The Team

Dedicated to your success

The Team

Dedicated to your success

We’re dedicated to your success.

Whether you want to reach out locally or globally, we will create the right integrated marketing strategies and programs for your business. Our predictable, monthly subscription plans make it easy to know exactly what you are paying for. And, because we’re obsessed with delivering results, you’ll know what’s working for your business, and what needs improvement.

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Michele Thornton

President and CEO

Michele Thornton is a career marketeer with a passion for communications.

She has worked with clients that span the spectrum from locally owned, small businesses to startups to non-profits and large tech corporations, creating demand generation programs, digital marketing, and communications strategies, public relations, virtual and in-person marketing events, and sales enablement. She loves to help clients craft their messaging to reflect and amplify their business objectives.

Michele is a New Englander at heart but has made the West Coast her home for over 20 years. She has two daughters that she is very close to. How close? Recently, they all got matching tattoos, and it was the first time for all three.

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Charlotte Kammer

Vice President

Charlotte Kammer has been with the Local Fresh team since March of 2012. Her background in advertising is a great fit for the marketing expertise Local Fresh clients need.

She has enjoyed learning about the latest and greatest in technology since joining the team. Charlotte appreciates the Local Fresh dedication to customer service and their commitment to delivering value-added service to everything they do.

Charlotte has lived in the Portland area for 25 years. She has three beautiful daughters. In her spare time, Charlotte enjoys singing, adding episodes to her YouTube channel, and spending time with friends and family.

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Eli Madrone

Chief Technology Officer

Eli Madrone believes in creating community through technology, and using strategy, social, humor, and design to do it. He helps clients with domains, hosting, search engine optimization, digital strategy, social media and newsletter management, content creation, communication strategies, project management, and website development. Eli has worked in the food service, arts, theater, nonprofit, tourism, and technology startup industries and brings over 20 years of experience to the team at Local Fresh.

Originally from Northern California, the Eli is a graduate of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, but has also lived in Maui, Hawaii, Bozeman, Montana, and Boulder, Colorado. He is thrilled to call Sisters, Oregon home, and when not working he can usually be found hiking, eating, cooking, and traveling around looking for the next great meal.

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Andres Penso

Marketing Technology Manager

Andres graduated from Lewis & Clark College, with a degree in Rhetoric and Media Studies, then began his marketing journey with a small tech company. He came to LocalFresh to expand his marketing horizons, and take on new challenges. As LocalFresh’s Marketing Specialist, he handles client’s Google Ads, SEO optimization, market research, design projects, and finance.

In his spare time, Andres can be found working on his analog photography, collecting cassette tapes, making a new dish in the kitchen, traveling, and spending time with friends, family, and a pet hamster.

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Elaine Steffani

Sr. Project Manager

Elaine has an extensive background in corporate event planning, but with the pandemic taking live events off the table for a period of time, she changed direction using transferable skills by going into a project management role. She is thoroughly enjoying LocalFresh projects, technology, team, and an incredible range of clients!

A native Californian, Elaine lives in Grass Valley, CA at the Laughing Donkey Animal Rescue (aka her home) with her husband Chris and their multiple four legged rescue friends. Elaine loves gardening, although her thumb isn't as green as she'd like. She also enjoys cooking, traveling, Zumba, and being with family and friends. 
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Katie Moscillo

Communications and Marketing Coordinator

Katie is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at Local Fresh. She joined the team in early 2018. She graduated from Clackamas Community College with an Associate’s in Business and has many years of experience with print/social media marketing and customer service. Katie has lived in Portland her entire life and loves everything the city has to offer (besides the weather). She is a die hard Trail Blazers fan and religiously watches UFC. Aside from sports, she loves exploring with her dog, working out, reading, and traveling.

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Rob Hall

Creative Director

Rob Hall has over a 20 years of experience in design and advertising. Much of that time has been spent at small to mid sized creative agencies where he held the position of Senior Art Director. Along with Rob’s art direction and advertising experience, He also has been involved in web design and development for more than 10 years and has specialized in WordPress design and development for the last 6 years.

