Profiles
Stephen Reed
Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Reed
Chief Executive Officer
What can we say about Steve, the leader and founder of the company? Oh, so many things. But we will keep it brief and save the good stories for when you get to know him personally.
Steve knows media.
No one is better in the industry at taking care of their clients, both in meeting their goals and effectively stewarding their budgets. Hailing from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Steve has been in the media strategy, buying, and consulting business for over 30 years. He’s worked with all kinds and sizes of brands, like Coca Cola, Verizon, The Museum of Flight, Geisinger Health, and Supercuts. As the CEO of Vision, Steve takes great satisfaction in helping our clients be seen and heard in all forms of media.
Although he never really turns work off, Steve does find time to enjoy many hobbies, including playing guitar, fly fishing, sipping on a good Bourbon, and flying the Pacific Northwest skies with his new pilots license in tow!
Steve also loves spending quality time with his family, wife Melanie and his three teenage children. His favorite pastime is sitting in the sun on a beach and occasionally surfing, hiking, or fishing in between naps and ice-cold beers of Mexican descent.
Lindsey Lind
President
Wonder just enough and then go do!
Lindsey is the builder of our team. As President, she takes her industry know-how and big picture thinking to bring the ops and details into focus. Lindsey never forgets that it’s always about the customer experience, and media is no exception. She brings her over 15 years of digital media experience, combined with her love of creative testing and new technologies, to give our clients exactly what they need to solve today’s media challenges.
When she’s not driving fast in her professional life, she spends her evenings and weekends racing sailboats in the Puget Sound. Speed, spinnakers, and salt water are a magical combination for a perfect day. A resident of Bainbridge Island, Lindsey enjoys living the island life with her husband and two daughters.
Melanie Reed
Partner
Melanie Reed
Partner
Melanie was there when it was just a “vision,” and she’s been a steadfast supporter of Vision Media throughout its 20+ years. She works with her husband, CEO, and co-founder, Steve Reed, to provide input on agency growth decisions supporting our ongoing evolution.
She has a unique educational background, studying communications and French at USC and Paris-Sorbonne University. This, along with her artistic talents and loving spirit, gives Melanie a certain flare that every small company needs and benefits from.
Melanie adores her family and is a self-proclaimed “stage 5 clinger” when it comes to her dogs. She loves nothing more than cheering for her sons at their high school and college football games. Well, except for spending time with all of them on a beach in Punta Mita, Mexico.
Those artistic talents we mentioned? Melanie is a superbly talented oil painter.
Chris Schroeder
Director of Media Strategy
Chris Schroeder
Director of Media Strategy
Smart and thoughtful. Precise and calculated. Forward thinking and progressive.
These are how some of Chris’ best friends describe him. We definitely see those traits come through in his role as Director of Media Strategy. In our industry, people often talk about impressions, rating points, and budgets. While Chris certainly values the importance of these metrics, the part of advertising he enjoys the most is the human nature of the work. Radio, TV, outdoor, digital – these are all mediums that intertwine with the lives of people. Chris believes that because people are passionate about media, he has to be respectful of that and deliver messaging as thoughtfully as possible.
A seasoned pro, Chris has over 15 years in the media industry. He prides himself on being highly skilled in negotiating, studying market data and trends and strategizing killer campaign plans. He has a passion for a wide variety of musical styles and will always and forever cherish the Seattle Supersonics. #neverforget
Megan Smiley
Director of Account Strategy
Megan Smiley
Director of Account Strategy
Media has been a part of Megan’s life for many years. She graduated from James Madison University in Media Arts and Design and has been working in Media for over 20 years. Her career started as an Account Executive at KCPQ-TV, after which she took the plunge and started her own media agency.
Megan is currently the Director of Account Strategy at Vision Media. In her role, she leads the account team, partners with the planning and media buying teams, and directly supports clients: Coca-Cola, Geisinger Health Plan, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Anthony’s Restaurants, and more. She has in-depth knowledge of both digital and traditional media and an intense curiosity to stay informed in this ever-changing industry. She also excels at crafting the perfect media mix to achieve maximum reach and ROI.
Megan has a strong work ethic and dedication to her team and clients as well as an endless amount of energy. She lives with her family in the Seattle area, enjoys watching her daughters play basketball, and is a workout warrior. When she’s not experimenting in the kitchen, she’s dreaming up her next exotic travel adventure.
Daisy Ngugi
Director of Finance
Daisy Ngugi
Director of Finance
In our business of media, clear invoices and transparency are important to our clients. With her expertise in accounting and finance, no one does a better job at this than Daisy. In addition to her over 20 years of experience, she has all the credential acronyms to back up that claim, including her CCRA, CICP, and CBA certifications. Coworkers and clients alike appreciate her attention to detail, but not as much as they enjoy her caring, thoughtful, and helpful attitude. She’s a true team player.
