Alexa Aron is Head of People and Business Operations, responsible for shaping company culture, providing financial oversight, and spearheading all studio operations and initiatives. Alexa holds a BA in Economics from New York University. A lifelong lover of design and visual arts, she’s built a career based on bringing her fascination with business infrastructure and finance to the creative sphere in a diverse range of work environments and industries, including architecture, fine art, interiors, and branding. Ever inspired by the work of her fellow Athletics team members, she prides herself on taking on challenges large and small, and translating transformational ideas into actionable strategies and systems that support our studio’s entrepreneurial and creative growth. When she’s not in the studio, Alexa enjoys cooking elaborate meals for family and friends, European travel, and tackling the Sunday New York Times crossword.

Allison Connell is a Design Director whose work spans interactive, brand, and print. A Minnesotan, Allison studied graphic design at Iowa State before flying to New York with a single suitcase and an aspiration to work in a small studio tackling big challenges. Joining Athletics in 2011, Allison has helped deepen our approach to design for digital contexts across a series of complex projects for clients ranging from Pulitzer Arts Foundation to Music Together. With a particular focus on elegant digital experiences, Allison uses the tools, technologies, behaviors, and cultures of the web to inform and complement her design practice. When she’s not in the studio, Allison balances her digital work with the hand-marbled paper goods business she launched in 2015.

Ana Realmuto is a Senior Designer at Athletics. Born and raised in Las Vegas and educated in Creative Advertising at CU Boulder, Ana came east to work at SMAKK Studios, and later, Stink Studios. At Stink, she applied her systems-driven design approach on behalf of clients like Casper, Spotify, Riot Games, and Everytown for Gun Safety. From branding, to web design, to campaign art direction, to content creation, a common thread in Ana’s work is visual storytelling, informed by strong, unexpected concepts. When she needs to recharge her creative batteries, Ana turns to tactile pursuits, including pottery, cooking, knitting, and puzzles. If you catch Ana daydreaming, she’s likely thinking about her beloved Rocky Mountains.

Boyang is a Senior Designer at Athletics. Previous to Athletics, he worked at Interbrand, Collins, Studio Lin, and Gretel. Boyang received a BA in Design and Visual Communications from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and a master’s degree in Graphic Design from RISD. Born and raised in the history-rich city of Shenyang, in northern China, Boyang has always loved art and culture. When he’s not at work, he manages to go about his day with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things pop culture and art, in addition to being an avid reader, cyclist, and foodie.

Brandon is a Design Director at Athletics. A native Ohian, he worked previously at Code & Theory, Wednesday Agency, RoAndCo, Sweden Unlimited, Aruliden, and Big Human. Brandon received a BFA in Graphic Design from Bowling Green State University and recently finished the Sustainable Design program at Pratt. His design philosophy centers on constructing thoughtful ideas through brand identities, digital experiences, and sustainable futures, and he is often inspired by ecologies, metaphors, and the biological world. In his free time, Brandon enjoys botany, olfaction, poetry, and oneness.

Britton is a Senior Creative Technologist. Versed in Middle Eastern studies, the Criterion Collection, and all things post-punk, Britton brings an eclectic experience to Athletics’ digital practice. Prior to Athletics, Britton worked as a print designer for Printed Matter on behalf of design studio Garrick Gott, and as a front-end developer at For Office Use Only. At Athletics, Britton has built digital experiences for clients including Architectural League of New York, Good Counsel, JP Morgan, and NYU. He enjoys crafting interactive experiences and animations while working with clients who think beyond the traditions of the web. Largely self-taught, he values the ongoing learning that technology engenders. Beyond the studio, Britton is a frontman for Brooklyn-based, world touring band, B Boys.

Chris is a partner at Athletics. He joined the studio in 2017 after five years spent leading business development at digital agency Code and Theory. There, Chris spearheaded efforts directly contributing to the company’s evolution from boutique creative agency to renowned global network. Along the way, he was instrumental in the development of large-scale integrated marketing programs and digital platforms, structuring multi-year innovation initiatives for Fortune 100 and 500 clients within the fields of publishing, media, sport, healthcare, finance, consumer retail, and consulting services.

