Meet the Guild
Here are the individuals that make DevLearn what it is today.
Juli Balding
Executive Assistant
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
A list of “fictionary” words made up by my coworker. My favorite is “employmentvication” (employment verification).
What’s the most perfect dipping sauce?
Thousand island dressing. Don’t try to serve me ketchup and mayo mixed. I see you.
What’s your favorite phrase?
“And I was like, Emilio, the mighty duck man himself!” Do you know what movie that’s from without Googling?
Bill Brandon
Senior Editor, Learning Solutions
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
A brass horned toad.
What’s the most perfect dipping sauce?
Dark chocolate balsamic vinegar. Great for berries, especially strawberries.
What’s your favorite phrase?
“So far, so good.”
Jane Bozarth
Director of Research
What’s your (not so) secret obsession?
I love Christmas music. Anytime, any day.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
A custom-made wooden kazoo. You never know when a musical emergency might break out.
What app are you currently loving?
Thyng. I found it while researching our recent AR/VR report. I think there’s HUGE potential for AR in L&D and this app is a great way to get started with ARKit.
Kim Bradford Duvall
Accounting Manager
What’s your (not so) secret obsession?
Shhhh ... don’t tell anybody, but it’s General Hospital. Been obsessed since 2001, and I just can’t let it go.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
A blow-up dinosaur... it was a leftover decoration from a goodbye party we had for a co-worker.
What’s the most perfect dipping sauce?
Chick-fil-A sauce. I’ve heard that an old shoe would taste good dipped in this sauce.
Mark Britz
Senior Manager, Event Programming
Dinosaurs or dragons?
Dinosaurs. Listen: They were real. We need to focus on reality here, people!
What’s the oddest job you ever had?
Grave digger. Yep. Summer job in my late teens. I jumped in the hole after the backhoe did its job, cleaned it out, and squared it off.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
The cap for a galvanized pipe. I don’t know how it got there or its purpose, but it just seems right. Don’t mess with a good thing.
Kate Brown
Digital Marketing Specialist
Dinosaurs or dragons?
Dinosaurs. I watched Jurassic Park with my siblings endlessly while growing up.
What’s your (not so) secret obsession?
Taco Bell. I even made a special trip to the Taco Bell Cantina during DevLearn last year.
What’s the oddest job you ever had?
Back-up dancer in an Elvis Presley impersonator show called If You Can Dream.
Roy Conboy
Web/Email Developer II
What’s your (not so) secret obsession?
Making music—from guitar to electronically made beats—it sucks up my free time.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
A miniature pair of clogs from Holland that my boss gave me.
What’s the most perfect dipping sauce?
Tapatio, on literally everything.
Steve Firpo
Group Sales Manager
What’s your (not so) secret obsession?
’80s movies
What’s the oddest job you ever had?
I once took a job as a temp where I just sat in an office and shredded papers all day. Longest. Day. Ever.
What’s the most perfect dipping sauce?
Blue cheese dressing. Great for fries!
Karyn Gleeson
Production Manager, Online Events
Dinosaurs or dragons?
Dragons! Dragons are more romantic and thoughts of castles, kings, queens, forests, and fairy tales come to mind!
What’s the oddest job you ever had?
I was an improv-performing penguin, and yes, I was paid.
What app are you currently loving?
Rocketbook. I love my notebooks for taking notes, and now I can save my notebooks to the cloud instead of my closet.
Maureen Hagen
Exhibitor Support Specialist
Dinosaurs or dragons?
Dragons ... because I want to be the Mother of Dragons.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
My dad’s ashes. Strange? Not sure, I spend a lot of time at my desk and wanted him close to me each day.
What’s the most perfect dipping sauce?
No condiments. I grew up being told they are “insulting” to put on food. You only use them when you don’t like something.
David Holcombe
President & CEO
What’s the oddest job you ever had?
Janitorial service at a Lane Bryant store when I was in high school.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
A Native American stone pestle tool used for grinding things on mortar. I found it on a large ranch in Northern California that my wife’s family owned.
