That old adage, “It’s not about the technology, it’s about the people who built it,” is true. Okay, so maybe we made that up, but technology is no different than any other product created. It takes passionate, dedicated, hard working people who just want to get it right.

Now, enough of the cliché cheesy stuff… Let’s drill down to get to know more about our wizards behind the curtain. (Yep. More clichés.)

Paul Wagner
John O'Toole
Stephanie Hooper
Joe Lepis

CEO and Founder

Wagner earned his law degree at the University of Oregon in 2000, went on to start a real estate development firm and also dabbled in the restaurant industry. Shortly after the launch of the iPhone, he founded ForkFly. He loves nothing more than when someone asks him, “Hey, what’s the big idea?” Because he usually has four or five of them he’s been dying to bounce off of someone.

Chief Operating Officer, Resident Grown Up

John is a twenty-year veteran of the publishing industry with proven operations experience in marketing and communications companies. Around here, he tempers all of our grand ideas with a dash of necessary parental-like advisement about spending and such. He’s even been known to bring in economy packs of toilet paper, securing his place as the dad who takes care of us all, in untold ways.

Chief Marketing Officer, Head Cheerleader

Stephanie has held key leadership roles working for agencies and clients in NY, LA, SF, Seattle and Portland. She has led successful product launches for Starbucks, Microsoft, Adidas, AT&T and other major brands. She is our go-to girl for gettin’ it done. She never shies away from a challenge, and has a tenacity and enthusiasm proven to be quite infectious.

VP of Engineering, Main Brain

Joe brought a wide-range of experience to ForkFly, from working on signal detection systems on nuclear submarines to enterprise portals with 100,000 daily users. That's code for code geek. We don't understand some of what he says, but everything he builds is totally cool.

Simon Mulverhill

National Sales Director, Soap Box Commentator

Simon is a 15-year veteran of the alternative newsweekly business with advertising sales management and publishing experience. He is also really good at spreading the ForkFly gospel to media partners that struggle with the neverending onslaught of technology choices. In a sea of used car salesemen, Simon stands out as the white knight with real, effective solutions for customers.


Take #2,347. Everyone had their eyes open at the same time. Finally.

Marketing

Tami Wood
Marketing Manager, Social Chair
Tami came to ForkFly with over 15 years’ experience as a small business and retail consultant. Her passion is making merchants successful which makes her the peas to our carrots. Tami brings a charm and grace to an office otherwise loaded with braun and bad body function jokes.

Operations

Hannah Fullerton
Administrative Assistant, Right Hand Woman
Hannah is quite simply a rockstar that none of us can live without. There’s not a project that she hasn’t mastered or a problem she can’t solve. We’d be lost without her task master versatility. And she’s quite literally book smart - when she isn’t buzzing around ForkFly, she’s at her second job as one of PDX’s top librarians.

Technology

Karlo Kilayko
Mobile Engineer and Magician
Karlo recently joined the ForkFly team and is currently programming the mobile ForkFly applications. Previously, he worked in the console/PC games industry, but became so enamored with the smartphone revolution, he returned to his roots as a developer. It’s a sweet mix for us – he’s made a game out of making our mobile app a bonafide champion.

Ian Van Ness
Senior Web Developer/Chief BS Detector
Ian just transplanted from the east coast, recently joined the ForkFly team as the resident dreamer, with a strong background in platform engineering and scalability. His previous experiences include Gilt Groupe and Gawker Media. His east coast sensibilities are a constant source of awe and admiration to us more laid back west coasters.

Tony Rieker
Senior Web Developer, Digital Alchemist
Tony joined ForkFly after gutting it out in the mind numbing corporate America tech scene. Count on Tony to spot the bug that most would miss. We don’t know what kind of concoctions he pulls together at that desk of his, but he ceaselessly comes up with the solution that leads to dev pushes that are pure gold.

Ben Roberts
Senior Web Developer, King of the One Liner
We hit the jackpot and scored Ben earlier this year. He currently is showing his mastery by jumping between front-end UI and back-end programming. Previously, he worked for a large companies, but missed the startup environment and hopped aboard the ForkFly train with gusto. Though he works quietly and diligently, he still finds the time to come up with the most awesome, out-of-the-blue one liners in a constant and steady stream.

Laurie Hotovy
Designer, Master Crafter
It is not often that you find a designer that can toggle between interactive and print beautifully. Laurie is a rare breed of talent that can bring her unparalleled designs to life in any format. She’s also a trooper who sits with among all the testosterone-laden lads on Dev Island and takes it all in stride. And the boys don’t complain either – it’s a breath of fresh air to sit next to a talented artiste.

Lucy
Pug, Resident Snarfer
Miss Lucy keeps the ForkFly office buzzing with humor. Her snorts and snoring are white noise for us now, but newcomers to the office are ceaselessly entertained by it. She’s our resident meet and greet director. The mailman is her BFF.