CEO of Branding Bear, LLC.

Melissa has been married to her high school sweetheart, Jason, for 17 years. They have two sons; Nathan, 16 and Joe, 11, plus a 200-pound Rottweiler named Samson. During Melissa's senior year of high school, she signed up for a graphic design class—just to fill her schedule. Little did she know that she would be creating a career path with this class. Melissa went on to attend a Graphic Design program at Hickey College, and 20 years later, she is still passionate about the subject. Melissa has focused on print design, from newspaper advertising to corporate retail. Family was the driving force that pushed Melissa into looking for a more flexible source of employment that still allowed her to focus on what she loves. When she's not behind the computer, Melissa builds furniture and custom wood signs for her other creative outlet, Flippin Family. She enjoys working with the Branding Bear team. Melissa loves getting to feed off one another to get the customer the best possible product.

Samantha grew up in Washington, Mo, but now lives with her husband and step-daughter in De Soto, Mo. In 2015 she graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Fontbonne University. Since childhood, Samantha has loved to read and write. She is ever-curious about language and the power of words to capture emotions and bring people together. Samantha is passionate about helping others and spreading kindness. When not writing, Samantha loves gardening, practicing yoga, sipping coffee, and cuddling her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Daisy. Samantha loves working for Branding Bear as the Marketing Director because she loves having the opportunity to grow - personally and professionally.

Meghan has a degree in horticulture but is a bit rusty on botanical identification these days. Her background in writing ranges from technical to formal composition but, most recently, she has become well-versed conversational blog writing. Meghan is also an avid runner, a mom of two and a self-proclaimed neat freak. She and her husband host two local ultra-marathons each year and they are very active in the running community. Meghan is also passionate about animal welfare and always has a few foster pets sharing her home. Meghan loves working at Branding Bear because of the freedom and flexibility that comes with the job. Branding Bear gives her a reason to harness and hone her creative side, on her own schedule, and without compromising the time for meaningful volunteer and extracurricular activities.

Most of her family call her Molly, as Molly is the Irish nickname for Mary. She has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a specialty in Finance from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Mary will tell you that "numbers paint a picture of a different perspective." Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Mary and her husband now live in Edwardsville, IL with their Caucasian Ovcharka (or Russian Mountain dog), Thunder, and a cat named Jazmine—Jazzy for short. Thunder is a unique breed in the U.S. He is 12, which is extremely old for his size, and weighs around 133 lbs. Mary does everything at Branding Bear from bookkeeping, creating procedures and policies, providing estimates to customers and so much more. She loves the flexibility and ever-changing lineup of tasks to learn and do.

Katie loves living in Washington, Missouri, with her husband of 10 years and their two children. The feeling of community in Washington is very important to Katie and her family. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Central Methodist University. For more than 12 years, she's been working in customer service, providing the best care possible for her clients, while maintaining close, interpersonal relationships with her coworkers. Katie loves making sure that people are pleased with the end product and overall service provided by Branding Bear. She shares the company's mission to provide excellent marketing services that help other businesses to grow!

Aimee is a graphic designer and web developer for Branding Bear. She is a native Hermannite who discovered the importance of customer service as a young person while working in her parents' retail store. Aimee met her husband, Donnie, at Mizzou, and together they have two fur kids, Gunther and Louie. In March 2018, Aimee started a marketing business because she recognized a need to share her talents with small business owners in her community. When she's not in front of a computer screen, Aimee enjoys quilting—a hobby passed down from her grandmother, great-grandmother and great-aunt. Piecing together various colors and textures combines history and art into a fun and relaxing pastime that Aimee finds utterly enthralling! Being in charge of her own schedule is one of the many perks Aimee enjoys while working for Branding Bear. Not only does she love having a flexible schedule, but she also gets to turn her passion for marketing into an income.

Juliann lives in Washington, MO with her husband and their two children. Juliann is currently working toward a degree in nursing at Chamberlain University. She will graduate with a BSN in 2021. Juliann leads a busy life with school, work and side-jobs like being a freelance hair and makeup artist and working with a photographer in St. Louis. When she can carve out free time, Juliann enjoys the outdoors, cooking, and reading. Juliann also loves trivia and is a self-professed wealth of useless knowledge and music lyrics. Juliann loves the flexibility that comes with working at Branding Bear. She enjoys working from home and setting her own hours. The friendships she developed with co-workers is just another great perk!

