Jeff Freedman
Founder and CEO
The only constant is change.
Jeff entered the world of advertising in 1990, helping clients like Lotus Development Corporation and Hyatt Hotels best spend their multimillion dollar media budgets. In the flood of media, audience and market data that came with those decisions, Jeff recognized opportunities for change. In 1996, he started the interactive division of Boston-based agency CGN to help national brands leverage this 'new thing called The Web' as a marketing channel. In 2002, with the support of his loving wife, he and Mike Connell started Small Army to take the lead in a transforming advertising industry. In 2007, following the birth of his two beautiful children (Josh and Julia), and the tragic loss of his business partner to cancer, new life perspectives caused him to start Small Army for a Cause (a 501c3) as a way to give back. Today, Jeff continues to provide perspective and insight to lead Small Army, its clients, his family and the community through never-ending change.
Steve Kolander
VP Creative Director
Steve started his advertising career on the West coast, creating award-winning work at FCB and Ketchum on automotive accounts. He then landed a record deal and left advertising for the open road in a big ol' tour bus. A couple of songs hit the Billboard charts and the Dixie Chicks recorded one of his tunes, "Desire". Returned to advertising as creative director of JWT in Atlanta for seven years. Small Army became his nesting ground when he married his scientist sweetheart, Dr. Valerie Cullen. Steve enjoys telling stories by putting ad-like things where you don't expect them. Hatch, MITX and Effie Awards later, he's making a comfortable home here in Boston.
Allison Reilly
Group Account Director
A finished person is a boring person.
Small agencies, medium agencies, big agencies—Allison Reilly has been there. Project management, relationship cultivation, new business development, advertising research, marketing development, copywriting—Allison is known for wearing many hats. For Allison, her life story is about three ingredients: Change. Challenge. Growth. She is never comfortable when life gets too easy. Whatever you throw at her, she'll find a way to figure it out, give it her all and keep a focused attitude. Her career began working on clients such as John Hancock, Cellular One and AT&T. More recently, she was a partner in an ad business fostering accounts such as the Anti-Defamation League, Global Signal and the Boston Convention Exhibition and Convention Center. Allison has found that no matter what the client or industry, she is happiest when she is learning and being challenged—an attitude that is integral in helping clients carve out the most effective messaging. With many Tuckerman's Ravine ski trips, hikes up several of the 4,000+ foot mountains in New England, two Boston Marathon's under her belt (one while pregnant), a long marriage to her college sweetheart and four kids who span from kindergarten to college, Allison knows how to make sure life stays interesting. So where's Allison's story taking her now... Small Army... Bring it on...
Amy Staley
Operations Manager
Amy has a very "colorful" background, but most recently she spent over 13 years as the Operations Manager for CA-based Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. (MDA), the inventors of Spinning®. With MDA, Amy worked closely with the executive team to develop and manage global marketing efforts; hire and manage a growing staff; participate in the development and coordination of global education material; manage trademark protection and policing; and take out the trash. She even helped open offices in the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland as the company experienced global expansion. Every day was different — an environment that she loves - as they introduced the products to new customers and emerging markets.
At Small Army, Amy keeps another fast-moving ship above water and heading in the right direction. From finance and human resources to vendor management and information technology, Amy has her hands involved in everything that keeps the agency moving forward.
In her spare time, Amy loves spending time with her gem of a husband and two terrific kids. She keeps her sanity by running as the sun rises.
Christian Williams
Sr. Art Director
Raised on a steady diet of Godzilla and Bob Ross, Christian spent his early years as an egg gathering, bmx riding, raft making, side-arm throwing hick who would eventually become the basis for Stephan Hawkings 'A Brief History of Time"
Tales from his later exploits have been adapted into several movies and TV series including McGyver, Deadliest Catch, Lone Wolf McQuade, Designing Women, and Highlander.
Always the career optimist, he never shied away from changing occupation and served time as a plumber, writer, computer consultant, carpenter, and bartender. Lured by the promise of ping pong tables, world travel and beer, he decided to try his hand as an art director. Like a phoenix he rose to the highest heights of anonymity. Since then he's been building, making, and shaping people's perceptions for some of the world's most successful and pioneering brands.
When he's not staring at a computer screen or scribbling in his notebook searching for the next big idea, Christian can be found running a table saw, walking along Mass Ave carrying a bicycle with a flat tire or motoring about the harbor in search of the famed creature known as “sea bass” aboard his trusty Sunset Bandit.
