For over 30 years, Uptown Studios has been a one-stop shop for graphic design, web design, video production and animation, brand development, print and more. By utilizing human centered design processes, we fix complex problems for our clients. Our tagline “Designs for Social Change” is really about helping organizations that are doing good things for the world. We specialize in working with nonprofits, government agencies and any local entity that is engaging with – and making positive changes – in their community. Through creativity and a sincere desire for change, Uptown Studios can help YOU help the WORLD.
Operations
Tina Reynolds
Chief Juggler | Founder
The Uptown Studios crew is known for being creative, dedicated and enthusiastic. Started by Tina Reynolds in 1992, Uptown Studios is now at the top of its game with a full team of creative professionals ready to help you change your world. Tina has always led by example with her fiery enthusiasm and eagerness to take challenges head-on.
She promotes a happy, healthy work environment where each team member is valued and encouraged to be involved in community activities and causes they are passionate about.
Tina has been running her own design firm since 1976 and she is the community face of Uptown Studios. She is ready and eager to get your project going, and share her experience that will give you the “big picture” on your campaign or marketing materials. Tina loves the people she gets to work with and is always there to remind you to make it: “EASY, FUN AND POPULAR”.
Jonathan Simpson
Office Ninja | CEO, CFO
Jonathan Simpson, our CEO and Office Ninja, has been with Uptown Studios since early 2000 and has grown our financial management as we have expanded. You will be hearing from him about your invoices, contracts and statements. If you have any questions on your bills Jonathan will be your man to help you through any issues. He is here to help with all things finance. If you ever want to know how Yoda would have said something – just ask Jonathan – he is the knower of all things Yoda.
Marketing Department
Morgan Seitz
Marketing Maven | Marketing & Operations Director
Morgan is an upbeat, gregarious Marketer with an analytical mindset. An experienced project leader, Morgan is well versed in collaborating with all of Uptown Studios’ cross-functional teams. Particularly adept in developing product messaging, positioning, and go-to-market strategy, Morgan brings her product strategy background to every project she facilitates within the Marketing Department. When not creating and maintaining budgets, leading meetings, or wrangling the team, Morgan can be found traveling the world or teaching Barre class.
Hope Osterholt
Copy Cruncher | Marketing & Digital Ad Specialist
Hope will write and edit any and all copy for your next marketing project and help you develop a digital ad presence. Hope has extensive experience developing marketing campaigns and strategies and has been working in marketing for over 8 years. She develops, manages, and executes campaigns that will be engaging and informative to your target audiences. She can also create, manage, and analyze ads on Google, social media, and streaming services. She is certified in Google ads, Meta ads, and email marketing and is eager to help you with your next project. Getting creative with Hope is easy!
Michelle Renée Baldovin
Sovereign of Special Missions | Marketing Project Assistant
Michelle brings a wealth of diverse experiences to her role as Marketing Project Assistant. She has a background in nonprofit logistics support and has served as an educator for a wilderness program, leading girls on multi-day rock climbing, backpacking, and sea kayaking expeditions. Additionally, she has worked as an Executive Assistant for a nonprofit with a focus on mental health and financial resilience programs for women. Michelle has also lent her creative touch to marketing and design projects at a mindfulness and healing arts school. Based in the sunny state of Florida, she thrives on being outdoors. When she’s not assisting with marketing projects, you’ll find her camping, hiking, fishing, and surfing.
Creative Department
Noel Riggs
Queen of the Brands | Creative Director & Senior Graphic Designer
Noel can practically design in Photoshop with one hand and Illustrator with the other. A logo-master, Noel works closely with all clients to help guide the look and feel of their next big project or business venture. Queen of the Brands, Noel has made it her mission to help Sacramento stay on-brand, all of the time. From photographic style to vibe videos or six-figure campaigns, Noel’s design eye is detail-oriented and timeless. When not hitting Command+Z on her keyboard, Noel loves taking her son for walks and cooking up a feast in her kitchen.
