The Team

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.

Rob Hall

Chief Creative

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Katie Moscillo

Account Manager

Katie is a master of all things communication and marketing at LocalFresh and has brought her sharp business savvy and creativity to the team since 2018. Oh, and her customer service skills? They’re as top-notch as her love for a good basketball game.

A true Portland, Oregon native, Katie’s got an unshakable love for her hometown (minus the whole rain-soaked part). When she’s not catching basketball highlights or a UFC fight, you’ll find her exploring the city’s best trails and hidden gems with her trusty dog, Gallagher. An avid reader, fitness enthusiast, and travel junkie, Katie’s always finding new ways to stay inspired and bring fresh energy to everything she does.

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.

Contributors

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.

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.

Carrie Uffindell

Writer, Content Creation

A freelance writer and editor, Carrie creates concise, well-written content for LocalFresh and the businesses it serves. She also writes for various magazines and Big Weekend Calendars. When not tapping away at a keyboard, you can find her exploring the Pacific Northwest with her family.

Jason Vucic

Graphic Designer

Jason is a multi-disciplined designer with 17 years of experience under his belt and a Fine Arts degree from the American Academy of Art. Proficient in all things Adobe, his specialty is managing and leading print and digital design projects, especially ads, graphics, branding, packaging, logos, and web design.

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