From the frenzy of garage start-ups to the boardrooms of billion-dollar companies, Bolder & Co. Creative Studios is a results-driven, full-service marketing agency that help clients reach ambitious revenue and customer engagement goals by producing the highest caliber brand development and design combined with data-smart marketing.
We are an award-winning think tank: a collection of brilliant minds, inspired souls, and sizzling creativity.
In this chaotic and cluttered world of relentless change, it takes a tremendous amount of effort and insight for a brand to clearly articulate a meaningful message. As seasoned branding consultants, we strategically think, freely imagine, and precisely execute using the latest and greatest marketing techniques.


Mark Bloemhard, PhD, MBA, MA
CEO, Founder
Offering a unique blend of award-winning creativity and business: As a retail consultant with the experience of working with stable Fortune 500 companies to the frenzy of entrepreneurial startups. As a corporate change agent leading complex organizations with a people first approach to achieving clearly defined objectives. As an account executive developing creative, financial, retail, academic, and international markets.
Finally, as an academic, with the experience of introducing new university programs, the ability to forge sustainable partnerships with the corporate world, and the belief that the corporate demand for creative leadership is just beginning.
Specialties: Public Speaking, Strategic Systems Thinking, Branding Strategy, Retail / Environmental / Design, New Business Development, Brand Positioning, Concept Development, Creative Leadership
Most unique hobby: Sailing!!!
Last meal on Earth: Medium-rare cheeseburger with ALL the toppings (mushrooms, caramelized onions, bacon, egg, pepper jack cheese, etc.)
Bucket list travel destinations: French Polynesia, Italy, and Greece.
Best piece of advice for your younger self: Read "Think Like a Monk" by Jay Shetty.
Remote workplace of choice: On a sailboat.


Katelyn Martin
Chief Financial Officer
Katelyn is the glue that holds everything (and everyone) together at Bolder. In other words, we often refer to her as “the real studio boss” (though she’d never admit to it!). Coming from one of the fastest-growing franchises in Canada and the US, Katelyn brings deep experience in systems and process thinking to her duties as overseer of the accounting and day-to-day operations of the studio.
Completely smitten with her one and only, Keith, and spicy food (of course!), Katelyn could run the country with her hands tied behind her back, while blindfolded, with her foot in a bucket. Yeah. She’s that good.
Childhood dream job: Dermatologist
Last meal on Earth: Paneang Thai Curry
Remote workplace of choice: Hawaii


Calle Evans
Director of Operations
If you want a master class in poise and how to get shit done, talk to Calle. She’s a virtuoso when it comes to wrangling projects, managing ALL the details, and keeping our customers happy. Did we mention she made her own wedding dress? Yeah, Calle can do all the things.
A graduate of the fashion design program at University of Cincinnati, Calle ran her own boutique for years before deciding to bring her customer service skills and business acumen to our studio. She may have never worn a pair of jeans in her life, but she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty and get the job done.
Superpower: Small talk. A Midwesterner at heart, and a master of the art.
Childhood dream job: Fashion Designer
Most unique hobby: Hand beading/embroidery, wine collecting. Oh, and touring caves.
Last meal on Earth: Eggs over easy on toast with avocado
Bucket list travel destinations: Ireland, Scotland, South of France, Maldives, and many more.
Remote workplace of choice: Paris, but since I'd probably have to bring my husband too, Italy.


Ken Kowalski
Creative Director
With over 25 years of design experience working with industry leaders, we knew we’d pulled the long straw when Ken decided to come on board as our Executive Creative Director. Truly a master of his craft, Ken is a hands-on creative leader whose presence and opinion carry considerable weight. A warhorse of the trade, Ken pushes the creative threshold, delivering purposeful and compelling solutions to every brand he touches. He has worked with world-renowned brands including Pepsi Co., Gatorade, Tropicana, Chobani, and Whole Foods—just to name a few.
Don’t let his ageless grin and good looks fool you: Ken can direct any genre of design. His personal signature, moreover, is present in every project he takes on and caught only by his insatiable ability to create timeless brands over and over again.


