Tina has been leading her own design firm since 1976 and is the community face of Uptown Studios. She brings a wealth of experience to every project, offering a big picture perspective to each campaign. Tina’s work with non-profits has made her a pillar within the Sacramento community, regularly attending events, workshops and performing in-person outreach. It was her vision that created Uptown Studios, and made it what it is today. On the day to day, Tina is living her best life out in the world, capitalizing on her charisma and extroverted personality to bring in clients, enhance visions, and add her own unique spark to Uptown’s name and brand.

After serving as Uptown Studios CFO since 2000, Jonathan now serves as Uptown Studios’ Chief Executive Officer. He oversees all operations and financial activities, staff relations and management, and offers experience and insight as the business expands and adapts. Jonathan studied Consumer Food Science and Accounting at UC Davis before spending many years CFOing his way through several organizations. His calming and measured leadership allows for smooth business operations and positive relationships with both staff and stakeholders. When he’s not running a whole entire company, he enjoys tending to his goat farm, hanging with his family and debating the merits of every iteration of Star Wars.

Before joining the Uptown Studios team in 2021, Morgan spent seven years in corporate marketing at Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt. In 2014 she received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas, focusing on finance and marketing. On the day-to-day, Morgan crafts marketing plans across diverse sectors, collaborates with all cross-functional teams, and oversees projects, timelines, budgets, revenue growth and more. As a dynamic and outgoing marketer, she has used her sharp analytical mind to coordinate and create some of Uptown’s most successful campaigns. When she’s not leading back-to-back Zoom meetings, you can find her exploring new destinations or teaching local Barre classes.

Since 2017, Noël has been Uptown’s go-to brand specialist, after gaining over a decade of valuable experience and wisdom working on brand projects for top corporations and smaller businesses alike. Gaining a BS degree in Graphic & Web Design and Branding from the Art Institutes of Sacramento, she went on to hone her skills in branding by mastering logo and brand identities, graphic design, illustrations, copywriting, and more. On the day-to-day, Noël not only works at creating full corporate  identities and creative concepts, she also manages the creative department through organizational techniques, leadership flare, and a passion for the most perfect process. From photographic style to vibe videos or six-figure campaigns, Noël’s design eye is detail-oriented and timeless. When she’s not navigating something super cool on Illustrator, she’s a mom to two young boys, enjoys weightlifting, over-the-top cooking, and kearning street signs with her mind.

Before coming on as a department director for Uptown, Jaime worked within digital web spaces for almost 15 years. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Arizona State University in 2008, she worked as a copyeditor for major publications, a web content creator, a lead staff writer, and a communications specialist for a number of reputable companies throughout California and beyond. 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. 

On the day-to-day, she creates sitemaps, oversees project nuances, development teams, budgets, production schedules, incoming workflow, and client relations. When she’s not writing a way-to-thorough email to avoid a meeting, she teaches stand up comedy classes at the Sacramento Comedy Spot, as she’s been performing stand up comedy for over a decade.

Gilda (Jill-dah), Uptown’s video and animation director since 2022, loves a good story and design challenge. She accumulated and refined her skills in school (California Institute of the Arts, CSUS, San Francisco State, School of Motion), in studio and freelance businesses and through countless personal explorations. She manages client projects from concept to completion and directs and participates in script writing and editing, illustration, storyboarding, 2D animation, motion graphics, video producing and editing and sound design. Her daily toolbox includes Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premier Pro, Audition and InDesign. She is continually in search of fresh narrative strategies and technical information and she thrives on collaboration with other design, video and animation professionals. Gilda works directly with clients to craft evocative stories with a sharp eye and genuine appreciation for the art. When she’s not on location with a film crew or in a dark room designing and making characters move, she enjoys going to art museums, film and music festivals, hiking, dancing and adventurizing with her family.

As one of the most long-running members of the Uptown team, Brent started at Uptown in 2009, when the company was still evolving. In 2006 Brent received his Bachelor of Arts in Photography from Sacramento State University, before shifting his creative eye towards web development. He  made his mark as a developer at the Penny Saver, mastering CSS, Sass, PHP, JavaScript and HTML. On the day to day, Brent maintains all the websites on our server, and the server itself. He provides direct IT support, troubleshoots client issues (personally responding to every inquiry) and performs WordPress training for clients. Brent has been a part of some of Uptown’s most iconic projects, and continues to grow with the industry. When he’s not solving an internet mystery, he actually designs and builds his own custom keyboards.

A beloved member of the Uptown team since 2020, Jill has been able to bring a versatile and magnetic energy to the team through attitude, skill and straight up charisma. In 2014, Jill received her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts: Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago. Through her own body of work and creative experiences, Jill is able to offer something invaluable to Uptown projects: the ability to empower creative and ecological sensibilities; a true artist’s touch to even the most corporate of agency projects. On the day to day, Jill assists with major design projects, handles client relations, and generally adds artfulness to any project. When she’s not sprucing up a logo under a deadline, Jill can be found roller skating around the city, hanging on a rock climbing wall, or tinkering around in an art studio.

After coming onto the Uptown team in 2020, April had been a full stack web developer for over 20 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Web Development as well as an Associate degree in Computer Information Science. Her endless technical skills include (but are not limited to): PHP, JavaScript, React, HTML5, CSS, SASS, Apache, MySQL, 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.

On the day to day, 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. On the rare occasion she is not coding, April can be found hanging with her three tiny pups, enjoying a nice glass of wine, or spending mornings at the gym.

In 2021 Hope joined the Uptown team after five years of marketing experience in various industries. While spending time honing a bucket of versatile marketing skills, Hope received her Certification in Google Ads and Meta Ads in 2022, all while continuously refining her expertise in copywriting and email marketing. On the day-to-day, Hope is the go-to expert for crafting and editing captivating copy, managing organic social media strategies, creating and analyzing Google Ads, and generally adding value to any project she touches. She’s a whiz at developing digital ad strategies that make a brand stand out. When she’s not locked into Google Ad Manager, Hope bakes amazing, elaborate cakes (even running her own online business for it), hangs out with her pup, Bogey, and is currently planning her wedding!

Before coming on board as Uptown’s go-to Project Assistant, Michelle gained valuable experience as an Executive Assistant for several non-profits, primarily those focused on mental health and financial resilience programs for women. In 2019 Michelle graduated from Prescott College with a Bachelor of Arts in Experiential Education, then focused on contributing her creative touch to marketing and design projects through her versatility and attention to detail. On the day-to-day, Michelle assists on all major projects in varying capacities and is a masterful note-taker. Her pragmatism, eagerness, and kind-hearted nature have made her a noted and valued member of the Uptown team. When she’s not typing up a thorough meeting recap, you can find her at the beach, camping, or hiking with her dog, Frida.