Daniel is a Creative Director at Athletics. As a designer and director, Daniel has worked with companies of all sizes to articulate their brands. With an emphasis on identity, systems, motion, and interaction design, Daniel leads a team of designers to create strategically sound and emotionally impactful work. He started his career in the streetwear industry and found a passion for brand building — using his skills in type design and symbol-making but in a different format. Before Athletics, Daniel was Creative Director at Butchershop and Interbrand NY. His work has supported the growth of brands like Amazon, At-Bay, Bally’s Gaming, Boston Consulting Group, Coach, Dataiku, Microsoft, NielsenIQ, and Tapestry. Daniel’s work has been recognized by Art Directors Club, Clio, Communication Arts, Red Dot Design, Transform Magazine, and Webbys. Daniel is originally from Baltimore, MD and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York with his fiancé and their dog Whiskey.

David Swanberg is a Creative Technologist at Athletics. Born and raised in Texas, David comes to Athletics from Doe-Anderson in Louisville, Kentucky, where he did web development for brands such as Maker’s Mark and Texas Roadhouse. Previously, David played guitar and toured in a band—sleeping on strangers’ couches and performing in venues across North America. When he’s not writing code, David likes reading, hitting the ski slopes somewhere out west, or making ambient sounds with his guitar pedals.

Ekene is a Creative technologist at Athletics. Born in Nigeria and raised in Charm City, Baltimore, he found his way to New York by way of Nashville, where he played rugby and studied Political Science, German, and Economics at Vanderbilt University. Before joining Athletics, Ekene did account management at British Telecom, as well as champion a number of social impact projects, most notably, Womentum, a nonprofit crowdfunding platform that supports female entrepreneurs around the world. He lives by the credo: spread joy and alleviate suffering, which informs both his life and work. His fingerprints and this philosophy can be seen on Athletics projects like Friends of the Studio, The Counter, or the Athletics Quarterly. When he’s not slinging slick code, Ekene can be found playing music, developing apps, performing poetry, and practicing some devastating Muay Thai.

Ellen is a Senior Designer at Athletics. Before joining the team, Ellen worked as a Designer at Solidarity (formerly JDK) in Burlington, Vermont, focusing on brand and print projects for the likes of Burton and Patagonia. Briefly working at BBMG before finding her way to Athletics in 2019, Ellen has since driven design for clients such as XQ, Square, Ecco, and Terminal 5. Originally from Syracuse, New York, these days Ellen resides in Brooklyn and can often be found covered in ink in her Gowanus print studio.

Heather is a Creative Technologist at Athletics. She grew up at the crossroads of the East End of Long Island, Riverhead, and received a BFA in Art Education at Long Island University. Heather briefly taught as a high school art teacher in the public school system, but through serendipity and tenacity, shifted her creative focus into digital marketing. Eventually, she found her best fit improving interfaces and user experience through web development. Away from the computer, Heather spends her time knitting or practicing the newest roller skate move.

Jackie Zhang is the Talent & Culture Lead at Athletics. Having earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Florida and his master’s at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, Jackie’s scholarly career was aimed at understanding the intersection of economics and sustainability. Parallel to his life as a student, Jackie worked (at various times) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Ben and Jerrys. Today, he coordinates Athletics’ sustainability initiatives, studio operations, finances, and recruiting.

James is an Associate Director of Technical Strategy at Athletics. At Athletics, he has worked on a range of projects from UC Davis all the way to the Museum of the City of New York. Born in Houston, Texas, he has lived all over the country from Baltimore, to Brooklyn, to Connecticut, where he currently resides with his wife Sarah and their dog Franklin. Previous to Athletics, James worked for such entities as NYU Tandon, UMG Def Jam, Parsons, Creative Time, and Bellweather Agency. He received his MFA in painting from Yale, and BFA from MICA. Curious, energetic, and creative, alongside his painting practice he enjoys bird photography, kayaking, and fishing, all activities that involve close observation of the world.

Jameson is Executive Digital Director and a partner at Athletics. Before shifting gears to the digital world, Jameson spent a decade working in the culinary arts as a Chef de Cuisine at The W Hotel and as Executive Chef at The Food Studio. In 2003, Jameson moved to New York and began working for Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio, developing a pre-Seamless online ordering system that provided business intelligence to over a dozen of Tom’s restaurants. Jameson then began his own independent development practice, developing applications and digital experiences for clients. Joining Athletics as a partner in 2014, Jameson has injected technical rigor throughout our studio’s project lifecycle, and led many digital-first projects including ServiceNow Workflow Quarterly, J.P. Morgan In—Residence, Hubble, New York Review of Books, and the Museum of the City of New York. Jameson is also founder of Campaign Games, a historical strategy games company founded in 2019.