Sam Pitino
Design Director / Son of Dio
Sam's design career started when his 10th-grade art teacher gave him a bunch of wooden slabs to make parking signs for the school lot. From there, he started his own sign-painting business out of his mother's garage, painting signs and trucks for local businesses at 17 years old. A few years and a few design awards later, Sam now leads the design department at Small Army, helping to create sparkling advertising, branding and interactive experiences. Before Small Army, Sam did stints with regional boutique firms Plainspoke, Catapult Thinking and Eymer Design. When he's not designing anything that gets in his way, he's enjoying his downtime fishing, driving his kids to sporting events and writing and playing music with his band.
Brandon Brown
Studio Design / Swagger Coach
As I sit here now, tightly wrapping my sweat-soaked bandanna around my ever-sweating, tanned forehead, I am reminded of the times before Small Army. Before free Cinnamon Toast Crunch breakfasts, unrestricted internet access and Beer Fridays™. Hard times indeed, the endless monotony of office drudgery: hours of punching the numbers keypad until it was memorized, wearing a collared shirt five days a week and all those khaki pants. Needless to say, years ago, when I climbed out of the quasi south of suburban Virginia and bounded into the thick jungle beyond on a quest for a better tomorrow, I told myself, "I am doing this not for narrow-minded pursuits, but to embolden those of you still toiling away in the caves. I must do this...so others can follow."
Before I vanish back into the thick humid jungle of life, on my giant cat Harvey, you may see me pause at the cusp of a sand dune to wipe away what looks like a single tear cascading down my cheek. Tell yourself it's just more sweat, say to yourself, "That Brandon Brown is always sweating. He is one beautiful sweaty bastard." Now, hold onto that thought. Let that image burn into your core. You know as well as I that one can't save anyone without a lot of sweating and, of course, a giant cat.
Warm thoughts,
Brandon
Grant Biles
Assistant Account Executive
After receiving a BA in Psychology from UNC–Chapel Hill, Grant headed up north to Boston to pursue his interest in Architecture. After two-and-a-half years of design education, Grant realized that working in advertising could provide work that was similarly pragmatic and creative while also incorporating his interest in human behavior. Armed with his newfound zeal for strategic marketing and a desire to be involved in as many aspects of the advertising business as possible, Grant landed an internship at Small Army. With a unique perspective and a penchant for a variety of tasks, Grant has thrived in the Small Army environment, where he has had the opportunity to manage financial tracking, develop client relationships, and launch strategic brand campaigns, all while contributing to the never-ending production of Photoshopped memes of coworkers.
P.S. Grant is still blown away by the fact that moose attack more people every year than bears and wolves combined.
Kaelan Richards
Senior Copywriter
Kaelan's advertising story began at a small shop in Minneapolis working on local and national brands. After one not-so-balmy winter, he moved back to Boston and signed on with Arnold to write for clients like Royal Caribbean, Vonage and truth. Along the way, Kaelan was recognized at the Kellys, Andys, London International Awards, Clios, Hatch and Minneapolis Award Show.
Now at Small Army, Kaelan continues to dig in unique places to find treasures for our clients.
Papee Thirawat
Junior Designer / The Arm
Meet Papee "Arm" Thirawat, a mild-mannered Boston twenty-something who has to move from his native Thailand to New England with his obese cat, Admiral Snuggles. He thought that he was going to have a nice house with a view of the Charles, but then he finds out that his new home is a crummy apartment in Allston. Arm fits in well with the Boston crowd and finds close friends at his new school. Sadly, dog-loving punks from the Cobra Kai karate school want to make Arm and Admiral Snuggles miserable. No longer could he enjoy cooking delicious Thai dishes and playing Wii with the Admiral.
Thankfully, a Japanese handyman named Keusuke Miyagi comes to their aid. Arm asks Mr. Miyagi to teach him karate, but Miyagi seems more interested in painting fences, waxing cars and rubbing behind Admiral Snuggles' ear. Arm, Miyagi and the Admiral develop a great relationship and vow to teach the Cobra Kai a lesson at the Masshole Martial Arts Tournament. Brushing off illegal moves and deploying a perfect Crane kick, Arm wins the tournament! Afterward the gang celebrates with ice cream and soda pop, much to Admiral Snuggles pleasure. Meow.
Monica Belling
Account Executive
Born on the 4th of July, Monica has been a firecracker since she Yankee-Doodled into town. And not only is her personality dynamite, but her background is too. From conducting market research in China for Maui Jim Sunglasses to handling public relations in Las Vegas for several high-profile clients including the Palms and the Chippendales (her all-time personal favorite), Monica's spark for life and curiosity for learning has taken her on a journey around the world and back, bringing her to her ultimate destination — Small Army. Now enlisted in the ranks, she can be often be found igniting ideas and having a blast in the world of strategic marketing and advertising.
Paul Dome
Group Account Director
Paul Dome is a Chicago-born account guy now living among Red Sox nation. He prides himself on being a Cubs fan no matter how poorly they play and a Bears fan no matter how dated the Super Bowl Shuffle is.
