Think big
Do the right thing
Exceed expectations
Have fun

Kirk Oleson
CEO / Partner
30+ years experience — After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1989, with a Masters of Business Administration degree in Marketing, Kirk started at Ford as District Sales Representative and worked his way through all the positions in the regional office finishing his career with Ford as Regional Marketing Manager. Kirk came to Graham Oleson in 1998 as Client Services Manager, heading up new business development and was quickly promoted to Chief Operating Officer. In 2006, Kirk was named CEO. Kirk has a unique perspective on automotive marketing working both with the manufacturers and the dealers. Kirk is a very hands on leader ensuring Graham Oleson always stays in touch with our clients.

Kirk Oleson
CEO / PartnerYour first car?: 68’ Camaro
How many speeding tickets do you have: More than 1
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: No, but if I would it would probably be Free Falling – Think Jerry Maguire

Rachel McCormack
President
17+ years’ experience — Rachel has spent the majority of her career developing and implementing marketing and advertising campaigns for clients of all types, including companies such as American Express, The Ritz- Carlton, Alaska Air, and numerous auto dealerships. In 2013 Rachel rejoined Graham Oleson to head up the Honda account team. She became our Vice President over account services and now serves as our President. Rachel is extremely passionate about not only managing client relationships, but making sure we serve as an extension of the client’s marketing and sales teams. She isn’t satisfied until a client’s goals are met or exceeded.

Rachel McCormack
PresidentWhen did you start?: This time? December 2013. Last time? July 2003.
Your first car?: 1986 Honda Civic SI
How many speeding tickets do you have: Now? None. Ever? 2
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: If so, what song? Absolutely! No particular song, but probably something by Snoop or Dre.

Tara Klein
V.P. of Finance
20+ years’ experience – Tara has worked her entire career in the Accounting and Banking industry. This has included performing collateral audits tied to lines of credit, monthly/annual closing of company records, development and implementation of GAAP regulated accounting policies and processes while overseeing the day to day operations of the finance, HR/PR and IT departments. Tara’s family is from the Northwest originally, and she has had the opportunity to live and work in both large cities and small communities before settling down in Colorado Springs 13 years ago. She joined Graham Oleson in 2008, was promoted to Controller in 2013 and more recently the VP of Finance. Tara brings an in-depth knowledge and continued commitment to ensure that through financial strategies and budget analysis, we have proper practices in place that allow us to be transparent in all aspects to our clients.

Tara Klein
V.P. of FinanceYour first car?: Mercury Tracer, White with Red pinstripping
How many speeding tickets do you have: Maybe a few more than I should have!
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Of course! Anything that is on, but Lady Antebellum or Imagine Dragon are great to sing with.

Eric Olson
Integrated Strategy Director
15+ years’ experience – With humble beginnings working across the very early stages of Google’s ad platforms, Eric has had the opportunity to drive client and campaign success across a variety of industries including auto, utilities, health, QSR, finance, travel, and hospitality. At peace within the marriage of data and intuition, he strives to maximize ROI through the latest innovations. Initially joining us as the Digital Director in 2015, Eric is now the Integrated Strategy Director and guides our team in planning, executing, monitoring, and relentlessly optimizing our clients’ paid media campaigns. A sucker for trends and a glutton for insights, Eric continuously works to maintain a proactive mindset in this reactive world.

Eric Olson
Integrated Strategy DirectorYour first car?: 1989 Ford Probe
How many speeding tickets do you have: An existing gag order referencing any information pertaining to the above question will not be lifted until next year.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I consider it more harmonizing. And while there is no one particular song, I feel that I offer a very rousing rendition of “I Want You” by Savage Garden.

Alex Jessop
Project Manager

Alex Jessop
Project ManagerWhen did you start?: 1/09/2017
Your first car?: 2011 Suzuki SX4 named Billie Jean, “heee heee”.
How many speeding tickets do you have: 1, and I shudder to think of it.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I don’t think I’d remember how to drive if the ride was silent. I love to rock out to Lizzo, Britney Spears, Florence + the Machine, Leikeli47, Christina Aguilera, Salt-N-Peppa, the list goes on.

