WICKED US

Wicked partners

KIM SHUGART

CEO & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

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COLT HAUGEN

COO

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MIKE SHUGART

VP OF STRATEGY & TECHNOLOGY

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Wicked Talent

KRIS BROADHEAD

BIRMINGHAM OFFICE PRESIDENT

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MANDI MCNABB

MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

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KIMY COPELAND

ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

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MACKENZIE SPILLANE

PUBLIC RELATIONS & CONTENT DIRECTOR

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CODY MARTIN

ACCOUNT COORDINATOR

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ERIC HEASLEY

EMAIL MARKETING MANAGER

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TONYA WITTE

MEDIA & TRAFFIC COORDINATOR

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RILEY PEARCE

WEB DEVELOPER

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STEPHEN DAVIS

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

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ELLE RUOFF

MULTIMEDIA ASSISTANT

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STAN NELSON

PRODUCTION ARTIST

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JOANN ADAMS

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

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AJ MARTIN

COPY WRITER

KIM SHUGART

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Our CEO, Kim Rene Shugart, always says of his unexpected name, with a genuine smile on his face, “tough name to grow up with.” Because his name doesn’t seem to fit his magnetic personality and towering stature, he has become accustomed to repeating, and even spelling his name, a couple times for those hands he is shaking for the first time. But after those first-time clients hear what he has to say, they soon realize that this guy with a funny name could make a serious impression on their brand.

More than 25 years ago, Kim began his career in marketing and communications in a garage in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was a founding partner of Shugart Matson Marketing Communications and also a founder of the Internet Services firm, Clear Ink. His company soared from just a couple dudes (and their talented, dedicated wives) into a $150 million merger between these two companies—boasting over 160 employees. Kim served as President and CEO of the new Clear Ink Corporation in Northern California, playing a significant part in advertising, marketing, communications, and online communities. Kim’s imagination is unparalleled, and clients are continually blown away by his creativity honed into their company’s vision.

Kim retired from Clear Ink in 2002 and he and his family relocated to Colorado Springs in 2003 to begin a new chapter in their lives. During this period Kim developed a successful consulting business working with a number of clients including BioPro Power, OC International, Smart Choice Auto, Coachman Energy, and others. Additionally, he has partnered in a number of new business ventures including Strategic Life Center, Integrity Insurance Services, and Wet Paint Marketing. In his role as CEO of WickedThink Marketing, Kim has provided strategic and creative direction to such companies as Autobytel, Magnum Shooting Center, Rocky Mountain Bank & Trust, Stellar Restaurant Solutions, and many others. Kim is strongly committed to serving the community and has served on the board of Americas Family, currently serves on the board of Parents Challenge. Through the years, Kim and his wife Diane have provided substantial pro-bono work for many great and worthy organizations including Project Inform (one of the first HIV/AIDS organizations), Susan G Koman, The Bay Area Rescue Mission, The Boys and Girls Clubs, and many others. Beyond this, Kim and Diane also ran and personally funded the Clear Ink Foundation which gave substantial donations to many worthy causes. Kim holds a B.S. in Marketing from San Francisco State University.

Charisma, charm, and impressive vision are some of his greatest qualities, and you’ll see all three as soon as you shake his hand. With a cigar pressed to his lips and wearing one of his signature crazy shirts… some of his best work is done in ultimate comfort: legs propped up in a lounger with, maybe, a little snort of Johnny Walker Black.

COLT HAUGEN

COO

Chief Operating Officer, Internet Strategist and our COO holds all the power to make our stuff rock in the online world. Colt Haugen brings considerable pay per click experience and search engine marketing to the WickedThink team. Colt began his career out of college at an online insurance lead generation organization, managing a multi-million-dollar annual budget and marketing auto insurance to consumers through their web-based platforms. During his tenure, Colt created a number of proprietary innovations, streamlined the user experience, and enhanced pay per click efficiencies. He did this all while developing his own personal methodology and approach to SEM (Search Engine Marketing).

Colt has always been interested in entrepreneurship. Prior to his work in the online insurance business, Colt founded three unique businesses while completing his college education. During that time, he received a Citizen of Distinction award (2008) from the city of Colorado Springs. He graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Communications.

