The Donkeys
Here at Creative Donkeys, we've hired the best crew this side of the St. Clair. From snowboarders to weed experts (the legal kind of weed), the people here all bring something different and relevant to the company and our clients.
Jason Griffiths
Director of Client Solutions
At creative Donkeys, we like to do things a little differently ... take the career path of co-founder, Jason Griffiths. Jason received his Masters of Science, specializing in weed science—the invasive, headache of farmers worldwide type, not the munchies inducing type—from the University of Guelph and worked for multi-national chemical company BASF before moving into marketing communications. Jason has worked with a full portfolio of agricultural clients, Kawasaki recreational products, AT&T, London Life, along with numerous smaller businesses. His strength has been his dedication and commitment to learning the business of his clients.
Dan O’Shea
Creative Director
Creative Donkeys co-founder, Dan O’Shea, left the farm 18 years ago to try his hand in the ad industry. He spent the first half of his career earning his stripes working as designer, illustrator, pre-press production artist, and art director before partnering up with Jason to establish Creative Donkeys. Dan’s fingerprint can in some way, shape, or form be found on most everything that leaves our office. He is happiest when he puts on his artist’s hat, grabs his tablet and starts to draw. No one knows where Dan gets his ideas, why he has an assortment of toy animals, Toronto Maple Leafs paraphernalia and John Deere tractors on his desk, but one thing is for sure … Dan is committed to do what it takes to deliver the creative answers you’ve been looking for, or ideally, never expected.
Nicole Monardo
Account Manager
Driven and detail oriented, Nicole Monardo is an exciting member of the Donkey Team. Armed with a B.A. in Communications from York University, Nicole got her feet wet in the sales and marketing department at the popular Canadian magazine, Chatelaine. After taking her marketing know-how to the radio advertising industry, Nicole made her way back to London and found a spot here in the den. With a client list that includes Kraft, Minute Maid, Ontario Colleges, Unilever and Philips Canada, Nicole has what it takes to get your brand noticed.
Allison Kennedy Davies
Copywriter
Allison is still trying to figure out what she’ll be when she grows up. Luckily for us, while she’s been focused on solving that mystery, she’s already turned into an accomplished writer, editor and photographer. With a BA in English Literature from McGill University and a post-grad diploma in Photojournalism from Loyalist College, there is nothing Allison likes more than telling a good story. After working as our senior editor at Racer X Canada for four years, she now puts her pen and quill to work on any and all word-oriented projects that come our way. With a keen attention to detail, she makes sure all of our text, from web to print to video, is polished, on-target, and well ... perfect. She’s a new mom and a creative soul who loves to think outside the box.
Kristin Tate
Account Support Representative
Kristin attained an honours specialization degree in Media, Information and Technoculture from the University of Western Ontario. Before joining the Creative Donkeys team, she put her unique degree and skills to work as the Group Sales Representative for Global Spectrum at the John Labatt Centre. Working on a variety of premiere concerts and shows, Kristin refined her marketing, account management and event planning skills. Kristin is scrupulous, creative, passionate and truly believes that no detail is too small.
Jamez Picard
Project Manager
A Bachelor of Commerce IT Management grad with over 10 years of experience building Internet businesses, Web Project Manager Jamez Picard can visualize online solutions you’ve scarcely dreamt of. As a former senior web architect at Vistek Canada, Jamez brings game-changing ideas and strategies to the design table. Striving for functionality and flare and armed with experience ranging from Zend PHP to Microsoft .NET and After Effects and extensive experience with e-commerce, SEO and databases, Jamez has the mad technical skills needed to bring your vision to life. Add a finger on the pulse of today’s social media marketing trends, and Jamez and the Donkey team are ready to conquer your challenging online projects.
Christa McCall
Production Manager
Christa joined us in 2006 as our company was growing leaps and bounds and required a new level of organization. Her planning, co-ordination and attention to detail ensure that services and goods are produced efficiently for clients. As a long time NFL (New England Patriots) fan, Christa’s life is, of course, centred around Superbowl Sunday. However, when she isn’t consumed by preparing for, or recovering from said event, she’s multitasking to the max, ensuring that projects are hitting milestones on time and on budget.
Nathan Newport
Web Developer
Nathan received his Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Western Ontario and is our resident jQuery ninja. He is also a master of databases, able to pull tables out of thin air and create powerful queries with a snap of his fingers.
Ashley Murphy
Graphic/Multimedia Designer
Ashley "M" as she's known around these parts, came to us as a design intern, worked part-time while attending college, and happily made the leap to being a full-timer at the den in August 2010. Full of energy, ideas, and overflowing with passion and talent for all things visual, Ashley is always on the lookout for new ways of doing things, be it animation, 3D modeling, website functionality, or simply a better way to deliver our ideas to clients.
Darek Magusiak
Web Developer
In the true spirit of creativity, it’s an unlikely path that led Darek to his role as a full time web developer in the den. After receiving his Master’s Degree from the University School of Physical Education (specializing in Tourism Organization), Darek naturally transitioned into a career as a web developer. An SEO maniac with a passion for ultralight aircrafts, Darek uses his unique customer service background to guide his customer-oriented approach to web design, keeping the focus squarely on what your business needs and wants.
Ashley Harmsma
Web Designer/Developer
Ashley’s fascination with creating websites brought her to join our team in 2009. As a recent graduate of Fanshawe College's Multimedia Design & Production and Advanced Multimedia, Ashley is well-prepared for the work she does. As a web developer and resident jack-of-all-trades, Ashley is there to give a hand whenever someone needs it. Not only does Ashley bring her great personality and web skill to the team, she bakes a pretty wicked oatmeal cookie, too.