Lindsay is a talented designer and digital storyteller, serving as Branding Bear's new Content Manager. She graduated from Mizzou in 2019. Lindsay enjoys spending time with her boyfriend and their cute Aussiedoodle puppy, Dublin. Lindsay loves using her creativity to bring life to a client's vision—ultimately helping to make their dreams come true. According to Lindsay, "Life is great, and Branding Bear makes it even better!"

Ronda is the mother of two handsome sons, a grandmother, lover of the written word, a lifelong student and serial entrepreneur and small business champion. Ronda left the corporate world in search of creating a "laptop lifestyle" and has been loving the adventure thus far. She is a St. Louis native who has lived in Sullivan, MO for the past 30-some years. Ronda says she is "very blessed to have found Branding Bear!"

Kaitlyn is Branding Bear’s Content Coordinator. She oversees the writers and designers while aiding in the creation of fresh content for our clients. In 2019, she graduated with a B.A. in Digital Storytelling with three minors in Psychology, Information Technology and Leadership and Public Service from the University of Missouri. Kaitlyn found a way to balance her personal goals and career interests by going into marketing and advertising; giving her the ability to continue pursuing her passions in her downtime. She loves all things that involve creating, traveling and cooking. Working as a Branding Bear team member allows her to explore new avenues of design and client work while learning advanced and innovative ways to tell the stories of others.

Arianna is Branding Bear's Junior Copywriter. She lives in Hendersonville, Tenn. with her husband and four children (Vera, Alex, Jonathan and Abby), who continually motivate her to be a better person. After starting a family at the age of 17, Arianna pushed herself to continue her education - obtaining a Master's of Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University. Her experience includes managing social media pages for small businesses and serving as an administrator for a local family restaurant near her hometown. When she is not at the park with her kids, chances are Arianna is in the kitchen, whipping up some of her favorite Mexican dishes. (Bonus points to her for being bilingual!) One of the many things she loves about working at Branding Bear is that she can continue to grow professionally while still being present for her family.

Bri is currently living in college town Columbia, Missouri, where she is well on her way to obtaining a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Biology with a minor in psychology at Columbia College. She is fascinated by how humans think and learn. In high school, Bri competed in marketing with DECA and fell in love. Now she works as a content writer with Branding Bear and thoroughly enjoys creating insightful, uplifting messages to share on behalf of Branding Bear's clients. When she's not studying or writing, Bri loves hiking, drinking coffee, exercising, and cuddling with her pitbull, Kato.

Danielle was born and raised in Washington, Mo. After living in St. Louis and pursuing a career in kitchen and bath design, she decided to return to her hometown. In 2006 she joined the Washington Jaycees, a local non-profit organization, and found her passion for service. Through this passion, she became involved with Downtown Washington, Inc - an organization working to keep downtown as the heart of Washington. Her skills as a social media strategist were honed and crafted while working for Downtown Washington, Inc. Danielle looks forward to continuing to expand her knowledge and skill set at Branding Bear. "I am excited to see the growth of this company. It is amazing to work for a company and believe in every facet of the mission. I see great things for our future." Danielle lives in Washington, Mo, with her husband Mark and calico cat Sasha.

Cady originates from Southern Illinois and is currently living in Union, Missouri. At Branding Bear, she uses her expert organizational and management skills as an Administrative Assistant. Cady spends most of her time hanging out with her Boston Terrier, Bean, or reading - Vonnegut and Gaiman being two of her favorites. Cady enjoys the "nice change of pace" that has come with joining the Branding Bear team. Before this, she worked for 10 years in a management position at a restaurant. Cady loves Branding Bear's passion for helping communities flourish by assisting small businesses and nonprofits. She loves that every day presents new challenges and learning opportunities. Cady's hoping that working from home will help her accomplish her dream of giving a special needs dog a forever home.