chocolate chip cookie.

Gowri S.

Gowri Santhakumar is our Software QA Analyst. She has 4 years of experience as a Technical Support Analyst and a Data Warehouse Engineer at Infosys Ltd. (http://www.infosys.com) in India.

Gowri enjoys listening to music ranging from Indian pop/classical music to American pop music. She also likes drawing Rangoli (a folk visual artform from India of decorative designs drawn on floors). Gowri likes to play sudoko during her leisure time, and loves pets and gardening!

Hardik S.

Hardik is our PHP Web Developer. He has a Masters degree in Software Engineering from San Jose State University and he loves programming! He has 5+ years of experience in development.

Hardik likes hiking, camping and road trips. He loves listening to music, is always ready to play Cricket or Chess, and loves spending time with family and friends.

Austin T.

Mike A.

Mike has been working on the front end code since the good old Geocities days, within the past two years he’s made a professional knack out of his HTML and CSS skills. Since 2010 he’s been working freelance and on contract based jobs for design companies and start-ups in the South Bay all while managing a 25,000sqft rock climbing and fitness facility. After two years of craziness Mike recently decided to take the plunge and make front-end development his full-time gig.

Mike is way into the outdoors, particularly rock climbing, hiking and camping. He calls the Eastern Sierra a second home. When he’s not outside exploring, he loves reading technical books or learning some new web technology. Mike can push out some mad beats on the keyboard and every now and then he pretends he can rap.

Imad S.

Imad is one of our newest SEM Marketing Managers and has been working in the digital advertising space for the past five years, most recently managing paid search for Supra Footwear and other growing brands. Imad has also kept himself busy consulting as a digital strategist for Triumph Dining, a gluten-free book publisher, but he points out that he really enjoys foods with gluten. Previously he worked for a non-profit supporting public television with their online marketing and coordinating web projects. On the weekends you can find Imad checking out live music, especially world music, doing a Bikram yoga class or grabbing dinner with friends. More recently Imad joined a hiking Meetup group, which he says has been an awesome way to explore new places around the Bay Area. He also finds it fascinating that you can just click on a link and make plans with complete strangers.

Quince W.

Quince became a freelancer in 2008, predominantly working on improving SEO for various small business owners, startups and major companies like HP. In his last position as an SEO Manager, Quince got a chance to work on the paid search side of an ecommerce business and now has his mind set on becoming a great SEM Manager with Tightrope Interactive.

In his spare time, Quince likes to watch his favorite shows, such as Breaking Bad, Dexter, and Fringe. He also enjoys traveling, going to music concerts, swimming, and owning noobs in online gaming. He hopes that one day eSports will become big enough to be on national television.