Sierra Commons

Matthew Bell, Social Media Intern Matthew is an aspiring writer currently working on his first screenplay and a collection of short stories. He writes copy for the Sierra Commons Blog, Facebook and Twitter and is the creator and writer of the Sierra Commons Newsletter.

Rosalie Brown Smart Think Marketing Group is a creative collaborative of professionals who implement creative strategies for building and managing brands. Using a customized approach, we work closely with clients to maximize market share and increase brand visibility.

Experienced in traditional print and radio campaigns, public relations, brand management, copywriting, blogging, and website creation, our diverse team is committed to assisting clients in meeting their marketing and business objectives.

Shawn Garvey, The Grant Farm Shawn Garvey is the Founder of The Grant Farm and Chief Executive Officer of ThinkTank, a national public affairs and communication firm whose clients include a host of private business clients and more than 50 US Senators and members of Congress. At The Grant Farm, he has created innovative non-dilutive fund strategies for companies and agencies seeking funds for biomass, anaerobic digestion, wind, solar, hybrid and CNG vehicles, Smart-Grid, and other high profile energy projects.

Barbara Hernesman, California Building Performance Contractors Association Director of Training and Workforce Development, is hanging her hat at the Commons. The CBPCA is leading the United States in bleeding edge Green Home Energy Upgrades and training contractors to support the emerging residential green remodeling market.

Roger Kent Roger Kent leads training programs for project managers nationwide, preparing them for the Project Management Professional exam (PMP): www.theprojectgroup.biz. He also offers compelling seminars using film clips to project managers needing continuing education units to retain their certification: www.moviesteachprojectmanagement.com. He creates online learning, teaching mariners about international and U.S. pollution regulations aboard ships: www.marpoltraining.com. Somehow he finds time to write novels and screenplays.

Dave Lewicki, EventCetera. Dave Lewicki specializes in PHP/MySQL web application development. He is the founder of EventCetera which offers an Integrated Box Office, Online Ticketing and Patron/Donor Management solution which caters to non-profits who produce more complicated events and festivals. He is also the lead software engineer for Compli and has over 12 year experience developing software for the wine industry compliance and logistics systems.

Dave earned his B.S. in Computer Science & Math from Cal State Long Beach and M.S. from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He is also an avid trad-Irish fiddler, loves to cook and can be found beating the summer heat in a whitewater kayak.

Ron Metz, Freelance Technical Writer Ron Metz works under the name RG Metz & Associates, producing instruction manuals, procedures, and marketing communications collateral for the electronics, IT, solar, and other industries and small businesses. He has a long history of creating instruction manuals that are easy to use and that help make clients’ products easy to own. Other products include catalogs, brochures, and advertisements, applying the disciplines of technical communication to marketing, removing common barriers that often stand between clients’ products and potential customers.

Mike Mooers, Marketing Communications and Outreach Consultant Mike launched his own consulting firm after many years in the corporate trenches generating mojo for brands including The North Face, Sierra Designs, Ultimate Direction, Outdoor Research, and SNEWS. In 2003 he founded OllyDog, one of the most highly regarded brands in the world of dog gear. Current clients include Clik Elite, StatPacks, Flour Garden Bakery, and Think Local First. Mike also serves on the boards for the North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center and Think Local First Nevada County Foothills. A fifth generation Californian, bad tele skier, and lousy fly fisherman, Mike lives on the San Juan Ridge with his wife, Suzanne.

Max Norton is a member of and organizational advisor to Sierra Commons. Max has expertise in new media development, campaign communications, issue organizing, and GIS, and works with a variety of organizations — local businesses like Velocity7 and Loma Rica Storage, nonprofits such as Sierra Commons and the Sierra Nevada Alliance, and agencies, including MSHC Partners and Columbia University’s Digital Knowledge Ventures. He has also worked as a professional river guide since 2004.

Robin Parisse Marketing & Business Development Consultant A creative, results oriented marketing professional who has demonstrated the ability to successfully manage multiple projects simultaneously to meet business objectives. Special talent for establishing teams across diverse internal departments/business units and third party partners and/or vendors. Hands-on experience with every facet of the marketing mix. Varied subject matter and industry expertise includes software applications; hardware; media & entertainment (video); telco, consumer products; fashion retail; outdoor/cycling; gift/toy, etc.

Michele Schiro Michele’s long career includes stints as Executive Director of an nonprofit women’s agency, Agency Administrator of two foster family agencies in Oakland and Sacramento, County coordinator for a Nevada County youth meth prevention program using innovative methods with art, film, and music and a youth/adult team providing education and services countywide. She is the author of a research project on sustainability of revenue streams in small nonprofits, and has an extensive background in nonprofit development, grant writing, and desktop publishing. She is available for grant development and strategic planning work, and may be available now and again to help you with your desktop publishing jobs.

Robert Trent, Sierra Commons With an entrepreneurial spirit and business savvy, Robert Trent is a respected advocate for small and emerging businesses. Before relocating to the beautiful Sierra Nevada, Robert was involved in creating a firm specializing in consumer level wireless access. The company that started in the garage went all the way to the boardroom and sold for more than $50,000,000. With a Master’s degree in Instructional Technologies from San Francisco State University, Robert’s corporate experience includes management and director positions in the high tech industry, including positions with Compaq, Alation Systems, Inc., Intel, Oracle, and Broderbund. In 2001 Robert became a business owner in Nevada City, forming the award winning marketing communication firm, Velocity7. In 2009, Robert became the Executive Director of Sierra Commons. Robert believes that fostering mentoring relationships, creating training opportunities, and providing infrastructure are the core strengths of successful incubators, and has integrated these into the Sierra Commons environment. When he’s not networking and leading teams of talent, Robert enjoys international travel, as well as hitting the road with his trusty Airstream trailer.

GRADUATE Todd Wahoske, The Funkhole, Mythos Labs Todd Wahoske is a US based environment artist, with over a decade of game development experience. As an environment artist, Todd has received considerable exposure, his work featuring in many successful, critically acclaimed video games, spanning multiple game console platforms. He is driven by an instinct to follow the creative path of game development. In the future Todd expects to continue his work both on innovative new platforms and next-generation hardware, while trying to satisfy his lofty appetite for mastering new tools, techniques and dreaming up new ideas. He also really likes baking cookies.

Rob Wunderlich, IT Consultant Rob is an independent IT Consultant based in Nevada City. Rob’s specialties include mainframe computer management, computer security, java programming and data analysis.