Amy Klinger
Director of Brand Strategy
Amy approaches brand strategy a little like a therapist works with a patient. She asks questions, lets her clients talk, and takes a lot of notes. Because while Amy is a whiz at pulling together smart, compelling brand positioning, message strategies, and more, she knows that a brand’s truth can only come from the people who live and breathe the business. In that way, she’s here to help you articulate what you probably already know.
Amy’s worn lots of hats throughout her career from in-house communications professional to freelance writer to agency-side creative for brands like Keurig, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Way and the State of Vermont.
Armed with an MFA in Creative Writing, Amy tackles copywriting and content development with a keen, critical eye for voice and narrative flow. But ask her how to improve your own writing and she’ll give you one simple piece of advice: Make it interesting. That was certainly the drive behind her first published novel in 2022, In Light of Recent Events.
Superpower: Making killer Neopolitan pizza
Most unique hobby: Classical guitar
Last meal on Earth: Mole Negro with freshly made corn tortillas
Best piece of advice for your younger self: Skip grad school, travel instead


Erika Armstrong
Senior Graphic Designer
Put a coffee in Erika’s hand and watch her go. A dynamic graphic designer and illustrator, she cut her creative teeth designing branding systems for friends, family, and local businesses as well as working with industry experts while getting her BFA in Graphic Design from Indiana University. She graduated early, summa cum laude, and with highest distinction. Go Hoosiers!
Erika’s constantly on the lookout for creative challenges, and her designs always impress. Her proudest creation to date is writing, designing, illustrating, and selling Cam's Colors, a children’s book focused on emotional health. It sold 50 copies in the first week and is being used in elementary classrooms.
Always ready with a smile, Erika lives in Brooklyn, NY, and spends her free time exploring her neighborhood, watching reruns of The Office, and finding local cafes, because…coffee.
Most unique hobby: Watercolor painting. Erika used to sell paintings during college to for extra cash to pay for groceries and her coffee addiction.
Bucket list travel destinations: Paris; Hastings, England; Denali National Park, Alaska
Best advice for your younger self: Nothing is permanent. You have the power to completely change everything, including yourself, at any moment. If you trust your instincts, you'll know when you need to pivot and dive headfirst into something new.
Remote workplace of choice: NYC—where I am currently!


Suzanne Loring
Brand Strategist
Mesmerized by the written word from a young age, Suzanne has always loved books and storytelling. It’s no surprise to anyone who knows her that she became a writer. Armed with the belief that there’s nothing more inspiring than seeing people living a life they love, she thrills in learning “why” people do what they do. A strategic thinker, she’s not afraid to ask tough questions and help customers dig deeply to uncover their brand's uniqueness.
A New England girl at heart, Suzanne hails from the Green Mountains of Vermont where she rides boards and bikes, climbs rocks, and runs trails with her family and pup, Jango. She can usually be found wearing a hat and ruminating over ideas for her first novel.
Childhood dream job: Bestselling novelist like Judy Blume.
Bucket list travel destinations: Iceland, Greece, and the Redwoods.
Superpower: Concocting a mean green smoothie that even her veggie-averse children will drink.
Best piece of advice for your younger self: Slow down. Enjoy each step of the journey and don't overwhelm yourself—and thus limit yourself—with thoughts about where your think you SHOULD be, just accept where you, appreciate it, and go from there.


Renee Reed
Project Manager
Renee is an organizational genius. Give her a project, and she’ll tell you how and when it needs to be done, within what budget, and then she makes sure it happens. Her management abilities are second only to her love of people. Renee is squarely in her element when she has a team to work on (or play hoops with), a group of kids to mentor, or friends and family to hang out with.
Valedictorian of her high school class and graduate of the University of Michigan-Dearborn with a degree in Business Management, Renee has found a calling in the marketing industry. She loves strategizing with her Bolder teammates to get projects started, keep them moving, and get them across the finish line.
When she’s not building out timelines and crunching budgets, Renee loves planning events, traveling with her youth group, and serving as a youth worker at her church for young adults and children.
Superpower: Caring about the people, the places, and things in her world.
Childhood dream job: Preschool/Kindergarten Teacher. Renee loves kids! If she’s feeling down, she’ll usually visit a family with kids—instant mood booster! Problems get smaller when you take care of others.
Last meal on Earth: Depends on the mood. It could be anything from pizza to soup. Renee’s never been a foodie. Her favorite foods are tied in with the memories made while eating rather than the food itself.
Best piece of advice for your younger self: Don't waste time comparing yourself to others!