Jason is a founding partner and Creative Director at Athletics. A maker in the fields of design, architecture, sound, and scent, his practice aims at creating stimulating multi-sensory experiences. Beginning his career as a professional musician, Jason toured with indie stalwart The Promise Ring while designing music packaging for a range of performing acts. Jason went on to open Public Studio, an independent design practice headquartered in Chicago. In 2004, Jason co-founded Athletics, bringing his energetic aesthetic and creative curiosity to a new scale of clientele, including Google, MoMA, Hubble, and others. Jason has pioneered many of Athletics’ studio-initiated projects, leading ventures such as Carlen Parfums and The Graham & Co.

Jeff is the Senior Creative Operations Director at Athletics, helping bridge client and cross-disciplinary teams in the delivery of brand identity, experience programs, and products throughout the lifecycle of each engagement. With a background in digital product, project management, engineering, and media production (music, video, print), Jeff has led teams and projects for over 20 years, delivering innovative solutions for clients such as Mayo Clinic, Google, Verizon, American Express, Viacom, and Whole Foods. Jeff holds a degree in Music Production and Engineering from Berklee College of Music, Boston, and is an avid record collector, listener, and DJ in New York City.

John is a Designer at Athletics. Most recently, he worked at Upstatement where he started as a design apprentice in 2019 and quickly grew into a full-time designer working on identity systems and interactive projects for clients in architecture, education, software, and technology. John graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in Communication Design. In previous years he has held positions as a design intern at studios Proverb, Minelli, Cambridge Biomarketing, and worked as the freelance designer for Pavement Coffeehouse.

Katherine is the Executive Strategy Director at Athletics. Bringing over twelve years of experience in research, branding, and design strategy, her practice aims to tie creative decision-making to business objectives. Her problem-solving approach relies heavily on human factors, based on the belief that when it comes to brand, it’s all about digging into what makes people tick and what drives them to make the choices they make. Katherine earned her MFA in Design and Technology at Parsons, where she focused on human factors and user experience. After graduating she discovered the world of brand strategy, which was a perfect blend of creativity and the science of human behavior. Since then, she’s worked on branding challenges big and small with brands like Google, ClassPass, IBM, and Snapchat, helping tell powerful brand stories, and build start-up brands from scratch.

Kathryn Farwell is a Program Director. Joining Athletics in 2019, Kathryn previously managed brand identity and experience projects at Gin Lane, focusing on early stage consumer startups at the intersection of entrepreneurship and cuisine, including the Tartine Bakery, Haus, and many other emerging brands. At Athletics, Kathryn manages creative and technical projects from idea to implementation, acting as a conduit between client teams and her colleagues within the studio. When she’s not keeping our creative collaborations on the boil, Kathryn gravitates to the kitchen, hosting a monthly supper club with friends, sampling local bakeries, or perusing the shelves at Kitchen Arts & Letters, New York’s beloved cookbook store.

Katie Mias is a Senior Designer at Athletics. She’s a lifelong New Yorker currently settled in south Brooklyn. The first decade of her career was spent working at HunterGatherer, where she did a little bit of everything, from designing to art directing to animating, across an expansive variety of mediums. She’s enjoyed working with clients like The New York Times Magazine, Firefox, Vans, and Sesame Studios, and finds great satisfaction in developing useful systems and telling meaningful stories. If she’s not at home tending to her plants or making something by hand, you can find her walking across the city in search of the best slice.

Kristen Barry is a Senior Interaction Designer at Athletics. She attended NYU’s ITP graduate program and has since worked on a wide variety of digital products and experiences, both in-house and agency side. Her work focuses her passion for psychology, usability, research, and ideation to find creative solutions to complex problems. By understanding user needs, client goals, and the competitive landscape of each project, she creates experiences that are memorable, intuitive, and visually stunning. In her spare time, she is a design mentor at Designlab and volunteers her time to mentor students through BUILT BY GIRLS, an organization that empowers female and non-binary students to start their careers in tech.

Kristen is Managing Director at Athletics, managing the development of branding, design and experience projects for enterprise clients, start-ups, and nonprofits alike. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Kristen graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA in Visual Communications and Marketing. After working in creative agencies from London to Sydney, Australia, Kristen moved to New York in 2015 to work at Chandelier, where she managed the delivery of innovative work for major brands in the US and Asia, including Sephora, Smartwater, and Virgin Voyages. At Athletics, Kristen oversees day-to-day client management, working as the client conduit to solve strategic business challenges within a creative framework. In her free time, Kristen is an avid cyclist and soccer-player.

