A Cleveland native, Amy Balliett moved to Seattle in 2004 to take in the Pacific Northwest for “a few years.” Now with permanent roots in the city, she still prides herself on her Cleveland roots and rustbelt work ethic.

Amy owned her first company, a candy store and ice cream parlor, at the age of 17 before heading off for college. She subsequently built a successful career in SEO and marketing, and has headed up SEO at several companies. In 2009, she partnered with Nick Grant to build lead generation–based websites, but in the fall of 2010, the business pivoted to an entirely new model: visual communication design.

In the years since, Amy has grown Killer Visual Strategies to become the leader in its industry, driving communication and content marketing solutions for such global brands as Microsoft, Boeing, Adobe, Nikon, Starbucks, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the United Nations. Considered an expert in her field, Amy has spoken at more than 175 conferences around the world, including SXSW, Adobe MAX, and SMX Advanced. She is also an Inc.com columnist, a teacher at the School of Visual Concepts, a guest lecturer at the University of Washington, and a LinkedIn Learning and Lynda.com instructor.

Rachel Behringer is the director of client success at Killer Visual Strategies. Rachel believes that at the core of all successful creative partnerships are trust and transparency. In her role, she strives to learn how we can better provide value to our clients and strengthen our relationships. Rachel has been at Killer since August 2016 and was previously Killer's account coordinator. Rachel received a BA in communications and marketing from the University of Washington and happens to also be a certified Montessori teacher. She loves Husky football, traveling, and her golden retriever, Brady.

Windie Chao is a lead visual designer at Killer Visual Strategies. She moved from Taipei, Taiwan, to the Pacific Northwest in 2007. She received a degree in graphic design, and has been designing for a variety of industries ever since. Clients she has worked with in the past include Amazon, Eddie Bauer, GeekWire, Microsoft, Nike, and T-Mobile. She is a creative, visual thinker who loves solving problems and organizing information. Her goal is to create beautiful and functional design that provides good experiences for people who see it, play it, or use it. She speaks fluent Mandarin and Japanese, and her spare time is spent dabbling in photography and traveling the world.

Graham Cox is a senior motion designer and Killer's technical director. For more than half his life, Graham has had a passion for animation and motion design in various formats, be it film, web, or the emerging field of virtual reality. His interest in technology began in 1999 when he got his first computer, loaded with PaintShop Pro. Adobe Photoshop soon followed. More than 17 years later, with a firm understanding of Adobe products and a passion for bleeding-edge technology, he hopes to bring Killer Infographics into the forefront of tech, entertainment, and visual communication for all.

Southern-born and -raised, Lauren Cunningham is executive account strategist at Killer Visual Strategies. Lauren earned her BFA in fashion design and has devoted her time to pursuing creative endeavors such as photography, fashion and food styling, blogging, small-scale videography, freelance graphic design, and illustration. Thanks to this experience, Lauren brings a mélange of storytelling skills to the table.

Since beginning her job at Killer Visual Strategies in 2014, Lauren has managed hundreds of static and motion graphic projects, and continues to grow in her role as executive account strategist. She works alongside the account coordinator and director of client success to build strong relationships with our clients, develop strategies that support their goals, and facilitate communication throughout and across projects.

Starting with an early love for music and the arts, Taylor Doran was led to a career in graphic design by a passion for creating. He graduated from Eastern Washington University, receiving a BA in visual communication and design with a minor in art. Taylor now has more than 5 years of professional experience designing, illustrating, and animating for companies such as Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, T-Mobile, Nike, Ookla, AT&T, Amazon, and Toyota. Born and brought up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, Taylor has developed a fondness for exploring the great outdoors and enjoys backpacking, snowboarding, and traveling the world. He seeks to use his creativity and insight to arrive at meaningful solutions for his clients as art director at Killer Visual Strategies.

Nicholas Hartmann is a senior motion designer and Killer's director of education. He hails from the small town of Wenatchee, Washington — otherwise known as the “Apple Capital of the World.” After finishing his studies in linguistics, Japanese, and Mongolian at Western Washington University, Nic started working on the production of live-action videos before finding his way into animating motion graphics. Upon completing his month-long internship with Killer, he joined the team full-time in March 2013 and has been bringing stories to life through animation ever since. Nic especially appreciates how high-quality data visualization can capture a viewer’s attention and communicate quickly and effectively while bridging cultural and socioeconomic barriers. His combined passions for animation and world languages spur his goal to create documentaries that raise awareness about endangered languages.