Amy Domer
Client Marketing Manager
No matter what Amy tackles in life, she does it with gusto and her full heart. An expert in all things digital marketing, she’s the one you turn to with questions about marketing, social media trends and web “stuff.” She’ll get your brand dialed in fast.
Named Athlete of the Year 2021 at her local CrossFit gym, Amy’s passion for life extends outside the office too. She’s a triathlete and loves the outdoors, especially when she is hanging out with her husband and their puppy, Barry—who is proving to be the biggest challenge yet to Amy’s record of successes.
Childhood dream job: Veterinarian or a nurse. Amy loves animals and helping people!
Last meal on Earth: Ribeye steak, her grandma’s fried potatoes, and mom’s peanut butter pie.
Bucket list travel destinations: Pacific Northwest, Netherlands, 24/50 states in the U.S. not yet visited.
Remote workplace of choice: North Michigan or Alaska for the cooler weather and great lake views. Winter is a favorite.


David Hoover
Business Development Representative
David has had unique and valuable experiences in the world of education. Most recently, he lived overseas in southeast Asia where he helped start a new international school. Working with folks across a wide spectrum of ethnicity, age, and ability taught him to adapt and connect with just about anyone. At Bolder, he gets to tap these skills and continue his life-long learning by working with entrepreneurs and businesses to hear their stories and explain how the Bolder team’s wealth of knowledge and experience in marketing, branding, and design can help them achieve their goals.
David enjoys spending time with his family, traveling to try new things, and connecting with old friends. He and his wife have two children under the age of four, so that keeps him busy as he’d like to be...and then some!
Childhood dream job: Professional (basketball) athlete. Being 5'9" with below-average jumping ability didn't help.
Most unique hobby: Looking for four-leaf clovers. He’s found more than 100 in his lifetime.
Best advice for your younger self: Be kind to yourself. It's the start of knowing who you are, knowing who God is, knowing what life is about, and loving the people around you well.
Remote workplace of choice: Switzerland. Having lived in tropical climates before, it’s straight to Swiss Alps to soak in the incredibly breathtaking views.


Bree Martin
Client Success Manager
Some people thrive in a bubble with caution tape and bumper rails. Bree prefers to live her “one wild and precious life” full steam ahead with a go bag filled with honesty, gumption, and potentially brazen bravery. She has a background in real estate, marketing and branding and loves a good self-taught deep dive on YouTube.
Her active involvement in disability rights advocacy connects seamlessly to her work as a Client Success Manager as she has the ability and drive to understand another’s situation and move the needle to make impactful change for others.
Bree has lived all over the U.S. and has earned her adaptability stripes thanks to many relocations. But she’ll be the first to tell you that experiencing as many different people and places as you can makes for an open and creative way of life. Her out-of-the-box thinking pushes boundaries and makes life more interesting. And who doesn’t want to have some fun while getting things done?
What is your superpower? Staying levelheaded under stress.
What did you want to be when you grew up? An archeologist who cleans and restores mummies (thanks Reading Rainbow for that inspiring episode, it really stuck with me).
What is your most unique hobby? Looking up old housing records and maps; I love historical homes.
What is the best piece of advice you would give your younger self? Stay curious, question everything.