Daisy started her career in numbers by studying manufacturing engineering at Central Washington University before rocking accounting. While Daisy is proud of all her education, it doesn’t compare to her pride in her son, who is college bound. She’s also a steadfast Seattle Seahawks fan and loves living life to a soundtrack of 90’s R&B.
Adrianne McAllister
Media Buying Supervisor
Adrianne McAllister
Media Buying Supervisor
As a Media Buyer, Adrianne plans and negotiates campaigns across all media types and stays on the forefront of media trends affecting digital and traditional audience shifts, maximizing value for client budgets. An avid gamer, media buying attracted Adrianne because each buy presents itself as a puzzle with a unique solution.
Adrianne’s been kicking butt in media for over 15 years. She got her start at Group M in Los Angeles, working as an Assistant Broadcast Negotiator, where she had a rigorous education in local media and developed an excitement for strategy. In 2011, she worked for Zenith Media as a Local Broadcast Negotiator, buying Las Vegas and Salt Lake City for clients across numerous categories, including Lexus, Toyota, Verizon Wireless, Chase, Farmers Insurance, and Sonic Drive-In. Los Angeles was too sunny, so she moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2016 to work at Media Plus as their lead Buying Strategist where she transformed their buying, database, and reporting processes.
Adrianne is passionate about all the details and loves to get into the weeds of everything she works on, especially reporting and analytics.
Adrianne is a fan of Sci-Fi/Fantasy and trashy reality TV, but her true obsession is all things dogs. She regularly volunteers at the Seattle Animal Shelter and is dog-mom to a crazy rat terrier named Walter.
Brady Thompson
Senior Digital Activation Manager
Brady Thompson
Senior Digital Activation Manager
Dare you to move like today never happened before!
Brady has a rich background in media planning, strategy, buying, and data analytics that he uses daily to develop and refine his clients' media plans. He has a deep understanding of digital media, including programmatic, Connected TV/OTT, and conversion tracking. An extrovert at heart, Brady likes interfacing directly with his clients to understand their needs and objectives and isn’t afraid to dig into the technical details when needed.
During his off hours, Brady enjoys taking advantage of all the beautiful Pacific Northwest has to offer. Whether snow or water, it doesn’t matter, because Brady skis on both. While he enjoys skiing and many other outdoor activities (kneeboarding, swimming, biking, hiking, etc.), it is being with his friends and family that makes them truly fun and memorable.
Jenn Nyberg
Senior Account Strategist
Jenn Nyberg
Senior Account Strategist
Born and raised here in the Seattle area, Jenn is a true ‘people person’ through and through. She thrives off the challenge of meeting new people, making connections and understanding what makes people tick. With a knack for systems and process, she combines 7 years of portfolio management expertise with her interpersonal skills and love for efficiency. Jenn joined Vision Media as a Senior Account Strategist, eager to deeply understand each client’s business and unique needs.
In her off time, she enjoys spending quality time with her husband and two little girls. She is an avid Peloton rider and always prioritizes down time with her friends for a good spa weekend and winery visit.
Max Barkley
Associate Director of Digital Strategy
Max Barkley
Associate Director of Digital Strategy
Max earned his degree in Communications and Media Studies at the University of Oregon and then began to build over 10 years of experience in media. His career started with agencies in Chicago – Kelly Scott Madison and OMD USA working with clients like Cabela’s, State Farm, and Barilla. He then went on to work at Wieden + Kennedy in Portland where he worked with Disney on their OTT/CTV online video media. He also worked on Native products, movies, and units on Roku, Amazon, and other entertainment platforms. Max has been on successful agency new business pitch teams across Coinbase, DoorDash, and Bumble. He has winningly pitched directly to major CEOs like Steve Armstrong.
At Vision Media Max leads Digital Strategy on the media planning team. He also focuses on planning for new business tools to support media innovation.
Max brings a positive, and confident energy to his engagement with both team members and clients. He is excited about AI and wants to learn more to understand how we can use AI to better support our clients’ media plans. Max is creative and adventurous, recently leading some of the team in a cold plunge/hot sauna experience. He is also a painter, yoga teacher, and photographer.