Charlie Holbert is the chief marketing officer at Killer Visual Strategies. His career started out in the “blogosphere,” where he spent the majority of his time copywriting for SEO and lead generation. He took what he learned to transition into junior sales and marketing for Killer, where he helped develop customer relations and build brand awareness through various digital marketing strategies. Today, Charlie and his team continue to build on their goals of developing and testing unique strategies for customer acquisition, as well as positioning Killer Visual Strategies as a thought leader in the visual communication industry through quality content development.

Hailing from the frost-bitten north — Minneapolis, Minnesota — Grant Landram moved to the Seattle area in 2003 seeking a milder climate, and has since adopted it as his native home.

Grant began his career experimenting with web design and development while working for a small publishing startup. What started as a few freelance web design gigs quickly grew into a full-time consultancy, and then into a boutique Seattle web studio serving local giants such as Nordstrom and Big Fish Games.

Since then, Grant has led digital services teams of all shapes and sizes, working on campaigns and developing partnerships that drive hundreds of millions of engagements for Fortune 100 brands all over the world, including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and ESPN.

When not immersed in digital strategy, you can find Grant exploring Seattle’s culinary landscape (he recommends you visit the chef’s counter at Miller’s Guild), or enjoying the great outdoors with his partner and their two dogs.

Erin McCoy is director of content marketing and public relations at Killer Visual Strategies. She joined the Killer team as a research and content editor just a month after she moved to Seattle from her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, in 2012. Erin earned her BA in Spanish with minors in French and Russian, and holds 2 master’s degrees from the University of Washington: an MFA in creative writing and an MA in Spanish literature. Before working at Killer, she taught English in Malaysia as a Fulbright fellow, and later worked as a newspaper reporter. She has won nearly 2 dozen awards in photojournalism, and has dedicated those skills to boosting Killer’s brand recognition and thought leadership in the visual communication space.

Since Erin took on her marketing/PR role, Killer has been named a member of the Inc. 5000 for 3 years in a row; has been featured in such publications as Inc., Forbes, Mashable, and the Huffington Post; and has been invited to present at such conferences as SXSW and SMX Advanced.

Josh Miles is the president and chief creative officer at Killer Visual Strategies. After a youth spent in the farmlands of NW Washington, he moved to Seattle to study English and philosophy, during which time he developed a passion for storytelling and narratology. He put this passion to work with a Seattle-based film production company, working on multiple award-winning productions before joining Killer Visual Strategies in 2012. He has since held numerous positions within the company, always driven by the passion to craft visual communication that helps clients better connect with their audiences. He now works with the executive and creative teams to define Killer’s creative and strategic vision for the future, while also meeting with clients and project teams to identify creative solutions and build lasting partnerships.

Lydia Nygren is director of project management at Killer Visual Strategies. After earning a BS in communications with a focus in advertising and photojournalism from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2007, Lydia began her career as a print designer in Minneapolis, where she realized that her genuine and adaptable communication style was integral for successful client work. When she relocated to Seattle in 2011, Lydia shifted into a project management role to expand her skills. As director of project management at Killer, Lydia challenges her team to hold open dialogue and nurture a collaborative approach to create deeper levels of mutual understanding, ensuring Killer can always provide solutions for enhancing a project’s intended story, design, and user experience.

Elizabeth is a senior project manager at Killer Visual Strategies. After earning a JBA in strategic communications and BA in communication arts at the University of Wisconsin — Madison, she honed her project management skills at a marketing firm specializing in medical device technology before transitioning into a communications role in the public sector. More recently, as the web content strategist for a community college in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Elizabeth managed and produced web content across the institution’s departments and enjoyed guiding colleagues in telling their departments' stories in a way that would resonate with online audiences. At Killer, Elizabeth thrives on delving deeper into the visual communication realm to both build upon her relationship-building skills and broaden her project management skill set.

Abi Pollokoff is the director of content at Killer Visual Strategies. Originally from the Chicago area, she moved to Seattle in 2014 from New Orleans. With a BA in English, French, and Italian and an MFA in poetry, she is dedicated to exploring the nuances and possibilities of language. Before joining Killer, Abi spent time as a writing instructor and book editor. She is a published poet and spends her time outside of work engaging with Seattle's literary community. All of these experiences bolster her work today by enabling her to write for and communicate with different audiences. Abi strives to apply these perspectives to target the unique goals of every project. She enjoys developing strong working relationships with clients and creating human connection through the writing process.

