Thread is a full-service copywriting studio based in Portland and Hood River, Oregon, with clients all over the world. Individually, we’re a few dozen nice people you’d hope to bump into at a party or sit next to on a plane. We’re beekeepers and SCOBY tenders, surfers and bumper-sticker designers. We love running trails in the woods and tripping over dogs in the office. We’re great at story, but bad at figuring out conference call software.
Let’s start out with what we’re against. Meaninglessness in all its forms: bad copy, hollow brands, sloppy processes, tangled-up strategy. You could say meaninglessness is our nemesis, our white whale, our Dr. Evil. It creeps in like black mold, and before you know it, it’s giving you a killer headache. Ending meaninglessness means recognizing what’s empty, fixing what’s broken, and taking the risk to try something new.
That also applies to the communities where we work and live. If we can use our talents and the might of our business to build better brands, we can also use them to contribute to people and places we love. We’re currently working to become a Certified B Corp.
Of all the things that make us proud, the fact that people really like to work with us tops the list. Most of our clients have been with Thread for years (and years), and that loyalty has everything to do with how we approach our work.
Meet our staff team below. We also work with a flexible network of contract writers, editors and researchers across the globe (shout out to all of them!).
With experience in journalism and library science, Anna Skinner knows the answer to the question your brain hasn’t quite formed yet. Portlanders, check out her social activism project, whatcani.org.
Research Team Lead
Antha Reynolds is a Swiss Army Knife of operations, kindness and creativity, all while being America’s Next Top Plant Mom. Ask her about Late Breakfast.
Employee Engagement + Communication Manager
Audrey Aiken is equal parts advice columnist and backup dancer. Every summer, we wonder if she’ll make it back from her family’s annual VW bus trips to the middle of nowhere.
Creative Director
Betsy Hepp is a ray of goddamn sunshine on the project management team. She loves browsing her local library, and she probably just passed you on her bike.
Senior Project Manager
Brian Hennessy is the founder and Chief Anti-Marketing Officer of Thread (and Talkoot). He thinks “agency” is a bad word. His pastimes include running and asking, “Why?”
Founder
Brogan Marcotte is an Oregon native and an enthusiastic indoorsman. He Zooms with a gigantic podcast-quality mic, so his audio is always smooth and ~crisp~.
Project Manager
Dave Waag is an outdoor junkie with an affinity for remote locations and going uphill. If you’re planning on doing anything remotely dangerous, you’re gonna want to save his number in your phone.
Senior Writer
DeeDee Hennessy has been rocking her iconic pixie cut since the late ’80s. (Why mess with perfection?) She also makes sure everybody gets paid. Make it rain, DeeDee.
Finance
Dylan Hester represents Thread Midwest in beautiful Saint Paul, Minnesota, warming up the long winters with homemade mushroom broth. She’s an introverted party animal and public library enthusiast.
Researcher
Elizabeth Hickey is a copywriter/yogi/rucker/cat parent/human parent/novelist. She makes a slammin’ gumbo and takes her bourbon on the rocks. Catch her IRL writing at a coffee shop near you.
Senior Writer
Emily Bishop likes hiking ridiculously long trails and making portraits of other people’s pets. She also practices a form of exercise known simply as “movement.” (Cryptic!)
Project Manager
When he’s not crisscrossing the state in his van, Erik Spellmeyer is adding to his legit collection of records and secret surf spots. He’s got one of the best Zoom backgrounds in the office.
Project Manager
Jen Wright radiates warmth like a blanket fresh out of the dryer, as long as she doesn’t catch you putting forks in the dishwasher tines down (STOP doing that). She’ll talk through anything you need, as long as her dog Toto can tag along.
Director of People and Culture
Jesika Rowley used to be an executive chef, so she knows which Portland restaurant has the best banh mi or blue corn tortillas. She’s a fan of trivia, Wordle and a classic crossword.
Project Manager
Jessica Shulsinger was born on the wrong coast and misses the bodegas and bagels she didn’t grow up with. Her mom is Catholic and her dad is Jewish, so she has both kinds of guilt.
Managing Editor
Kate Kilbourne has that genetic thing that makes cilantro taste bad, but she doesn’t let it get her down. Catch her on Halloween, when she plays in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer tribute band.
Writer
Katie Sundby nests in both Hood River, OR, and Philadelphia, PA, where she recently turned “soccer mom” into a competitive sport. She has an inexplicable aversion to cotton balls. Ask her about her army of bees.
Account Manager
Karen “KO” Ford is one of the nicest competitive people you’ll ever meet. She’s known for her explosive cross-court forehand, and her messy hair bun may or may not be real.
Business Development Manager
Kristen Hohensee is a talented jazz dancer and a natural soprano (read: She kills it at Blondie karaoke). She can and does turn on her native New Jersey accent when the situation calls for it.
Senior Project Manager
Lex is a project manager and the person who knows how to fix the office Sonos. She’s always looking for an excuse to make a deck, and she is satisfied with the resolution of Britney Spears’ conservatorship.
Senior Project Manager
Here are three things Lily Hudson likes: karaoke, bumper stickers and Halloween. Here are three things she dislikes: windchimes, linen garments and runny egg yolks.
Associate Creative Director
Liz G is a barista-turned-writing ace with a legit uppercut and strong meme game. She hails from Cleveland, home of shopping malls and burning rivers. The “G” stands for “Gifted.”
Senior Writer
Liz Hartmann loves to cook and claims to have never made the same dinner twice, which sounds like a lie (but we’ll let her have it). Her nickname is “Showbiz Liz,” for obvious reasons.
Account Director
Matt Rankin has an uncanny ability to turn raw data into something that actually makes sense. He likes to volunteer with various local causes and is also deep in the Columbia Gorge community theater scene.
Systems & Business Analyst
Mike Acker is known for his encyclopedic knowledge and photographic recall (you want him on your bar trivia team). He’s certified Old Portland and hates the Lakers almost as much as he loves the Blazers.
Senior Editor + Writer
Molly Inderhees is a boss in the office, on the river and in the garden. She’s your go-to person for all things operations and getting shit done. Go, Molly, go.
Managing Director
Nachi de Lange almost always drives under the speed limit. Like, way under. Ask him about his favorite surf spots and his extensive research into Portland-area noodle joints.
Project Manager
Sarah Lewis isn’t afraid to wear a gown in an inappropriate setting. (There’s no such thing.) She loves French wine, Italian food and Korean skincare. She calls Mexico City home.
Creative + Strategic Planner