What’s the most perfect dipping sauce?
Guacamole. Goes good with margaritas.
Susan Jacobs
Staff Writer, Learning Solutions
What’s your (not so) secret obsession?
I’m an avid organic gardener. This year I am inundated with apples. Would you like some apple pie? Apple crumble? Applesauce? Apple juice?
What’s the most perfect dipping sauce?
Forgive me, mayo-haters, but when I dip, I generally go for a spicy, mayonnaise-based aioli.
What app are you currently loving?
Words With Friends 2. It’s a quick way to have a little fun while building my vocabulary. I just learned the word “zoic” (which means relating to a particular geologic era.)
David Kelly
Executive Vice President & Executive Director
What’s the oddest job you ever had?
I spent a few summers working in beverage distribution at the US Open Tennis Championship. It had nothing to do with anything I was interested in, but it was a hell of a lot of fun.
What’s your favorite phrase?
I’m a dad to a young boy, so if we’re going solely on frequency, it’s probably, “Hey, I didn’t hear a flush.”
What app are you currently loving?
ClickUp. It’s a new-for-me productivity app that I’m really enjoying to organize my work.
Tiffany Le Brun
Manager, Web & Design
Dinosaurs or dragons?
Dinosaurs, because it’s incredibly cool that they actually existed. Plus, dinosaurs are basically responsible for the idea of dragons anyway.
What’s the oddest job you ever had?
Selling books door-to-door in college, because it seemed like a good idea at the time.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
A 3-D rhino that I printed at home from a plan available on Thingiverse.
Cori Miller
Marketing Communications Coordinator
What’s the oddest job you ever had?
My dad and his friends would hire me to wrap all their kids’ Christmas gifts. I was in the know on what everyone was getting!
What’s the most perfect dipping sauce?
I LOVE Buffalo sauce. Some may call it an obsession. I put it on everything: eggs, pizza, one time I put them on my Goldfish crackers…
What app are you currently loving?
Bloons Tower Defense 6. Yes, so nerdy, but what better way to spend downtime than popping some balloons?!
Rio Nagle
Web/Email Developer I
What’s the oddest job you ever had?
I helped redo the entire floor of a Ross before! I did it as a Craigslist side job.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
It’s a little Arthas figurine from Warcraft lore. My friend gave it to me for my birthday.
What app are you currently loving?
Crunchyroll. I found it because I generally watch anime on that website and I can read manga on it as well.
Robyn Smith
Senior Manager, Event Marketing
What’s your (not so) secret obsession?
I love the Minions! I have a collection on my desk and a whole lot more at home. They’re adorable, yellow, and funny! What’s not to love?
What’s your favorite phrase?
“You’re killin’ me, Smalls!” from The Sandlot. It’s one of those phrases that stuck with me, and whenever I use it, it makes people laugh.
What app are you currently loving?
MyFitnessPal. It connects with my Fitbit app to track activity, and I can log water and food and track everything throughout my day. It keeps me out of the donut box ... sometimes!
Dani Timms
Accounting Assistant
What’s your (not so) secret obsession?
I love to decorate. It’s my favorite stress reliever. Not everyone feels the same in my house. My mom lives with us, and I drive her crazy when I move furniture and accessories to different areas of the house.
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
Drink carrier. Just in case I need to pick up beverages for the team.
What’s your favorite phrase?
“I lava you!!” New favorite phrase from my 3.5-year-old granddaughter.
Bianca Woods
Senior Manager, Event Programming
What’s your (not so) secret obsession?
I have an extensive photo collection of terrible/hilarious warning signs. The more ridiculous and overly dramatic the sign is, the more joy it brings me!
What’s the weirdest thing on your desk?
A motivational Slowpoke Pokémon stuffed animal. However overwhelmed I am, at least I’m more on top of my work than a Slowpoke would be.
What’s your favorite phrase?
“Stop trying to make fetch happen!”