Ku is an Associate Director of Experience Strategy at Athletics. With over 10 years of experience in digital creative solutions, she is passionate about solving complex problems and utilizing business and design planning processes, while building strong, collaborative relationships. Her multidisciplinary background informs her dedication to understanding the needs of the user and client, thinking intentionally about goals, and providing innovative solutions. Ku holds a Digital Creative Media Diploma from Hyper Island, a Digital Product Design Certificate from Pratt, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Fordham University. Go Rams!

Liam Powell is a Senior Strategist at Athletics. For the past decade, he has worked across brand, architectural, and experiential design practices in New York City, with particular focus on textual, language-based expression and identity. His work with founder-entrepreneurs spans a swathe of categories — from consumer technology & skincare to commercial furniture & cannabis — as does his experience with institutional clients like Airbnb, Google, WarnerMedia Group, and the Dubai Future Foundation. Born and raised in Massachusetts, he is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of the Arts and of Boston College. He is a poet & writer whose work has been published & anthologized, and a musician whose bands have fallen apart. Prior to Athletics, he worked for Rapt Studio, an interdisciplinary brand, experience, & architectural agency based in NY, SF, & LA.

Loli Vaccaro is an Associate Designer at Athletics. Born in Buenos Aires and raised in Miami, she is currently a senior at MICA pursuing a BFA in Graphic Design. She loves creating meaningful stories through design while also exploring side passions like printmaking, ceramics, and illustration. When she isn’t working or studying, she likes to read mystery novels, swim in the ocean, and cook new things.

Malcolm is a partner and Creative Director at Athletics. A Scotsman educated in London, Malcolm has more than 20 years of professional design experience. Malcolm’s career began in London with a focus on music branding, before his move to Burlington, Vermont to become Creative Lead at JDK, where he helped evolve Burton Snowboards into a global lifestyle force. Later, Malcolm settled in New York to fill the role of Creative Director for renowned branding agency Wolff Olins. Malcolm joined Athletics as a partner in 2014, and has since led major projects for clients including IBM, Nike, MLS, and MoMA. Malcolm appreciates the diverse skills of the Athletics team, and the studio’s capacity to make change for organizations and the people that make them great.

Malik is an Associate Project Manager at Athletics. Coming to us from the “Birthplace of New York,” White Plains, Malik studied business administration at the College of St. Rose in Albany. Personable, creative, and daring, he has previous experience at Interbrand, WPP, and Futurebrand. Outside of Athletics, Malik runs his own clothing brand where his designs are a conduit for his creativity and self-expression. He also loves spending time with his family, cooking, watching sports, traveling, and generally being very fashionable.

Matt Colangelo is a Director of Strategy at Athletics. He brings a decade of experience working across advertising, branding, and design with a focus on building brand architectures and content strategies that support enterprise-level business objectives. Before joining Athletics, he worked at Code & Theory, where he helped set up a new content practice, and Young & Rubicam, where he launched a special-projects office called Y&R Moonshop. A short story and essay writer by trade, Colangelo earned an MSt in English from Oxford University and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School.

Matt is a founding partner and creative project lead at Athletics. Born in Texas, Matt studied Graphic Design at Cranbrook Academy of Art before moving to New York in the heyday of Silicon Alley. In New York, Matt developed self-initiated design projects that are now in SFMoMA’s permanent collection, and worked with clients like Sony, Nike, Madlib, and The Cooper Hewitt. Matt founded Athletics in 2004 with Jason Gnewikow. At Athletics, Matt has led projects for clients including XQ, Guild, The Pulitzer Prizes, and JP Morgan. In his spare time, he can be found experimenting in Cinema 4D, writing on Medium, and developing new ventures like Kingston Standard.

Moyna is a Program Manager at Athletics. Originally from Duluth, Georgia, she moved to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College where she was the coxswain steering the women’s crew team to victory. POWER ON PORT! As a Gryphon, Moyna studied Economics and Visual Arts, and at this academic intersection she found project management, first at Code and Theory and later Calvin Klein. When she’s not sending it at work, Moyna is a drummer with a passion for all things music, from Metallica to the Strokes, and most recently BTS.

Nathan is the Senior Director of Client Experience at Athletics. Originally from Massachusetts, he has lived in New York for nearly two decades, serving tenures at Frog Design, Smart Design, SY Partners, Wolff Olins, and Pearlfisher. Nathan is fluent in the finer points of design operations, program management, and client relations, keeping Athletics’ digital projects on the rails. Outside of Nathan’s work in the creative industry, he is an accomplished singer-songwriter, having written, recorded, and performed original music, available on Spotify. When he’s not in the (design or recording) studio, he’s exploring New York’s museums, and sampling the city’s rich theater, music, and gallery scenes.