Allena Nimetz
Sr. Integrated Media Strategist

Allena Nimetz
Sr. Integrated Media StrategistWhen did you start?: 12/16/19
Your first car?: 1988 red Ford Mercury Tracer. But that wasn’t my favorite car. My favorite car was my 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera; you wouldn’t believe how many sorority girls you can cram into one, if it is headed down to Rosarita Beach for Spring Break.
How many speeding tickets do you have: 0
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I do sing – although not terribly well. Anything by Tom Petty, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dave, Janice or Mitch King gets me going.

Anjanette Taylor
Associate Media Director

Anjanette Taylor
Associate Media DirectorWhen did you start?: October 1993
Your first car?: Ford Mustang
How many speeding tickets do you have: Currently, none.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Sometimes. Nothing in particular.

Carly Laabs
Accounting Clerk

Carly Laabs
Accounting ClerkWhen did you start?: December 2013
Your first car?: Purple Chevy Cavalier
How many speeding tickets do you have: I’ll never tell
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Yes, with fist pumping, when called for. Any song will work, whether I know the real lyrics or not.

Chris Frees
Designer

Chris Frees
DesignerWhen did you start?: May 2016
Your first car?: 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee
How many speeding tickets do you have: Zero!
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: That is classified.

Danielle Wanner
Accounting Clerk

Danielle Wanner
Accounting ClerkWhen did you start?: 8/24/2015
Your first car?: Jeep
How many speeding tickets do you have: 0
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Sometimes and I sing whatever is playing.

Donna Welker
Executive Account Director

Donna Welker
Executive Account DirectorWhen did you start?: February 2018
Your first car?: First car… I’m a car enthusiast so I drive every car like it’s my first! Being an enthusiast and a high mileage driver, I’ve owned more than 20 cars and always looking for my next.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: There’s always a concert in my car, I’m the lead singer and everyone from Kenny Chesney to Lil Wayne sing back up for me.

Emily Brassard
Production Manager

Emily Brassard
Production ManagerWhen did you start?: Ironically I just got paperwork from HR with this exact date on there- April 25th 2016
Your first car?: Geo Metro
How many speeding tickets do you have: Lets go with 3
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: That’s the only way to drive. Well that and listening to Johnjay and Rich. Haha. All the songs but if I had to choose these are some solid choices: Can’t Stop the Feeling- JT or Sweet Caroline- Neil Diamond

Georgia Schreiner
Integrated Media Strategist

Georgia Schreiner
Integrated Media StrategistWhen did you start?: June 2013
Your first car?: 2002 Honda Civic
How many speeding tickets do you have: Technically 2; should have gotten a 3rd but the cop kindly gave me a ticket for using the emergency lane to pull over instead of the shoulder and didn’t write the speeding portion of the ticket.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Of course! If it wasn’t for singing while I drive, I wouldn’t know the entire Hamilton soundtrack.

Jennifer Davis
Regional Vice President

Jennifer Davis
Regional Vice PresidentWhen did you start?: I started with the agency in February 1993. Now on my third tour after having worked with other automotive agencies (and even selling cars one summer), Graham Oleson has been my home for over half my career.
Your first car?: My first car was a Mazda 626. Great college car.
How many speeding tickets do you have: I do not have any current speeding tickets and I don’t want to get into the past. Well, because, it’s the past.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I don’t really sing in the car but one song I can’t resist singing to is “Freedom” with George Michael.

Jeremy Graham
Associate Creative Director

Jeremy Graham
Associate Creative DirectorWhen did you start?: August 8th, 2017
Your first car?: 1994 Green Chevy Tahoe. My brother Kenneth once drove Dave Chappelle in it.
How many speeding tickets do you have: 1, but it wasn’t my fault.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I do. I have two daughters, so Moana is on a constant loop in my car. I don’t care who you are, if a 3 three old asks you to sing with her, you’d better belt it out.