Colt completed a number of training and equivalency courses in web marketing upon accepting the position of Chief Operating Officer at Wet Paint Marketing in 2010. His innovative outlook on old Internet problems gives WickedThink a leg up in the online marketing industry. A lifetime resident of Colorado Springs, Colt is committed to serving the youth in his city. He sits on the board of the Children’s Literacy Center, a Colorado Springs based nonprofit that provides one on one tutoring to children who read below grade level in low income areas. Colt enjoys spending time with his wife, his son, and his daughter. On the weekends, you can find him at his house in the mountains. He likes to go upland bird hunting, pretend to play golf, and suit-up for fly-fishing. He’s a true redneck who keeps goats, chickens, and cows on his farm… and refuses to wear SPF. He is generous with his fist-bumps and impassioned speeches. And on hot days, he might just burn the eyes in the office with his “skies out, thighs out” small shorts.

MIKE SHUGART

VP OF STRATEGY & TECHNOLOGY

Mike (more lovingly called Mikey) has stuck with this company since its inception, and we just can’t seem to shake him. Even though he’s never invited to the potlucks, he just doesn’t get the hint. And perhaps, after reading this, he will second-guess his request to have his little sister write his bio for him.

Alright, alright. I’ll speak to his true talents and impressive abilities. Mike has become an SEO Master…

KRIS BROADHEAD

BIRMINGHAM OFFICE PRESIDENT

Kris is a bit of a polymath…or he’s just ADD. Either way, his curiosity and genuine appreciation for just about anything and anyone has led him across the world studying subjects as varied as classic philosophy and data science. He’s good with things, but more importantly, he’s good at identifying which things to watch and why.

Kris has always had a knack for breaking down complex mechanisms in order to understand more fully how each piece is contributing to the whole. This skill has provided invaluable insights to clients when evaluating sales and marketing practices. His instincts to cut or reinforce a certain tactic is often controversial, and sometimes it goes against the grain of what is currently working. However, the results have earned him the trust of both his clients and his peers.

Kris studied philosophy and completed a Masters of Divinity at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Data Science at Georgia Tech. He thrives on travel, adventure, and all things social media. He has a lovely wife who threatens him daily, and a two year old baby boy who keeps him on his toes. He enjoys snowboarding, wake surfing, exploring foreign lands, and problem solving with big and small companies looking to grow. Oh, and he likes college football. Roll Tide.

MANDI McNABB

MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

At the age of fifteen, Mandi made her first movie – a documentary detailing her obsession with Harry Potter, which was all kinds of crazy (the obsession and the documentary). She hasn’t turned away from video since. During her four years at The Art Institute of Colorado, earning her Bachelor’s in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production, Mandi won multiple awards for cinematography, outstanding achievement, and graduated summa cum laude in 2010. Mandi has worked full-time for Wet Paint Marketing, now WickedThink Marketing, since then.

Mandi has accumulated a massive portfolio during her time at WickedThink, as she is proficient in video production, audio engineering, and photography. She has worked with a myriad of clients, producing hundreds of commercials – both television and radio. She is the primary shooter, editor, and animator for WickedThink’s various multi-media projects. She is adept at portrait, lifestyle, and studio photography. She also occasionally lends a hand proof-reading and putting together Wordpress websites. She is the full package. She is not humble.

Equipment-wise, Mandi enjoys shooting on her Canon 5D Mark IV, recording in her fully equipped sound studio, and editing in the Adobe Creative Suite.

In her spare time, Mandi runs a hobby business called Obnoxious Hats by Lady Woolthief where she makes beautiful, eccentric hats, works on cosplay photoshoots, and runs a craft blog. She is married to Adam, a cyber-security genius who is very supportive of all her endeavors and often assists on her shoots.

KIMY COPELAND

ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Kimy Copeland was hired for her exceptional talent in developing creative and refreshing copy no matter what the subject matter (checking accounts are interesting!). Using the power of words to tell a story, to explain, to inspire, to direct, or to intrigue is well within her range of talents. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication, and was quickly hired by Wet Paint Marketing to produce creative, search-engine-optimized content. While at Wet Paint, she developed web marketing skills and honed her talents through work with such clients as: FederalAutoLoan.com, SimplyRewards, FederalSolarSolutions.com, AIS, and others. She was then hired by the newly formed WickedThink Marketing as an associate creative director where her talents have been applied to such clients as Magnum Shooting Center, Rocky Mountain Men’s Clinic, SYNQ3, Wildwood Casino, Colorado Clothing/Soybu, NexAuto, AutoBytel, Rocky Mountain Bank & Trust, the Penkhus Automotive Group, and others.

She has a wealth of knowledge in managing a number of WickedThink clients, and has developed many online, video, and print communications. She also has a solid understanding of Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing.

