We are fueled by passion, good stories and fire puns.

Mike Grice

Co-Founder
Chief Fire Officer

My life story

Mike is our Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer. He has overseen Wildfire’s creative direction across a wide range of brands since inception in 2002.

Over his career, Mike has created award-winning ideas for brands small and large. His work as Wildfire’s Creative Officer has been recognized by Communication Arts, Clio Awards, Addy’s Awards, Print Regional, Archive-World 200 Best Packaging, The Dieline, and HOW Magazine. Prior to Co-Founding Wildfire, Mike worked at agencies in Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Louis.

In his spare time, Mike enjoys fitness, golf and time with his two children, Colsen and Emery.

Brad Bennett

Co-Founder
Chief Fire Starter

My life story

Brad is a Wildfire Co-Founder and the Chief Firestarter.  He is a proud Winston-Salem native, an avid fiction reader and a fitness freak.  But more than anything, he is a husband to wife Paula and dad to their children Abbi, 18 and Beau, 14, and is a dedicated volunteer in the community and their children’s school.

Tory Gillett

Firebrand

My life story in 280 characters or less

Throughout her career, Tory has guided strategic development and marketing for brands across a multitude of categories.  She is part of the senior leadership team, heading the strategic planning and account management divisions. In an agency, Tory believes creativity and creative problem solving is everyone’s responsibility.

Traci Naff

Graphic Arsonist

My life story in 280 characters or less

Traci is a Creative Director and aspiring plant supermom. A big picture thinker with an eye for details, Traci uses both her left and right brain to craft creative solutions for brands both large and small. She’s a part-time wanderer, avid DIY’er, and amateur baker.

Bryan Flynn

Ignition Agent

My life story in 280 characters or less

Bryan is a creative professional who enjoys working with national brands and small, local businesses alike to help them achieve success.  Aspiring spirit animal. Faster than a manatee, not-quite-majestic as a unicorn. Tributes welcome, but not necessary.

Chip Crutchfield

Charcoal

My life story in 280 characters or less

Chip is the Chief Digital Officer.  He has been married to his wife Shea for over 25 years and they have two boys, Trey and Spencer.  Chip enjoys smoking meat, drinking beer and is an avid sports fan and tailgater.

Janice O’Dell

Fire Marshall

My life story in 280 characters or less

After graduating from UNC-CH with a degree in business, Janice began her career at Price Waterhouse in Winston-Salem.  She has spent the last 22 years working in the marketing and advertising area.  She lives to travel and has two adult children that still make her laugh!

Katherine White

Bonfire

My life story in 280 characters or less

Katherine is a Group Account Director and business strategist with deep experience in the financial, fashion, beauty, restaurant and hospitality industries. An anthropologist at heart, she loves to talk to, shop with, and dig into the minds of consumers to identify new insights and opportunities for brands. She is a short order cook, an “expert” shopper, and a mom to four girls who are learning about retail therapy by example.

Brenda Swain

Fire Ant

My life story in 280 characters or less

Brenda is a native of Winston Salem. After 29 years with HBI, Brenda retired and joined Wildfire in Oct. 2005 as Office Manager/Office Mom. She enjoys volunteering for Senior Services and NC Food Bank/Empty Bowls. Brenda’s motto: Life is too short to drink bad wine!

Rachel Baker

Kindler

My life story in 280 characters or less

A Haiku:
A Winston native
Moonlights as a swimming coach
And writes lots of words

Matt Rowland

Flame Thrower

My life story in 280 characters or less

Matt comes to Wildfire by way of Southwest Virginia where he graduated from Virginia Tech. He now calls Winston-Salem home, along with his wife Lauren, daughter Abigail, and son William. Matt leads the Wildfire development team to deliver world-class interactive experiences.

Jonathan Reed

Pyro

My life story in 280 characters or less

A graduate of ArtCenter College of Design – Pasadena CA, Jonathan is an award-winning ACD art director with over 20 years of proven experience. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, as well as being herded around by his 2 German Shepherd dogs.

Alex Liddle

Incandescence

My life story in 280 characters or less

Alex is a multidisciplinary designer that lives for illustration, lettering and all things paper. Even her hobbies revolve around creating – printmaking, baking, and gardening.. and she hates talking about herself in third person.

Elizabeth Earle

Firefly

My life story in 280 characters or less

As a Digital Media Strategist, Elizabeth holds a central belief that the internet is more than a means of shared ideas, it’s a powerful tool for providing unique solutions. She helps businesses grow their online presence, to enable results and ROI-driven decision-making.

Jill Painter

JP5

My life story in 280 characters or less

Prior to joining Wildfire in 2007, Jill earned experience in every aspect of advertising print creation–from a traditional studio artist to art director to designer–at agencies large and small, an in-house ad department, and a major packaging & display printer. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Jill is a lifelong Tar Heel and enjoys art, reading, and living in Asheboro with her husband Hank and poodle Enzo.