Jill Bruschera
Everything Bagel | Design Project Assistant & Graphic Designer
Meet Jill, Uptown’s creative team assistant and designer, renowned for her innate creativity and unwavering attention to detail. Her exceptional communication skills and out-of-the-box thinking ensure seamless project operations. With a rich background as a visual artist, Jill is an indispensable member of the team, consistently elevating its creative endeavors. In 2014, Jill received her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts: Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago. Since then, Jill has spent time as a traveling, teaching artist, conducting hand papermaking workshops nationwide in her mobile papermaking studio, “The Mobile Mill.” Through her own body of work and the projects she touches at Uptown Studios, Jill aims to empower creative and ecological sensibilities while actively broadening preconceived notions of where art can be made and who can make it. When not at the desk, Jill can be found on roller derby rink, a hiking trail, or tinkering in an art studio.
Web Department
Jaime Fernandez
Digital Overlord | Web Director & UX Specialist
Jaime has worked in some aspect of web development, content writing and UX for over ten years. After attaining a Bachelor’s of Arts in Journalism in 2008 she worked as a web content creator, lead staff writer, copyeditor, and communications specialist for several top web development agencies. More recently, she’s focused on UX Design; specifically site mapping, information architecture and UX writing for websites, receiving her Google Certification in UX in 2021. Jaime regularly attends front end development conferences in order to stay up to date on the latest UX and web innovations for the agency. In addition to her focus on the front end user experience of websites, she is the department director and oversees the nuances of each project, as well as the development team, budgets, production schedules, client relations and acquisitions, incoming workflow and more. She appreciates pretty spreadsheets, flow-ey sitemaps, a thorough email instead of a tangential meeting, and crazy website launch days.
Brent Stromberg
Preeminent Web Nerd | Senior Web Developer
Brent has been one of Uptown’s go-to developers for over 12 years. After attaining a Bachelor’s of Arts in Photography, Brent shifted his creative eye to editing CSS and creating WordPress template customizations. His long-time presence at Uptown has allowed him to spearhead some of the agency’s most iconic projects, as well as oversee and implement new processes that have allowed the department to thrive. Brent’s strengths lie in writing and editing CSS, Sass, PHP, JavaScript, and HTML. He manages the Uptown server, all of the websites hosted on it, as well as the changes@ email account provided to all of our maintenance clients. Brent personally responds to every client email and assists with troubleshooting issues, making modifications to their websites and will even provide WordPress training for clients. He also manages all of the internal IT support, loves a good internet mystery to figure out, and is continually gaining more industry skills through regular conferences or classes. His technical skills go beyond the digital screen, as he also custom designs and builds his own keyboards and pointing devices.
April Auger
Web Badass | Senior Web Developer & UI Designer
April is a full stack web developer, UI designer and database expert. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Web Development as well as an Associate of Computer Information Science. Her endless technical skills include (but are not limited to): HTML5, JavaScript, React, CSS, SASS, Apache, MySQL, PHP, Bootstrap, Responsive Web Design, Search Engine Optimization, Cross-Browser Compatibility and more. She’s well versed on both the WordPress and Drupal content management systems. In addition to being an incredibly fast and efficient developer, she’s also a talented graphic and UI designer. With strong skills in Illustrator, PhotoShop, InDesign and XD. April is a unicorn of a developer in that she can create design prototypes and then develop them- making the transition from design to development incredibly smooth. April is our go-to team member for new website builds, complicated software integrations, databases as well as creative design, prototyping and wireframing. She’s a self proclaimed workaholic, completing projects at an unreal pace. She appreciates the creative process, solving development problems, and seeing her work come to life digitally.
Video Department
Gilda Taffet
Visual Storyteller | Video & Animation Director
Our video and animation director loves a good story. She is always searching for fresh ways to connect clients with their audience. Maybe the hook is best delivered through a 2D animation with funny characters or an animated infographic. Or, perhaps a heartfelt testimonial video will have the most direct impact. View our recent projects on Vimeo to see a wide range of styles and approaches. Whatever your story is, we’ve got you!