Kimy is an advocate of the Oxford comma, overuse of the encouraging “thumbs up”, and of choosing ellipses for a slightly stronger pause (wait for it… wait for it). If all these talents aren’t impressive enough, she is also a mediocre crafter–emphasis on spray paint–and a pro dog mom. She has dreams of someday shoving her way across the rink as a Roller Derby Dame. Lastly, she is not a wine snob, but don’t touch her with that white stuff. Also, writing her own bio as though someone else had, left her feeling mildly uncomfortable…

Love a good pause.

Mackenzie Spillane

PUBLIC RELATIONS & CONTENT DIRECTOR

Whether writing a creative story or capturing an entrepreneur’s vision in a website, Mackenzie loves to write. Her passion for written communication, coupled with a natural eye and ear for language, enables her to capture the attention of readers and listeners. From a young age, she excelled in grammar; and, thanks to Mrs. Shinnick’s fourth grade class and a boy committed to picking his nose at the most inopportune moments, Mackenzie got to participate in multiple recordings and re-recordings of how-to-teach-grammar, video training. Joking aside, she clearly has both these individuals to thank because her pristine editing abilities have led her to award-winning papers and several press releases ran by top publications and TV stations.

At WickedThink Marketing, Mackenzie helps lead the team’s content production while also running the company’s public relations services. Her PR efforts have led to online and on-air placements for multiple clients. Media placements include regional pick-ups with KRDO channel 13, KKTV, the Gazette, and others, and industry-specific publications such as Fast Casual, Modern Restaurant Management, Food Newsfeed, Hospitality Technology, and more.

During her past three years with WickedThink, Mackenzie has participated in the development of several projects from conception to completion; projects for clients in a variety of industries from restaurant technology to gaming to sports training, and many more. She has a knack for becoming a subject-matter expert in a wide array of topics. And, coupled with her creative writing background, she can make most any topic engaging.

Among these projects, she helped develop a HIPAA compliance website and portal from concept to customer use. And, while hours of reviewing HIPAA laws will not make her list of favorite projects, she did enjoy creating scripts and working with WT’s videographer, Mandi McNabb, producing lengthy, effective, and dare she say, fun, HIPAA training videos. As one client stated, talking about trying to make HIPAA interesting, “It's like shining a turd.” Well, she and Mandi successfully shined it, receiving several compliments on the training portal and videos.

Before WickedThink, Mackenzie completed a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism at Vanguard University. And, while she thought she’d hit the track of a journalist after college, she ended up landing a paid internship with a top public relations firm, Capwell Communications, her senior year. This position came with many perks including an office-window, ocean view; however, most importantly, it trained Mackenzie in best practices for public relations. Mackenzie had the opportunity to work with multi-million-dollar companies and large organizations like Edwards Lifesciences, Parcel Pending, and the National Stroke Association.

When Mackenzie's not tapping the computer keys like a piano, she enjoys hiking, camping, playing volleyball, country dancing, jamming to music with her beat-up, bright orange mustang’s top down, road-tripping, traveling, watching movies, reading, jogging on a rare occasion, and sucking the marrow out of life with her best friend, aka the hubby, Nate.

CODY MARTIN

ACCOUNT COORDINATOR

Cody is a prodigal son of Colorado Springs, having grown up beneath the Rocky Mountains since birth, he has now returned after studying in the malicious heat of Phoenix, AZ for college.

Cody graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2017 with a double major in English Literature and Digital Film with an emphasis in Screenwriting. Soon after graduation, he went to work for Uber investigating the most severe reports by both Riders and Drivers. Missing family, friends, the mountains, and double-digit temperatures, Cody moved back to Colorado by transferring to Uber’s Denver office as a floor manager.

After some time back in-state, the bigger nerds at WickedThink lured Cody into their wacky office and there was no turning back.

While not writing copy, assisting with brand strategy, and generally fighting off general disorder for Wicked, Cody enjoys backpacking, reading and writing, cooking, and nerdy things that you don’t want in a written record.

ERIC HEASLEY

EMAIL MARKETING MANAGER

Eric is our master of all things email. From subject lines to spam traps, he guides our messaging from concept to completion.

After brief careers in education, cell phone sales, and local government (don’t ask … he doesn’t talk about it), Eric began tinkering with websites and thought it might be a good idea to make things on the internet instead of determining property tax values. With a few years of freelance web design and marketing consulting under his belt, Eric immersed himself in the world of email and has yet to return.

Eric comes to WickedThink after a long stint at a large non-profit where he helped manage several email lists totaling more than 2.5 million subscribers.