Rob is a committed professional, a communicator, a thinker, an artist, a designer, and a team player, with a proven track record demonstrating strong problem solving skills, innovative design and the ability to follow through with projects from inception to effective completion. Simply put, Rob a designer at heart, as it is his passion.

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Lucas Pelton

WordPress Developer

Lucas has been breaking programs since 1985 when he unsuccessfully tried to modify Parsec, a cartridge game for his Texas Instruments TI-99/4A “computer”. It turns out you just can’t do that. He’s come a long way since then, now successfully employing PHP and JavaScript + jQuery to build buttery-smooth user interfaces and super-clever and useful modifications to WordPress themes and plugins. Lucas is also an adept manager of Google Apps, DNS zones, and pretty much anything else thrown at him.

Though a native of California, Lucas is now an Oregonian to the core, and a Portlander to boot. You can tell by his extensive collection of mostly-working bikes and fully-working craft beer.

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Nichole Abruzzise

Project Manager

Nichole is a graduate in communication from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. With a strong passion for communication, organization, and customer service, her career has led her on an exciting journey managing projects and events across diverse industries and locations, spanning from Australia to California, and beyond.

Drawing from her extensive background in corporate and nonprofit event planning, Nichole has transitioned into a project management role at LocalFresh. She finds joy in taking on the diverse challenges of projects and loves working with a wide range of clients.

Outside of her work, Nichole spends her time in nature, enjoys practicing yoga and meditation, and cherishes her time with her dog, Benny. She's also passionate about traveling, seeking to explore diverse cultures and connect with people from all walks of life.

Michele_02
Char_02
Eli-Madrone-Headshot-edited-2-web

Michele Thornton

President and CEO

Michele Thornton is a career marketeer with a passion for communications.

She has worked with clients that span the spectrum from locally owned, small businesses to startups to non-profits and large tech corporations, creating demand generation programs, digital marketing, and communications strategies, public relations, virtual and in-person marketing events, and sales enablement. She loves to help clients craft their messaging to reflect and amplify their business objectives.

Michele is a New Englander at heart but has made the West Coast her home for over 20 years. She has two daughters that she is very close to. How close? Recently, they all got matching tattoos, and it was the first time for all three.

Charlotte Kammer

Vice President

Charlotte Kammer has been with the Local Fresh team since March of 2012. Her background in advertising is a great fit for the marketing expertise Local Fresh clients need.

She has enjoyed learning about the latest and greatest in technology since joining the team. Charlotte appreciates the Local Fresh dedication to customer service and their commitment to delivering value-added service to everything they do.

Charlotte has lived in the Portland area for 25 years. She has three beautiful daughters. In her spare time, Charlotte enjoys singing, adding episodes to her YouTube channel, and spending time with friends and family.

Eli Madrone

Chief Technology Officer

Eli Madrone believes in creating community through technology, and using strategy, social, humor, and design to do it. He helps clients with domains, hosting, search engine optimization, digital strategy, social media and newsletter management, content creation, communication strategies, project management, and website development. Eli has worked in the food service, arts, theater, nonprofit, tourism, and technology startup industries and brings over 20 years of experience to the team at Local Fresh.

Originally from Northern California, the Eli is a graduate of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, but has also lived in Maui, Hawaii, Bozeman, Montana, and Boulder, Colorado. He is thrilled to call Sisters, Oregon home, and when not working he can usually be found hiking, eating, cooking, and traveling around looking for the next great meal.

Andres-02
elaine_02
Rob_02

Andres Penso

Marketing Technology Manager

Andres graduated from Lewis & Clark College, with a degree in Rhetoric and Media Studies, then began his marketing journey with a small tech company. He came to LocalFresh to expand his marketing horizons, and take on new challenges. As LocalFresh’s Marketing Specialist, he handles client’s Google Ads, SEO optimization, market research, design projects, and finance.

In his spare time, Andres can be found working on his analog photography, collecting cassette tapes, making a new dish in the kitchen, traveling, and spending time with friends, family, and a pet hamster.