Kahlin Hawke
PPC Specialist
With nearly a decade of experience in the digital marketing space, Kahlin’s ability to learn quickly, adapt and work efficiently makes him a master of his craft. He brings a Jedi presence to the Bolder studio and utilizes PPC strategy to show clients direct and clear company growth. Kahlin is also a generous teacher and goes out of his way to help others understand the Wild West World of paid search marketing. As a former teacher himself, helping others grow is simply in his wiring.
Kahlin is a true Midwesterner and has spent most of his life in Springfield, Ohio. In his free time, Kahlin enjoys kayaking and spending time outdoors with his four boys. His adventurous spirit once led him and his wife to live in an RV on the California coast for a year where he enjoyed the laid-back, bike-riding lifestyle of coastal dwellers. As much as he enjoyed that, Kahlin values working with people he knows and says nothing compares to a local community.
What did you want to be when you grew up? A hermit in Alaska, who lived off the land and had a sled dog team.
Name 3 Bucket list Travel Destinations. Anywhere with mountains, Israel, and New Zealand
What is the best piece of advice you would give your younger self? You have a lot of adventures ahead so just enjoy the journey!
If you had a year to work remotely, where would it be? I just love the simplicity of working from home.


Tiffani Hoover
Copy Writer
As far back as she can remember, Tiffani has been captured by story, whether fictional or the lived life. As a psychology student, she found her people – the ones who just couldn’t stop asking questions and digging for roots. She believes narrative drives us, shapes us, and has the power to transform us. Her passion is discovering and articulating those stories creatively, with as much spiciness as she can get away with.
Her own story includes selling and packing up all her possessions (it was her late 20s, so not actually that much) and moving with her husband, David, to the opposite side of the globe while 7 months pregnant with their first baby. She became a third-generation expat and gave birth once more abroad before moving back to the Midwest as a family of 4. She’s a big fan of adventure, but also therapy. You can read between those lines…
What is your superpower? Blissful naivete and spontaneity.
What is your most unique hobby? I’m a starving artist at heart, dabbling in anything creative, whether music, art, sewing, or plants.
What is the best piece of advice you would give your younger self? Expect the unexpected and embrace the wild beauty it brings.
Name 3 Bucket list Travel Destinations. Greece, Japan, and that trip to Australia her dad promised for her high school graduation but still needs to come through on.


Abby Henkle
UX/UI Developer
A graduate of The Modern College of Design, Abby is a shrew UX/UI Developer, specializing in keeping everyone’s blood pressure at appropriate levels—aka, ensuring our clients’ sites and apps have a responsive user interface and user experience so they make sense, look good, and are easy to use.
Abby is an outdoor enthusiast and if she’s not in the office, she’s probably out hiking with her fiancé and two dogs, Maple and Scooby. She’s a true Ohioan and Urbana native. She loves animals and grew up showing goats and cows at the county fair for nearly a decade. Always seeking to expand her horizons, Abby would love to learn the guitar and could see herself selling everything she has to backpack across the globe at some point.
What did you want to be when you grew up? Veterinarian
Name 3 Bucket list Travel Destinations. Arches National Park, Switzerland, Italy
What is the best piece of advice you would give your younger self? Your life isn’t yours if you’re always caring about what others think. Just be yourself and save your money!
If you had a year to work remotely, where would it be? Camping and traveling to new places out west


Rob Lacy
Design Director
Rob’s design career began with a dream. A dream to redesign his DVD covers to look better on his movie wall. A long way from that self-taught Photoshop era, Rob has over a decade of professional design experience, having worked at a large marketing agency and serving as Creative Director for a lifestyle fitness company. He’s designed nearly 1000 websites in his career.
After spending most of his life in Colorado, Rob decided to trade the frosty winters of Denver for the sizzling summers of Arizona, because who needs moderate weather, really? Rob brings that push-the-limits energy to the Bolder team as our Design Director and loves to channel nature in his designs whenever possible.
Rob Trivia: If he wasn’t a designer, he’d probably be a tech YouTuber (“All hail team Android.” -RL). He has dual citizenship with the US and EU and speaks German. He loves tattoos, wine tasting, craft beer, coffee, palm trees, art, and playtime with his baby girl.
What did you want to be when you grew up? Once I got past wanting to be the next Michael Jordan (I’m just too short), I wanted to get into film – first I wanted to be a movie producer, but then eventually wanted to be a writer/director. I still love film and I have co-written two screenplays. But these days I mostly just enjoy being a snarky movie critic in my free time.
What would be your last meal on earth? A massive breakfast buffet of brunch and cereal and all things pancakes and bacon.
Name 3 Bucket List travel destinations. Greece, Japan, and someplace incredibly tropical and relaxing like Seychellois in Africa.
If you had a year to work remotely, where would it be? One of the best places I’ve ever been to is the island of Capri off the Amalfi Coast in Italy. I would rent a small yacht and set up shop there….and then probably never leave.