Jerry Graham
Chairman / Founder

Joel Cox
Digital Strategist

Joni Melendrez
Senior Account Manager

Joni Melendrez
Senior Account ManagerWhen did you start?: November 1, 2004 (Second Tour Start Date: October 15, 2013)
Your first car?: The first car that I didn’t have to share with my twin sister was a ’98 Dodge Neon – Electric Blue. My sister also had a ’98 Dodge Neon but her car was white.
How many speeding tickets do you have: Knocking on wood…I can only recall one speeding ticket in my life, but I’ve been pulled over several other times and have been fortunate enough to not get a ticket.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I sing and dance in the car. If I’m on my own, my go-to song is “Brown-Eyed Girl”…if I have my boys in the back seat, the volume goes up for anything Disney related, “Friend Like Me, Under the Sea, Be our Guest, You’re Welcome, Kiss the Girl...”

Kaleroi Saunders
Account Coordinator

Kaleroi Saunders
Account CoordinatorWhen did you start?: February 1st, 2020
Your first car?: Pontiac - Grand Am
How many speeding tickets do you have: 0
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Yes / Song: Florence + The Machine - Drumming Song

Karen Neaves
Payroll/HR Administrator

Karen Neaves
Payroll/HR AdministratorWhen did you start?: 6/23/2016
Your first car?: 1980 Candy Apple Red with white leather interior 4 speed Mercury Zephyr – I thought I was so stinkin’ cool !
How many speeding tickets do you have: None at the moment. At least 5 over the course of my driving history 🙂
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Sometimes – whatever song came on the radio that made me want to sing 🙂

Kim Wortley
Administrative Assistant

Kim Wortley
Administrative AssistantWhen did you start?: May 18th, 1987 – Wow! That was a long time ago. I was 12. 🙂
Your first car?: Ford Pinto – You know, the ones with the exploding gas tanks!
How many speeding tickets do you have: Zero…I’ve just never been caught.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Yes, anything country.

Kristi Davis
Account Supervisor

Kristi Davis
Account SupervisorWhen did you start?: November 2013
Your first car?: Toyota Celica – Loved this car and it ran forever!
How many speeding tickets do you have: 2 speeding tickets – One was when I was 16 and not paying attention when driving home from my job at Steak N Shake. The cop went clear down into a ditch to come and get me. The other one was around 10 years later and it was on Black Friday. I was trying to hurry to meet my Mom and Sister to go Christmas shopping. They actually caught me by aircraft on this one.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I have been singing since I was around 5 years old. So, I sing any chance I get and my car is no exception. If you drive by me, you will usually see me singing in my car. I often am singing popular pop songs off the radio, but I am a fan of hip hop and rap too. If I’m going old school, I love “Baby Got Back” and “We are the Champions” – my maiden name is “Champion” 🙂

Margarita McQuade
Staff Accountant

Margarita McQuade
Staff AccountantWhen did you start?: 2011
Your first car?: 1994 Saturn
How many speeding tickets do you have: One
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I sing almost every song that comes on the radio, and even some of the catchy advertising jingles.

Mathieu Gregoire
Integrated Media Strategist

Mathieu Gregoire
Integrated Media StrategistWhen did you start?: August 2020
Your first car?: Chevy Cobalt
How many speeding tickets do you have: I think 6-7 total but haven’t gotten one in almost 10 years!
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I typically listen to podcasts in the car but will always sing along to Anderson.Paak, Brockhampton or Kanye.

Melanie Mogey
Senior Media Account Manager

Melanie Mogey
Senior Media Account ManagerWhen did you start?: July 2003 and January 2017 – Collectively I have been part of the Graham Oleson team for over 12 years.
Your first car?: A bright red Saturn coupe (when Saturn was a new car company)
How many speeding tickets do you have: Only one ticket that I received 22 years ago. I blame it on the red car.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: If so, what song? Yes. A favorite is Ho Hey by the Lumineers.