Richard is a Senior Creative Technologist at Athletics. A Texan by birth and Brooklynite by choice, Richard is intensely creative and detail-oriented, a sensibility he applies both to the development of digital experiences on behalf of clients like Samsung, Microsoft, IBM, and CNN, and the creation of music with his band of 10 years, Dirt Bikes. In Richard’s estimation, music and coding are natural complements, both being based in an understanding of pattern, rhythm, tone, and melody. He has applied this lyrical approach to Athletics projects like Culdesac and ServiceNow’s digital publication, Workflow Quarterly. For the latter, Richard built custom data visualizations as well as the platform’s React architecture, integrating it with the publication’s WordPress CMS. This empowered ServiceNow to create one-off features in highly bespoke editorial formats. A graduate of the Pratt Institute, Richard has, throughout his career, served as Senior Interactive Art Director at Sony Music, Senior Developer / Creative Technology at Code and Theory, and Lead Creator at Co: Collective. Richard is an expert in an extensive range of technical subject areas, including Reactjs, Nodejs, Threejs, PIXIjs, React Native, Greensock Animation Platform (GSAP), and Cinema 4D.

Ross grew up in Houston, though his Texan accent is minimal. He brings a predilection for all things minimalist to his role as Athletics’ technical director. Ross received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he studied design and screen printing. Upon graduating, Ross co-founded Legendary art gallery in Chicago. In 2007, he interned with Athletics while working toward an MFA in design at the Cranbrook Academy of Art outside of Detroit. He weathered the 2008 recession in San Francisco working as an illustrator for Old Navy, during which time he debuted paintings in a solo exhibition. Ross then found his way back to New York, where he freelanced with a range of agencies, non-profits, and independent artists, using emerging technologies to activate design. Ross returned to Athletics as a full-time employee in 2013. Today, his work focuses on extending the studio’s identity work with powerful creative technologies.

Sebastian is a Senior Designer at Athletics. After living in Milan for almost nine years and working in the publishing industry as AD for Playboy and Billboard Italia magazines, Sebastian shifted gears and dove into the branding world, eventually joining the Athletics team in New York. 

Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Sebastian’s innate curiosity and degrees in Industrial and Graphic Design have helped him hone a set of broad creative and artistic capabilities. His multidisciplinary background has helped him develop a holistic approach to tackling design projects of all kinds. A proponent and creator of responsible brands, Sebastian believes that design and strategy are the best tools for brands hoping to join the circular economy. Prior to Athletics, Sebastian collaborated with Interbrand, Leftloft, and DesignStudio. His work has been recognized by LAD, TDC, and D&AD.

Tanya is Senior Digital Producer at Athletics. From the beautiful old city of Minsk, Belarus, she has over a decade of experience in digital production and project management. While she studied public relations at the Belarusian State University, she crafted her eagle eye and impeccable attention to detail in her previous roles at the interactive agency, Red Graphic. In her free time, Tanya enjoys traveling, reading, and discovering the best restaurants in her neighborhood.

Taylor is a Program Director at Athletics. Hailing from the “City of Sails,” Auckland, New Zealand, she studied communications at the Auckland University of Technology. Fueled by black coffee and a tenacious need to bring order to the creative process, she previously worked at Alto, Collins, Pentagram, and Droga5. When Taylor is not at work, she can be found whacking the felt off of tennis balls, carving up the waves on a sailboat, dancing to her favorite vinyls, or perhaps catching a show at the Park Avenue Armory.

Tricia is a Digital Producer at Athletics. Previously, she worked at The Counter, a nonprofit newsroom and former Athletics client, but joined the team after its closure. Her contributions in art direction and production won a SABEW “Best in Business” Award and was a finalist for the Online Journalism Awards in 2021. She’s also a producer for Vietnamese Boat People, a nonprofit podcast documenting stories of the Vietnamese diaspora and has helped curate events like its annual story slam and documentary film screenings. In 2014, Tricia moved to New York to attend The New School and graduated with a degree in Journalism + Design, with a minor in Global Studies. She grew up in Ohio, California, and Wisconsin, but New York is the longest place she’s ever lived. For fun, she does nail art and spends time outdoors with her pup Morty.