When not in the office, Eric’s life remains largely a mystery to us. He could be spending time with one (or all) of his three kids. He could be getting a little quality time in with the beautiful Colorado outdoors. He could be watching baseball. We’re not really sure …

TONYA WITTE

MEDIA & TRAFFIC COORDINATOR

Tonya was born and raised in Geneva, OH which is in the heart of Ohio’s wine country, a fact that she couldn’t adequately appreciate before it was too late…

She joined the US Air Force after high school to become a Lao Linguist. After becoming bored with speaking another language like a champ, she left the AF to start working as a property manager and front desk manager at a hotel. She also decided to dabble in the culinary arts as a sous chef before deciding that all of that was too overwhelmingly entertaining and finally confessed her undying love for numbers in an accounting office in 2000. It was actually quite romantic.

She has been in the accounting field until she began media buying in 2012 and hasn’t looked back since! While her one true love is still digits, cooking remains as a dirty little secret that her alphanumeric ball-and-chain still doesn’t know about. She’s also been known for spending some time with abstract painting, writing, philosophy, and hiking… but they’re all just friends. She loves spending time with family and friends and will always answer the call when the adventuring urge strikes!

RILEY PEARCE

WEB DEVELOPER

Oh! Hello! I didn’t see you sitting there. Well, since I have your attention, let me tell you my life story. You don’t have time? Don’t worry, I’m only twenty-two years old, it can’t be that long of a story. See, I was born very young and didn’t have much experience then. However, twenty-two years has been plenty of time to learn a thing or two. I have lived in Colorado my whole life and have never thought of leaving this state. I attended Colorado Springs Christian Schools since Pre-kindergarten and stayed there all the way until I graduated high school with, what I’m choosing to call “average marks.” In those years, I took an interest in computers and have been tinkering and playing around with software, hardware, and any other “-ware” you can think of. It was in my sophomore year that I decided that I wanted to work in such a field and really focused on web development.

I have been working since I was fourteen, where I started as a ranch hand at a horse boarding company in Black Forest. I worked there for four years shoveling… well, you know, and learned a great work ethic. I also watered, fed, and cared for 18 horses almost every day. Then, I started working as a student employee with Josh Nicholson (you should give his bio a read if you’ve got the time) in the Web Services team at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs where I really got into web development and learned that I enjoyed the work and, most importantly, that I was good at it. This was short-lived, however, as I didn’t stay a student at UCCS for long and could not work in the department anymore. So, naturally, I became a logistics manager at a wholesale security supply company. Which was cool for a very short while, as it was a dead-end job with no room to grow, I started looking elsewhere. That’s when I found my friends at Wicked Think. Josh had reached out to me needing some freelance work done, and after that first project, I was all about Wicked Think and wanting to be a part of their incredible team. I have been here for a few weeks at the time of writing and have loved every minute of it.

Since I’m sure you were itching to know, my weekends usually consist of driving my Nitrous Blue Ford Focus RS around town, working on my Dungeons and Dragons campaign, competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments, playing Halo with my best friend Menoly, or building computers with my friend Michael to resell as part of my side business.

Well, there you have it. Since you didn’t have much time, I figured I would cut out the parts where I fell off my bike, got my heart broken, and cried over spilled milk. I hoped you enjoyed your time, and thank you for listening!

Stephen Davis

Graphic Designer

Stephen has been working as a professional graphic designer since 2012. Stephen, being raised in Colorado Springs studied graphic design at Pikes Peak Community College and is a second-generation graphic artist. He has worked as a professional graphic designer for in-house communications specialized marketing and design for churches, individual companies, and agency settings, as well as freelance for over seven years. Stephen has extensive experience with many aspects of graphic design, creative strategy, animation, web design, UX/UI design, and marketing.

ELLE RUOFF

MULTIMEDIA ASSISTANT

I have been in the graphic design field for 2 years. It's been quite a journey to get here and I am honored to share some of my story with you. Being a military child I have been all over the world and seen some really amazing things, since a young age I always knew I wanted to do something really unique and exciting when I grew up. I have bounced across a few careers learning my own abilities and limits and after a long journey, I landed here. I spent time in Los Angeles, studying the special effects industry, learning both digital and practical effects.

Colt has always been interested in entrepreneurship. Prior to his work in the online insurance business, Colt founded three unique businesses while completing his college education. During that time, he received a Citizen of Distinction award (2008) from the city of Colorado Springs. He graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Communications.

When I came home after studying special effects makeup pretty intensely I decided to give Graphic Design a go. Ever since I have been absolutely in love with this fascinating and very much needed career. I took to Graphic Design quickly as it integrated so well into my own lifestyle. I love to Cosplay and play Dungeons and Dragons and I found that Graphic Design not only fit in so well with my two favorite hobbies but it actually allowed me to gain really important skills that I needed to further my passions.