Meridith Griffin
Media Project Manager

Meridith Griffin
Media Project ManagerWhen did you start?: Sometime between the release of Thor and Thor: The Dark World movies.
Your first car?: The first car I drove was an American vehicle with a V8. The first car I bought was an American vehicle with a V4.
How many speeding tickets do you have: Do I have to answer this? After all, I can’t drive 55 I can only drive 80, unless it is a school zone some rules must be followed.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: If you don’t at some point than you are missing out. If it is a song playing then I am singing.

Olivia Stinett
Media Account Manager

Olivia Stinett
Media Account ManagerWhen did you start?: 5/13/2019
Your first car?: A 1998 Honda CR-V that I still drive to this day. 375K miles and still going strong.
How many speeding tickets do you have: Zero. I drive like a grandma.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: California Dreamin’ by The Mama & The Papas

Raymond Louie
Senior Graphic Designer

Raymond Louie
Senior Graphic DesignerWhen did you start?: After Kim
Your first car?: 1974 Ford Maverick
How many speeding tickets do you have: Depends on which state. Less than 10.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Sometimes, Raining Blood, by Slayer.

Rhonda von Luhrte
Account Coordinator

Rhonda von Luhrte
Account CoordinatorWhen did you start?: August 2016
Your first car?: 1979 Toyota SR5 Pickup
How many speeding tickets do you have: Never had a speeding ticket…..yet!
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Always! Anything on the radio.

Robert Cochran
IT Director

Robert Cochran
IT DirectorWhen did you start?: 2/12/2018
Your first car?: Chrysler Sundance
How many speeding tickets do you have: About half a dozen or so.....It's been a while.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Yes, Weezer- Island in the Sun

Samantha McClay
Integrated Digital Strategist

Samantha McClay
Integrated Digital StrategistWhen did you start?: 5/4/15
Your first car?: Chevy Cavalier
How many speeding tickets do you have: 2…I think
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: I do my best to keep my vehicle happy. I’m afraid my singing may offend it.

Sara Simon
Support Coordinator

Sara Simon
Support CoordinatorWhen did you start?: 11/18/19
Your first car?: Ford Escort
How many speeding tickets do you have: 2
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Yes. If so, what song? It varies; I like a wide variety of music (Imagine Dragons, P!NK, Halsey, Foo Fighters, Don Williams, etc.).

Sarah Becker
Tier 3 Account Director

Sarah Becker
Tier 3 Account DirectorWhen did you start?: January 2014
Your first car?: A Mazda something or other. All I remember was that it got me from point A to B and had a terrible automatic seatbelt.
How many speeding tickets do you have: 3?
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Always! Blues Travelers, Pearl Jam and anything country are my go-tos for car concerts.

Sonya Burrows
Account Executive

Sonya Burrows
Account ExecutiveWhen did you start?: December 1, 2020
Your first car?: A Chevy Cavalier Coupe.
How many speeding tickets do you have: Right now, zero. Overall, I have had two, all when I was younger and loved to drive like the wind 😉
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Oh yes, absolutely. As loud as I can, especially if my daughter is with me. I love to jam out to all things Disney, or anything country, especially if it is Carrie Underwood!

Tim Atnip
Associate Creative Director

Tim Atnip
Associate Creative DirectorWhen did you start?: October 2012
Your first car?: 75 Chevy Nova (First cool car: 54 Ford F-100)
How many speeding tickets do you have: 20+ (and no, I am not kidding) *I would get 2 in a year. Then skip a couple of years then get 2 or 3 more. At least half were in Texas. And back then states didn’t share info apparently. Because my insurance (or rather my parent’s insurance) never went up. Plus, I only had liability insurance at the time.
Do you sing when you drive? What song?: Yes. Anything metal. Highway to Hell, Dance of Death, Whiplash.