Paul began his career in marketing as a 22-year-old single guy managing a daily email recipe program. From there, it was an upward trajectory. He worked at Circle.com, now EuroRSCG 4D, on digital initiatives for many brands under the Campbell's Soup umbrella. He then moved to Arnold Worldwide on Royal Caribbean and ESPN, managing campaigns for both digital and traditional channels. Paul then had a brief stint on the "client side" at Bose Corporation managing retail marketing programs.
Outside of work, Paul is an improv comedy actor and can be seen performing around the Boston area. Paul's most inspirational quote comes from Wayne Gretzky: "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take".
Taryl hafer
Copywriter
Known for her wildly curly mane, Taryl hunts down the perfect words for each brand. Often found at any one of the local watering holes that have live music, preferably bluegrass, she just as easily can be caught underwater scuba diving or hanging out with the Gators down in Florida.
Now six years into a copywriting career, she’s been lucky enough to be surrounded by lots of smart and talented people, but hardly ever gets to carry a briefcase. Which is a shame because she has really good taste in briefcases. Taryl realizes she’s had a rough life. Feel free to donate money.
Brianna Lonergan
Account Executive
Bri might be new to the world of advertising, but it was love at first story. A recent graduate of Salve Regina University with her MBA and a BS in Marketing, she has quickly found that the intrinsic nature of the field suits her character perfectly, and Small Army's dedication to storytelling parallels her own. Not one to believe in the '9 to 5' attitude, organized creative chaos, four cups of black coffee, and constant multitasking define her ideal ten-hour workday.
Growing up amongst generations of entrepreneurs, she's a business-minded girl with a big personality and innate desire for success. Her past experiences in marketing span across diverse industries, including grocery retail, real estate, and insurance. Her passion for discovery in all aspects of life is translated in her work and varied personal interests — which include traveling, old-time hockey, classic comedies, intelligent conversation, and music. With an unwavering work ethic, a little Irish wit, and a positive attitude, she's always up for a challenge.
Bri is confident that the best chapters of her own story have yet to be written, but she's certainly happy with the intro.
Rachel Bukstein
Art Director
Our story begins in rural Pennsylvania, where Rachel was raised until the age of twelve, whereupon hearing that her beloved state was ranked first in mushroom production, she promptly left. She couldn't stand mushrooms nor any mass produced edible fungi, furthermore, she loathed the people involved with their manufacture and sale. Her parents wished her well and she made her way west, hitching rides and jumping trains.
Now, safely in the mushroom free society of Michigan, she attended college, graduated and soon learned that Michigan is the only US state made up of two peninsulas. Locals remember seeing her hanging out the window of a Jetta pumping her fist and saying, "Just be an island or don't bother!" as it sped away. To this day Rachel won't reveal why this information was so traumatizing.
Taking up residence in Boston and nestling into her new role at MMB she created a support group for disgruntled Subway sandwich artists. Her work with them won her a Bob Hope Humanitarian Award when the story was later adapted into the movie, Picasso de Sandwich starring Adrian Brody. Well known for her inspiring and heartfelt work with the Carrabba's Italian Grill she still felt unfulfilled. She longed to work within a large vaulted room; with her desk pushed into a corner surrounded by men. She found exactly that, right here at Small Army.
Susan Donovan
Digital Director
Susan brings a unique blend of technical know-how and marketing strategy to digital marketing project. Susan's digital expertise stretches back to the early days of the web when a well designed webpage was little more than a logo, colored background and a font besides Times. It was the ever evolving digital world that appealed to Susan and propelled her to dedicate her career to deepining her knowledge of all things digital.
A developer by training, Susan quickly found an affinity for the power of digital marketing and sunk her teeth into digital strategy and project management.
Her expertise in marketing analytics, website development, social media strategy, search engine marketing, search engine optimization and display advertising put Susan in a category of her own. Now, a seasoned expert in website management, online search, digital media and social media, she never stops her quest for knowledge in the ever-developing industry.
Emily Haynes
Account Executive
From what I gather, Emily has very good enunciation and speaks very clearly. She grew up here in Massachusetts, but I highly doubt that because she doesn't have that funny accent like Ben Affleck in Good Will Hunting.
As an Account Executive at Small Army she sits roughly twenty-five feet from my position and faces the opposite direction. She has what looks like brown hair and wears clothes every day at work. Sometimes she wears shirts with holes in the shoulders.
Lisa Johnson
Account Executive
I've worked at large agencies such as Arnold to smaller agencies such as Cramer and have found myself a home at Small Army.
In the midst of a bunch of quirky creative types who have an odd affinity toward cats. While I don't typically search for skydiving cats and the like, I do have and appreciate the odd sense of humor.
BOOM.