Elaine Steffani

Sr. Project Manager

Elaine has an extensive background in corporate event planning, but with the pandemic taking live events off the table for a period of time, she changed direction using transferable skills by going into a project management role. She is thoroughly enjoying LocalFresh projects, technology, team, and an incredible range of clients!

A native Californian, Elaine lives in Grass Valley, CA at the Laughing Donkey Animal Rescue (aka her home) with her husband Chris and their multiple four legged rescue friends. Elaine loves gardening, although her thumb isn't as green as she'd like. She also enjoys cooking, traveling, Zumba, and being with family and friends. 

Rob Hall

Creative Director

Rob Hall has over a 20 years of experience in design and advertising. Much of that time has been spent at small to mid sized creative agencies where he held the position of Senior Art Director. Along with Rob’s art direction and advertising experience, He also has been involved in web design and development for more than 10 years and has specialized in WordPress design and development for the last 6 years.

Rob is a committed professional, a communicator, a thinker, an artist, a designer, and a team player, with a proven track record demonstrating strong problem solving skills, innovative design and the ability to follow through with projects from inception to effective completion. Simply put, Rob a designer at heart, as it is his passion.

Katie_02
lucas-02
nichole

Katie Moscillo

Account Manager

Katie is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at Local Fresh. She joined the team in early 2018. She graduated from Clackamas Community College with an Associate’s in Business and has many years of experience with print/social media marketing and customer service. Katie has lived in Portland her entire life and loves everything the city has to offer (besides the weather). She is a die hard Trail Blazers fan and religiously watches UFC. Aside from sports, she loves exploring with her dog, working out, reading, and traveling.

Lucas Pelton

WordPress Developer

Lucas has been breaking programs since 1985 when he unsuccessfully tried to modify Parsec, a cartridge game for his Texas Instruments TI-99/4A “computer”. It turns out you just can’t do that. He’s come a long way since then, now successfully employing PHP and JavaScript + jQuery to build buttery-smooth user interfaces and super-clever and useful modifications to WordPress themes and plugins. Lucas is also an adept manager of Google Apps, DNS zones, and pretty much anything else thrown at him.

Though a native of California, Lucas is now an Oregonian to the core, and a Portlander to boot. You can tell by his extensive collection of mostly-working bikes and fully-working craft beer.

Nichole Abruzzise

Project Manager

Nichole is a graduate in communication from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. With a strong passion for communication, organization, and customer service, her career has led her on an exciting journey managing projects and events across diverse industries and locations, spanning from Australia to California, and beyond.

Drawing from her extensive background in corporate and nonprofit event planning, Nichole has transitioned into a project management role at LocalFresh. She finds joy in taking on the diverse challenges of projects and loves working with a wide range of clients.

Outside of her work, Nichole spends her time in nature, enjoys practicing yoga and meditation, and cherishes her time with her dog, Benny. She's also passionate about traveling, seeking to explore diverse cultures and connect with people from all walks of life.

Contributors

Kelly_photog

Kelly Mooney

Photography

Kelly has a passion for the latest photo and lighting techniques, and her 17+ years as a publicist has given her the ability how to connect quickly with individuals to bring out their most natural (and therefore most flattering) looks. She crafts powerful images that reflect the corporate identity and messaging seamlessly.

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Dylan

Video Production

Dylan brings his expertise working with small-medium sized businesses and non-profits to LocalFresh, delivering video content to communicate to their teams, on-board new team members, sell their products and services, and capture their events to share with the world.

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Carrie Uffindell

Writer, Content Creation

A freelance writer and editor since 2011, Carrie loves to create concise, well-written content such as articles, blogs, and website copy for small and medium businesses. You can also find her work in a variety of print and online magazines.

Kelley

Kelley Gardiner

Writer, Content Creation

After a lifetime of writing for fun and a degree in English from Portland State University, Kelley Gardiner jumped into freelance life in 2014. She hasn’t looked back since. Kelley loves helping small business owners get better results and feel more confident about sharing the online portion of their work.