Mackenzie Venhor
Senior Media Buyer
Mackenzie Venhor
Senior Media Buyer
Mackenzie works hard to plan and negotiate various campaigns for our clients across multiple media types. She started as a Local Broadcast Assistant at Haworth Marketing + Media in Minneapolis where she learned the ins and outs of the industry and started buying local TV and radio. Since then, she has expanded her expertise across many media types and has developed an enthusiasm for media buying. Local TV will always be her favorite to buy, but she is excited about the ever-changing digital world. Throughout her career she has had the opportunity to work on a variety of client types including retail, finance, restaurants, hospitals, and telecommunications. She loves the variety and enjoys the ability to change up her day-to-day by working on different media types for various clients.
In addition to buying media, Mackenzie is an avid media consumer. Something always has to be on in the background, whether it’s a podcast while working, the radio while driving, or the TV while eating. As a murderino, most of the podcasts she listens to are true crime related. Mackenzie also enjoys reading and is often swapping books with her co-workers. She is an introvert, and typically prefers a game night in, but also enjoys the occasional night out to see a local drag show. In 2019 Mackenzie needed a change and decided to move to Seattle, even though she had never been here before. While she is a Midwesterner at heart, she has fallen in love with Seattle and the mountain views. Mackenzie is a life-long cat lover and is currently mooching cuddles from her roommate’s two cats, Stanley and Darryl.
Mitch White
Senior Digital Media Manager
Mitch White
Senior Digital Media Manager
Mitch is quietly cool. He listens and takes time to weigh in, hearing all sides of complex challenges before providing insightful, calculated, kind, and compassionate opinions. He'll educate, coordinate, and nudge any problem to an elegant solution while letting others feel valued, heard, and part of the team.
Before joining Vision Media, Mitch spent over 7 years in the digital marketing space for The E.W. Scripps Company, specializing in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Paid Search. As a results-driven marketing professional well-versed in digital media advertising and management, Mitch is savvy to contemporary strategies that increase revenue and improve customer experience. He is passionate about Search, Meta, and tracking Key Performance Indicators to optimize client success.
Since moving to Seattle in 2020 from his hometown Cincinnati OH, Mitch has been exploring all Seattle offers. When he’s not building digital ad campaigns, he is either golfing, biking, or drinking a Stoup Pilsner in Ballard with his wife. Don’t bet with him on the golf course, you’ll see all of his skills – both physical and mental – come to life.
Alina Llop
Office Manager
Alina Llop
Office Manager
Customer service and the keen ability to keep clients happy has always been a passion for Alina.
She has worked for Fortune 500 companies making sure her clients are provided with error-free reports in a timely manner, with a smile on her face.
Alina brings over 10 years of administrative experience in office management. She assists in the development and implementation of firm policies and procedures and maintains accounts payable, receivables, and monthly billing.
Alina enjoys traveling and exploring places she’s never visited.
Farah Nabi
Media Buyer
Farah Nabi
Media Buyer
A highly skilled and dynamic media professional, Farah Nabi has a 20 year track record of proven performance in management of broadcast media. She has an outstanding reputation as an integral team member, always going the extra mile to achieve positive results and eager to learn new approaches.
Farah has honed strong negotiation skills and will thoughtfully persist to achieve the best price, quality, and placement of campaigns/advertising dollars. She has extensive experience telecommunications, gaming, tax software (TurboTax, QuickBooks), household consumer goods (SC Johnson products), and restaurants.
Her background includes General Market and Direct Response radio, spot TV, national cable advertising; and additionally, striving to develop digital advertising expertise.
Outside of the advertising world, Farah’s first passion is her volunteer work with the Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly organization, which provides support and friendship to our isolated or lonely elders. Her second passion is her love for anything French. She is a member of the Alliance Française in Chicago, which provides her with a connection to the French community and allows her also to maintain her French linguistic skills.
Claire Rogers
Print Media Buyer
Claire Rogers
Print Media Buyer
Tianna Patrick
Programmatic Media Manager
Tianna Patrick
Programmatic Media Manager
Tianna is passionate about leveraging the capabilities of programmatic media and optimizing performance to exceed client goals. Her media buying skills are enhanced by her excellent follow-through and her ability to prioritize and make adjustments to keep plans on track.
Tianna has held several marketing roles at Aramark, Sound Beverage Distributors, and Techtronic Industries where she managed paid advertising. She then transitioned into a media solutions manager position at Goodway Group before joining Vision Media to manage programmatic digital media buying.
She is a graduate of Western Washington University where she studied Marketing Management and has been invited to speak to students sharing her knowledge of programmatic and paid media along with how to pursue a career in media.
Tori Houston
Account Strategist
Tori Houston
Account Strategist
Tori isn’t your average millennial. As a self-described empath, she prides herself on building connections and being the glue that holds a team together. With over 7 years of digital media and client service experience, Tori has learned how to utilize nearly every paid, earned and owned media channel to serve a wide range of clientele.