Tracey Heneveld
Accounting Manager
As a textbook “numbers person,” Tracey puts her life-long pursuit of order and processes to expert use as Bolder’s Accounting Manager. If it’s not on a list or spreadsheet, does it really exist?
Tracey is one of 16 kids (but that’s old news), and has 35+ nieces and nephews, so while she understands that silence exists in theory, she has not experienced much of it in her lifetime.
Born and raised in beautiful Oregon, Tracey is a travel enthusiast and leaves a little piece of her heart everywhere she goes. Give her a beach, sunrise or sunset, good food, and quality friends and she’s set for life.
Her life motto is “Everything happens for a reason–make use of the opportunities today!” and she’s a firm believer that we should always stop and encourage the people around us, ‘cause we could all use some extra love and kindness.
If you had a year to work remotely, where would it be? I would travel the world and visit my friends or go to Australia for a year.
What is your superpower? Killing people with kindness!
Name 3 Bucket list Travel Destinations. Australia & New Zealand (check), Grand Canyon, South Africa.
What is the best piece of advice you would give your younger self? Stop stressing about being perfect–you live, you learn. Everyone is on a journey so enjoy the ride and learn along the way.


Jess Freehauf
Executive Assistant
Jess is a jack-of-all-trades and chronic challenge-accepter. She’s definitely not competitive and would never go all-in on something just to prove somebody wrong. Not her.
Jess has been in Fashion Merchandising for over a decade, loves in-store design and working with anything apparel-related, and has yet to see a space she couldn’t style.
She and her husband Shane, have three of the cutest kids on the planet (objectively), two cats named Moon and Perry, and a Golden Retriever pup named Hank.
When she’s not in the office, Jess is probably hanging out with her family, hiking, traveling, or heading out with friends for a cocktail...or two. She spends most of her hobby time listening to her kids’ comedy routines, planning birthday parties, but always makes time to binge-watch and re-watch New Girl–who doesn’t love Jess?!
What did you want to be when you grew up? Backup dancer for J-LO–I’m thinking I still have a shot.
If you had a year to work remotely, where would it be? Charleston, SC. I miss living there.
What would be your last meal on earth? Tacos with a side of breadsticks.
What is your most unique hobby? I can burp the ABCs. It's admittedly TMI, but a big hit with my kids, and sometimes, you gotta give the people what they want.
A small team of A+ players can run circles
Around a giant team of B and C players.
~ Steve Jobs
We are real, showing up as our honest selves without pretense or pretentiousness.
We are candid even if it means having uncomfortable conversations.
We are passionate as we live optimistically and dive headfirst into challenges.
We are invested in each other, recognizing that “we” is a better, more satisfying way to work than “I”, and that the most important part of our culture is that we care about each other.
We are excellence-driven, bringing our A-game for every client and being proactive in tackling their needs.
We are invested, taking personal ownership in and holding ourselves accountable for the studio’s success.
We are not bound by traditional thinking.
We are fiercely loyal, committed to building rich and meaningful connections, and deeply dedicated to helping one another live better lives by offering opportunities to grow and make bold choices.
We take pride in producing the highest quality work from day 1 through day 1000 and beyond. We change and adapt right along with our clients so that our work stays fresh and always on point.
As a fully engaged partner, we point out opportunities and raise our hands when we have concerns. In this way, we invest ourselves in our clients’ success and longevity.
It’s the kind of self-awareness and knowledge that comes from experience as well as careful navigation and understanding of complex relationships. We’ve carried forward time-tested best practices and shed the approaches that don’t serve us or our clients well. But that doesn’t mean we’re not continually inviting and applying new lessons.
As a team, Bolder is efficient, effective, and darned good at producing the highest caliber strategic marketing and creative work.