From the east coast to the west coast, engineers to social workers, millennials to boomers, our team is diverse in skillsets, life experiences, and geographies.
Meet Our Team
Ashley is an Oklahoma Indigenous native, earning her Bachelors in Education and Masters in English-Linguistics from Oklahoma State University. When she's not actively serving her local community, she's busy raising her two young children. After teaching high school English via ASL for nearly a decade, she joined the Namestormers team in 2022 as a way to channel her creative energy, and also works as a certified ASL interpreter.
Kay has spent the last 25+ years specializing in branding and name development after a prior tech-focused career. Previously, she was Director of R&D at Open Connect Systems, managing a team of specialists including software engineers and analysts. At MTech, she was a Vice President, managing the development of a financial ATM network. In her free time, she loves playing the piano and has studied and developed systems to assist people with autism.
Mike is one of the principals and founders of NameStormers. He is directly involved in every naming project, having over 30 years of experience in the branding and naming business. Prior to founding NameStormers, Mike was President of The Salinon Corporation and was Sr. Vice President of Compucon, an A. C. Nielsen subsidiary where he led Communications Marketing Research for U.S. and European Nielsen clients. Mike spent his early career years as a Software Programmer in advertising and marketing for the Dr Pepper Company.
Megan was born and raised in Austin and earned her degree at The University of Texas. Megan worked as a teacher before she decided to get her feet wet in the marketing world by helping independent pharmacies and doctor’s offices come to life through full-service brand development. From renaming mom and pop pharmacies to naming full lines of supplements, Megan discovered the joy, creativity, and challenge of naming and joined the NameStormers team in 2018.
Dustin has worked with NameStormers for over 3 years as our senior trademark screener and market research analyst on projects ranging from clothing to space exploration to A.I. to consumer goods. A proud introvert, the behind-the-scenes trademark screening and research analysis suites him well vs. the more client-facing activities.
Nicole has over 15 years of design experience, encompassing branding, print + digital marketing and web design for nonprofit and for profit companies. Originally from Chicago, Nicole moved to the East Coast to attend RISD where she earned a BFA in Graphic Design and Art History. She resides in the North Shore of MA and loves its history, scenery & people.
Sarah Ruddy hails from Austin and currently calls Boston home. Sarah earned a degree in Advertising from the University of Texas and a degree in Non-Profit Management at Boston College. Sarah worked in the nonprofit sector on social enterprises for 5 years before joining NameStormers full-time in 2020. A wordsmith to her core, Sarah has been known to create names while slicing onions, running, even rising in the middle of the night to jot down that perfect combination of vowels and consonants.
Cierra is an Austin, Texas native with a BFA in Communications Design from Texas State University. Marketing and design have been her heart and passion for over a decade. She has worked with major media networks including KVUE and Community Impact News, and has worked within various design agencies as a freelance designer and web developer. Cierra has a true passion for naming and joined the NameStormers team in 2020.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas but raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Adelaide is the newest addition to the NameStormers team. A senior at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, Adelaide is pursuing her BS in Business and Enterprise Management with a concentration in Marketing. Eager to tackle creative challenges and excited to experience the real-world application of her studies, Adelaide contributes to the NameStormers team in any way that she can. Also minoring in Film and Media Studies at Wake, Adelaide spends her free time catching up on the latest news in television and entertainment!