Kim Sink

Arsonist

My life story in 280 characters or less

Kim is a Production Manager with more than twenty years of experience guaranteeing high quality standards and ensuring client satisfaction. She has been fortunate to work with the nation’s finest creatives in making the impossible possible.

Nick Karner

Firestorm

My life story in 280 characters or less

Baltimore native. Advertising enthusiast. Conditioned to win. Nick sees his job as the perfect marriage between logic and creativity.  He is a true team player who wants to help his clients achieve their goals.  Whether the objective is to increase sales, grow brand awareness or just make people smile, Nick is eager to get started.

Riley Hill

Incendium

My life story in 280 characters or less

Riley Hill is a graphic designer from Richmond, Virginia. He is passionate about generating strong creative solutions for clients and welcomes the unique challenges and perspectives of every new project.

Christine Zimmerman

Welder

My life story in 280 characters or less

Christine is a designer that specializes in all forms of media. With a background in event design, her knowledge has allowed her to work over multiple platforms. At Wildfire, she merges her love for powerful visuals with brand development.

Tia Coulter

Fire Stoker

My life story in 280 characters or less

Since graduating from App State in 2015 with a degree in public relations and marketing, Tia has worked on local and national advertising campaigns as a project and resource manager, media planner, and account executive in FL and NC. She injects energy into her life and work!

Laine Gladstone

Blaze

My life story in 280 characters or less

As a member of the Strategy team, Laine conducts the research and creative thinking necessary to uncover consumer insights that spark creative ideas. She believes her not-so-secret weapon is curiosity and that you can never ask too many questions!

Carlee Dempsey

Controlled Burn

My life story in 280 characters or less

Carlee hails from Greensboro, NC where she returned after graduating from UNC at Wilmington with a double major in Communication Studies and French Language. Before Wildfire, Carlee spent 5 years in the craft beer industry where she learned to market local businesses in a competitive landscape.

Greg Masters

The Human Torch

My life story in 280 characters or less

Greg loves the Wildfire environment and enjoys everyone he works with.  His passion is accuracy and efficiency and loves making sure the books are in proper order. You can “Count” on him to get the job done.

Kevin Brooks

Burninator

My life story in 280 characters or less

From the mountain tops of North Carolina, Kevin brings gifts of web and custom application development to Wildfire. A graduate of Appalachian State University, he is a husband and father (2 boys, 2 cats, 2 dogs). He claims Sparta, NC as his home, but Winston-Salem as his second.

Kerri Howell

Burning Hands

My life story in 280 characters or less

Kerri is passionate about front-end web development and user experience. This means she works hard to make sure your site is easy to navigate and a pleasant experience for you and your users. With a background in design, she ensures the end product looks like what you paid for.

Liz Lawler

Sizzle

My life story in 280 characters or less

Liz is a graphic designer who indulges her creativity in and out of the office by sweating the details, never limiting her imagination, and always striving to find new perspectives. Her aspiration in life? To be happy… and to be mom to the most spoiled puppy at Wildfire, Graham.

Jennifer Barbin

Accelerant

My life story in 280 characters or less

Jennifer has 20+ years in advertising/marketing industry and has called Richmond, VA her home since 1999. She’s worked both the agency and client side of the industry, plus media outlets. She’s on the board of directors for Richmond AMA, working with leading marketers and learning about the newest trends and tactics.

Wanda Miller

Extinguisher

My life story in 280 characters or less

I have been in the accounting field for 39+ years. My hobbies are paper crafting and diamond painting. I have two beautiful granddaughters and love spending time with them.

Jeff O’Sullivan

Thermal Detonator

My life story in 280 characters or less

Jeff has 20+ years of strategic marketing experience, guiding both Fortune 500 & regional brands to transform the way they engage audiences. He led Verizon’s transformation from a single-channel to fully-integrated content marketing program, recognized as best-in-class by the industry.

Anne Deer

Fira

My life story in 280 characters or less

Annie graduated University of Kentucky with a BS in Psychology and then graduated Wake Forest University School of Business with a Master in Management. She’s no stranger to hard work and always brings a new perspective to our projects. She enjoys meeting new people and traveling!

Regan Addison

Fireball

My life story in 280 characters or less

Paid Social Media Analyst. Charleston native. Proud dog mom. Regan’s goal is to help clients grow their businesses by effectively leveraging social media advertising. She believes social media is a powerful tool and enjoys using it to increase client brand recognition and sales.

Allie Hales

Little Sparky

My life story in 280 characters or less

A Winston-Salem native, Allie serves as an Assistant Account Executive, working on brands such as Red Hat, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Celonis, and more. When not in the office, you can find Allie reading a good book, spending time with her husband, drinking sweet tea, loving on her Goldendoodle, or planning her next getaway (probably to Europe). She graduated from Samford University in 2017 and is now back in school to pursue her Master’s Degree!