When offline, Tori enjoys spending time with her family hiking, fishing, watching her son’s baseball games, traveling the world, and rooting for the Seattle Seahawks. If her life was made into a movie, comedy queen and down-to-earth human being Kristen Bell would be the star.
Kate King
Account Strategist
Kate King
Account Strategist
Kate began her career in education after graduating from the University of North Texas. After 12 years in teaching, she transitioned to the Media world as an account manager before making a move to the Seattle area. She recently joined the Vision Media team as an Account Strategist working with our credit union clients, Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, and the Museum of Flight. Kate is dedicated to understanding the goals of her clients at every stage of their journey. She is a true educator which allows her to communicate effectively with her teammates and clients.
Kate enjoys supporting her local roller derby league and fostering with the Seattle Animal Shelter.
Brooke Starbard
Account Project Manager
Brooke Starbard
Account Project Manager
Brooke is a campaigner. According to Myers-Briggs, being a campaigner means that Brooke is curious and enthusiastic. Brooke is new to the advertising world and excited to learn everything while applying what she learned in college. Since she began working she has been in customer facing roles and always makes an effort to help get a customer what they need. Brooke has always been an overachiever and loves challenges.
When Brooke is not at work, she enjoys doing anything that keeps her active including, but not limited to, yoga, swimming, and long walks on the beach. She is also a board game fanatic, loves murder mystery unsolved cases, and thriller novels.
Emma Luera
Senior Media Coordinator
Emma Luera
Senior Media Coordinator
Born and raised in Seattle, Emma’s heart resides in the Pacific Northwest. Emma graduated from Washington State University with a dual degree in Strategic Communication and Risk and Crisis Management. She is an avid learner and consistently looks to challenge herself in all aspects of life. New to advertising, Emma is excited to take what she learned in school and apply it in her role as Senior Media Coordinator supporting the planning of clients' media.
Other than being a devoted media consumer, Emma enjoys cooking, running, hanging out with her dog, and curling up on the couch. She is always open to new adventures and rarely turns down an opportunity to eat her favorite foods: pizza and pad see ew.
Roberta Ring
Media Coordinator
Roberta Ring
Media Coordinator
Roberta shares her joy and passion for marketing and media development with us every day. At Vision Media, she supports our Buying team as Media Coordinator. Roberta started her career working for a variety of companies managing market and audience research in Brazil. In 2018 she moved to the U.S. and spent her first few years in a student exchange program, learning English, and developing her artistic skills.
Her thirst for learning adds value to the media projects she supports and has allowed her to learn three languages: Portuguese, Spanish, and English. She has also continued her artistic pursuits with her illustrations and has begun to share them publicly.
Robert Coats
SEM Specialist
Robert Coats
SEM Specialist
Robert started his Internet marketing career doing website design back in the wild west days of the Internet when AOL disks were still popular. He became interested in pay-per-click marketing when GoTo.com launched their search marketing platform in 1999. Once Google announced their AdWords program a year later, Robert knew he had found his niche. Since that time, he has managed millions of dollars of ad spend on Google Ads for Fortune 100 companies and major ecommerce players to small business and nonprofits. While the size of the advertisers and their marketing objectives have all varied greatly, Robert has discovered that the psychology of Search and what gets a prospect to click has remained the same.
Listed as one of Google’s Top Contributors in their help forums since 2011, Google has flown Robert out to both their Mountain View, California, and Dublin, Ireland headquarters on multiple occasions. There he collaborated with Google team members to improve Google Ads by sharing what he has seen in the pay-per-click trenches.
An avid pinball player, Robert enjoys pursuing high scores on pinball machines as much as he enjoys achieving a high return on investment with paid search campaigns.
He keeps a Pets.com talking sock puppet in his office as a reminder to the importance of spending advertising dollars wisely.
Jennifer Hall
Associate Director of Agency Marketing
Jennifer Hall
Associate Director of Agency Marketing
Jennifer is a lifelong learner and brings this passion, and education through marketing, to lead purposeful growth at Vision Media.
She has a proven track record of building brand awareness and customer growth in a variety of industries: telecommunications, real estate, publishing, senior living, and home furnishings. Jennifer has led media programs for over 15 years on the client side and has a deep understanding of what brands need to achieve their marketing goals through advertising. Her endless curiosity supports continual advancement through education and innovation for her teams and organizations.
Jennifer lives with her husband in the Seattle area. In her spare time, she enjoys European travel and spending time in nature. Most often you will find her on the water or in her garden with one hand in the soil and the other holding a cup of tea.