Problem Solvers, First and Foremost

When you partner with a design firm, one of the greatest contributors to success are the people you work with. When you work with MSDS, here are a few of the folks with whom you'll collaborate, and hopefully share more than a few laughs.

Matthew Schwartz, Founder, Director of Strategy

For 18 years, Matt has helped clients create more valuable brand experiences by applying expertise in brand strategy, design, user experience, and content strategy; specializing in interactive brand development. Matt plays a hands-on role in all the work MSDS produces, collaborating with clients and the firm’s teams to make sure business strategy is aligned with execution. A veteran of interactive since 1994, Matt got his start with McCann Erickson’s Compelling Content group, then as a Designer with Young & Rubicam’s interactive division. He later served as Creative Director with interactive agencies, Bottle Rocket and Online Retail Partners, before founding mSDS in 2000.
 
An Associate Member of the Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, Matt's work has been awarded and profiled by The Webbys, Communication Arts, The International Academy of the Visual Arts, Print Magazine and others. He holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College with a dual concentration in Visual Studies and Writing, and conducted post-graduate design studies at the School of Visual Arts and Parsons in New York City.

Ryan Reynolds, Design Director

Since 2002, Ryan has specialized in design strategy, user experience design and content strategy, and creating integrated design systems for clients in nonprofit, academic, energy, healthcare, and finance sectors. As the head of MSDS's design team, Ryan is responsible for aligning brand strategy and design execution, collaborating with MSDS’s clients to develop and execute organization-wide design and content strategies. He's an expert in working with complex, data-driven, technical and policy content to create simplified design strategies and data visualization that communicate with impact. 

Ryan's work has been widely recognized for excellence with numerous interactive and print design awards. Prior to joining MSDS, Ryan served as a Senior Designer at Korn Design in Boston. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Bowdoin College, and a Certificate in Graphic Design from MassArt.

Niki Hammond, Technical Strategist

With over 16 years of experience developing enterprise-level web applications and websites, Niki partners with MSDS's clients, and our creative and technical teams to develop interactive strategies, business process optimization, and change management plans. She is the primary liaison between clients and MSDS development team, working closely with each to translate complex technical details into easy-to-understand concepts, while writing detailed specifications that help realize business goals and requirements.

A certified PMP (Project Management Professional), Niki is an expert at increasing efficiency, managing complex schedules and resources to work within budget constraints. Over the course of her career, Niki worked as a Web Developer and Technical Director at Online Retail Partners, UBS and Girl Scouts of the USA. She holds a BS in Information Systems from Pace University. 

Paul Chamberlain, Senior Producer

Paul is an expert in web development, with 15 years of experience in large-scale design production and workflow development for interactive and print media. As Senior Producer, Paul plays a hands-on role developing client websites, while managing MSDS’s team of front- and back-end developers. Paul brings a passion for technical problem solving and a keen ability for optimizing production and process workflows, specializing in Drupal, Wordpress, and Responsive CSS/(X)HTML and Javascript development. Paul researches, vets all components used in MSDS’s development platforms, mining public code repositories and plugin libraries for the latest open-source development tools to integrate into MSDS’s continuously evolving core CMS installation. Prior to MSDS, Paul spent five years managing the production department of a digital production studio, becoming an expert in workflow management.

Emily Degruchy, Senior UX Designer

Emily offers over 10 years of experience designing interactive experiences and applications, combining expertise in product design, information architecture, process design, user interface design, and product management. She is an expert at interpreting client needs and goals, and applying research and analysis to develop goal-oriented UX strategies.Emily works across MSDS’s strategy, design and technology teams, uniting brand goals and user goals into effective online experiences.

Prior to working with MSDS, Emily worked as a User Interface Designer with The Wonderfactory and as UX lead with Canopy Commerce, Ruckus Media Group, and as Product Manager for Appinions. Emily earned a BA with a double major in Design and Psychology from Clark University.

Beth Jacobson, Senior Web Developer

Beth brings 17 years of back-end development expertise, designing and building website and web application infrastructure. She takes pride in designing interactive systems that are robust and maintainable, with flexible, scalable data architectures and structured, user-friendly content entry systems. Beth has particular technical expertise in database design, and is an expert in Drupal development, leveraging more than a decade of working in PHP and MySQL to create customized systems that meet the most demanding technical and functional requirements. Before coming to MSDS, Beth had a long and varied career as a contract programmer/developer, designing systems for commercial, industrial, and nonprofit sectors, spanning tools and languages from C++ and Oracle to CSS3 and HTML5.

Ashton Gilliard, Account Manager

Ashton is MSDS's lead Account Manager and is essential to managing MSDS's client relationsips and coordinating project workflow. She brings a passion for helping our clients positively impact people's lives and the world. Ashton works closely with client and MSDS project teams to cultivate a creative, collaborative environment that is organized and productive. Ashton applies her expertise in public relations, communications, copy writing, social media marketing and branding, to help clients efficiently and effectively achieve their brand goals.   

Ashton worked previously with clean-technology company, Produced Water Solutions and Integrated Marketing and PR agency, Weise Communications. Ashtonholds a B.A. in International Law as well as a B.A. in Spanish Communications from the University of Denver, Colorado. 

Maria Johnston, Senior Designer

Maria is a designer with over 10 years of experience creating brand identities, websites and printed materials for nonprofits and businesses of all sizes and service orientations, including health and human services, advocacy, arts, education. Passionate about the power of design to affect meaningful change in the world, Maria's approach to design helps clients highlight their missions and engage audiences with clarity and emotional impact. In her role as Senior Designer at MSDS, Maria participates in concept development, content strategy, user experience and visual design for pint and interactive projects. 

Maria holds a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from Texas Christian University, and an M.F.A. in Design from the School of Visual Arts.

Ross Berenson, Designer/Developer

For the last 6 years, Ross has applied his skills as a user interface designer and front-end coder to design effective online experiences. Equally well-versed in visual fundamentals as he is coding, Ross combines his expertise in design and front-end web development to create highly usable and engaging interactive experiences. He takes both a visual and technical approach to interactive design, integrating semantic XHTML, CSS, and Javascript with popular server-side platforms to create a seamless user experience on desktop and mobile platforms. He earned his degrees in Communication Arts and Graphic Design from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.

Laurel Ames, Designer

Laurel brings experience working as both a design instructor and designer, with a focus on working with nonprofit organizations, reflecting her belief in utilizing design to educate and inspire change in an environment where values and needs are constantly shifting. She brings strong editorial skills to her work with MSDS’s clients, unite content and design to create mission-driven creative. Prior to MSDS, Laurel worked as a designer with Designing Hope Studio working with socially-conscious organizations. She holds a BFA in Communications Design from Pratt Institute.  

Catherine Neckes, Copywriter

For the last 5 years, Catherine has worked as an editor and writer for a wide range of publications and organizations, focusing on culture, travel and nonprofit organizations. She is an expert in both long-form editorial and short-form content development. Catherine helps MSDS's clients develop a strongly-branded voice across interactive and print mediums, offering specialized expertise in content development for social media platforms.

Catherine's prior experience include workng with Paper Magazine, Brooklyn Exposed, and Umbrage Editions. She earned her BA in English from Williams College in Massachussets.