Stan Nelson

PRODUCTION ARTIST

Stan Nelson has years of artistic experience under his paintbrush—in nearly every medium. After sophisticated scribbles and artsy hobbies weren’t enough, Stan launched his art career at a San Francisco Bay Area print house setting lead type, and printing leaflets and brochures. He even began selling a slew of extremely popular oil paintings at small galleries in the Castro District. Stan expanded his talents into comic book art just as the local comic scene exploded toward the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. Corporate advertising art came next as he went on to the California-based Nav-Lite Corporation, where he produced artwork for the company’s safety and emergency lighting ad campaigns using pen & ink, airbrush, and his first foray into digital art production—talents which are now tastefully gloat-worthy.

As the computer gaming industry grew in sophistication, he began designing package art and, later, texture art on 3D models for action-adventure game publishers such as RavenSoft, Valve, and Reload. As work dried up in California, he moved on to Colorado to work for his friend, Kim Shugart, at Mr. Biggs—one of the largest indoor amusement parks in the nation. There he designed many of the attractions and, with veteran artist, Paul Madson, helped to design the park’s widely recognized brand image. Since then, he has produced artwork for Mercedes-Benz of Colorado Springs, Coachman Energy Funds, BioPro Power, and The Compass Group.

As Senior Production Artist for WickedThink Marketing, he has done creative work for clients, Magnum Shooting, eAutoConnect, Wildwood Casino, AutoBytel, MainNerve, Rocky Mountain Men’s Clinic, and others.

A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, 1983 with a BA in English, minoring in etymology, he broke away from his interest in linguistics to pursue more artistic endeavors (doodles, rather than dialect, were his forte—though his syntax talents are ever present). When not producing art for customers, he produces art for personal enjoyment, continually expanding his skills in 2D, vector, and 3D art. An avid collector of miniatures, he paints models in striking detail adding one more layer to his love of art. An aficionado of heavy metal music, he plays bass guitar and has been exploring digital music as well using a Yamaha keyboard and midi software. His artistic talents are continually growing—as long as a swig of coffee is never too far away.

Joann Adams

Graphic Designer

I was born and raised most of my life in Georgia and lived in Colorado since 2017, mostly to be closer to the family (two sons and three granddaughters). I’ve been a part of the print and graphic design business for over 20 years and started my career working with Aflac (the duck) a long, long time ago. I have also worked with several commercial printing companies and advertising agencies. I fell in love with graphic design and this relationship still continues today. The goal of my work is to find unique and effective solutions to any design challenge thrown my way. Finding the best way to unite the client’s desires with the expertise of my design training and experience has been my passion. When I’m not designing, you will find me hanging out with my granddaughters. Watching one of them play volleyball, soccer or running track.

HEATHER HARDING

CONSUMER CONNECTIONS SPECIALIST

Heather is a true to form Texas cowgirl with a classy flare, and just the right level of charming quirkiness that fits in perfectly with the bombastic personalities of her peers. She grew up in Plano Texas but spent summers in Cape Cod before moving to the Springs. So, her larger than life, country-girl persona was beautifully tempered by east coast charisma and Colorado grit. That balance of character is what she brings to her work as the Consumer Connections Specialist at WickedThink.

While she was in the process of cultivating her abundance of awesomeness, her mother saw to her complete k-12 education personally. Then to keep the self-teaching gravy train rolling she enrolled in online courses at PennFoster using PPCC to supplement her pursuit of study in business. While in high school She started her first job at Taco Bell at the tender age of 14, and continued employment with them for 7 years. Then, as if to prove that everything is bigger and better from Texas, she even took on an internship at her local hospital’s marketing and radiology departments for several months when she was 15. Later she would go on to earn distinction as one of the top reps in T-Mobile’s technical support call center for her ability to quickly resolve customer issues.

Professional achievements aside, where Heather truly flourishes is in her ongoing equestrian pursuits. She regularly rides competitively, and wins, in both English and Western shows. In 2010 she walked away with 3rd place in Barrel Racing, and as World Champion in the Stakes Race at the World Show in Fort Worth, Texas. Yet even with such a prestigious background in art of horseback riding defining a huge portion of who she is, her love of horses is slightly overshadowed by her obsession with all things feline. She could talk your ear off for hours about horses but can wax poetic about cats for days so keep that in mind if her cats ever come up in conversation.

Heather is a competitive, highly motivated, and sympathetic woman who adores her animals and her best friend, who just happens to be her Husband. That same Husband who may or may not have written what you’re currently on the edge of your seat enjoying and may have a minuscule amount of personal bias. Don’t think too much about it.