Megan Popovich was born and raised in a small town in Northern Kentucky and attended college at Northern Kentucky University, graduating in 2018 with a BFA in visual communication design. She moved to Seattle in early 2019 to start working at Killer. Megan has been interested in design since high school, and is eager to learn everything she can about it. She views design as problem-solving, and enjoys coming up with solutions. Another of Megan’s interests is traveling. In her free time, she’s usually on a weekend trip to somewhere new, or exploring her new surroundings and taking in all of Seattle’s charm.

Blake Quackenbush is a lead visual designer at Killer Visual Strategies. He shares a birthday with his native state of Colorado, grew up biking suburban streets, and developed his creativity painting monsters. He received a degree in visual communication design from Seattle Pacific University; there, he met Killer’s art director during a guest lecture, which eventually helped him land at Killer. After a stint back in Denver, he and his wife realized they felt more at home in the Northwest, and found their way back.

At Killer, Blake has loved the opportunity to work in the disciplines of design, illustration, and animation, and pursue learning in new visual arenas as well. He approaches every project as an opportunity to use design to create beautiful and effective solutions. He’s young in his career, but already feeling the benefit of cutting his teeth at an expert visual communication agency.

Tim Sheehan is director of strategy at Killer Visual Strategies. He was born and raised in a small town in Pennsylvania, where he studied English and philosophy at the local university. Tim’s career in writing began in New York City, just a couple hours from where he grew up in Pennsylvania. In New York, he spent time developing a broad editorial skill set, from content marketing to copyediting to breaking news. Tim’s never-stop-learning attitude allows him to approach the unique needs of Killer’s clients with the adaptability needed to reach diverse audiences. He believes in the importance of communication and understanding what drives audiences.

Lucy Todd is the chief process officer at Killer Visual Strategies. She is a Seattle native and Western Washington University graduate. A Killer employee since 2011 and executive since 2014, Lucy has researched for, written, and/or project-managed more than 4,000 projects for the company, affording her key insights into the formation and maintenance of our internal and customer-facing processes. This experience is invaluable in allowing her to lead and empower Killer’s content and project management teams to success; it also contributes to her expertise in evaluating processes and procedures regularly to ensure our team operates efficiently and effectively as the company scales. Lucy enjoys managing the day-to-day at the office, offering a unique perspective when a team or colleague feels stuck, and learning from her peers and clients each day.

Kameron Walsh is an account coordinator at Killer Visual Strategies. Originally from Southern California, she spent six years in Philadelphia before making her way back to the West Coast to call Seattle home. She has a BS in photography, a minor in English literature, and a passion for gallery walls, books, and spreadsheets. Through her previous experiences as an education coordinator at a photography resource center and a project manager and content specialist at a marketing agency, she discovered her love for working directly with clients to build lasting relationships and create the best possible client experience. From your very first conversation with Killer to the kickoff of your first (or tenth) project and beyond, Kameron will work with the director of client success, your account manager, and your project team to ensure that your goals are kept top-of-mind every step of the way.

Cole is a visual designer at Killer Visual Strategies. With parents that were international educators, he grew up in Shanghai, China, and had the opportunity to travel the world with his family from a young age. At Killer, Cole enjoys stretching his design and illustration skills alongside a group of talented team members, and has an ever-growing passion for learning. Outside of design, he has a love for music and film, and enjoys the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Andrew Willoughby is the creative director at Killer Visual Strategies. He is a native of the Pacific Northwest, where he studied graphic design, joining Killer in 2014. He has a great affinity for design, but another passion of his is music — he’s played the drums since he was a kid and is currently the drummer for a local Seattle rock band. While he loves going to all the great restaurants around the city, he is also an avid cook and beer enthusiast. He has a willingness to learn in all aspects of his life, and continues to push himself professionally and personally to keep growing.

Jake Woodard is a digital producer and senior project manager at Killer Visual Strategies. A lifelong passion for art, illustration, and storytelling led him to pursue a BFA in art, while dabbling in many other storytelling disciplines such as film and writing. Jake also has more than 10 years of customer service experience in a variety of roles. After spending the fall of 2015 teaching English in Spain and traveling around the rest of Europe, Jake returned home to Seattle and began his career at Killer Infographics. He started as a project manager for static and interactive projects, then transitioned to the motion graphic team, eventually becoming a producer. Jake has managed and produced projects for a wide variety of clients, from nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies and everything in between. He continues to broaden and improve his skill sets by contributing design time to the marketing team when he can, and continually developing better partnerships with Killer’s clients.