Culture

Bill Nelson

Director of Accounts

A master at connecting businesses and creatives, Bill has keen insight into how effective partnerships work, having worked on both the agency and client sides. Over his nearly three decades in the industry, Bill has been a writer, producer, manager, planner and creative director. He paves the way for strategic planning to become brilliant work that generates results.

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David Sadowski

Partner & Brand Director

David is the rare creative who is also fluent in business. After a stint as an art director at SK+G in Las Vegas, David heeded the siren call of the Zenith city and returned to Duluth, where he’s shaped a career that combines creative, planning, insight and strategy into work that transforms brands. He is the Man Behind the Plan.

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Emily Aarsvold

Graphic Designer

Emily is a creative soul. After graduating with a marketing and graphic design degree from UMD, she naturally gravitated toward Swim. Passionate about finding just the right design aesthetic for each project, Emily draws inspiration from the world around her. When she’s not designing or creating killer content, Emily is watching movies, traveling or hanging out with her pet gecko.

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Heather Farnham

Web Developer

Heather is a student by nature. Ever-learning and ever-growing, she began her career with a degree in design technology from Bemidji State. But after working in design for six years, she knew she wanted to create websites. Determined and driven, Heather is already making an impact on Swim’s web team by working on stunning, user-friendly websites that turn heads and draw clicks.

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Jordan Woods

Copywriter

Jordan knows his way around a keyboard. Working with multiple companies within the Duluth community and beyond, Jordan has experience writing in nearly every form. He thrives on challenging writing projects that include website copy, blogs, TV commercial scripts and more. His passion for writing knows no bounds and, when not asserting his dominance over the dictionary, he can be found skiing or biking around Duluth.

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Kevin Cain

Office Manager

Every office needs a Kevin. Master of the multi-task and expert juggler of hats, you can always count on him to clear out that to-do list. Whether preparing production estimates, traffic reports or monitoring agency workflow, Kevin has the answers (and the droids) you’re looking for. Plus, as a former member of the U.S. Army, he’s not afraid to threaten us with push-ups if we forget to clean out the fridge.

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Maria Barbirotto

Project Manager

Entrepreneur, marketer, culinary artist: Maria can do it all! Armed with experience in creating and managing marketing campaigns, social media strategy and digital business models, she is ready to take on any challenge. A former agency owner herself, she has worked for organizations all across the globe. When she isn’t on the job, Maria loves to cook, mountain bike and spend time with her wife and dog, Lucca.

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Patrice Bradley

Founder & CEO

As the driving force behind Swim, Patrice is equal parts artist and entrepreneur, uniting creative, communication and business prowess in every aspect of her work. Patrice’s innate sense of design and ability to connect with people has led to award-winning work for clients in every industry. Her 20+ year career has been spent teaching, offering half-eaten sandwiches to co-workers and generally being a Force for Good in advertising.

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Peter Sahlberg

Director of Interactive

A young Pete Sahlberg crafted art out of driftwood on the shores of Lake Superior. Now, a less-young Pete Sahlberg applies that same creative dexterity as a crazy-good web developer with both graphic design and coding chops. Pete is on the internet every day, fighting crimes of web design with digital experiences that are intuitive, intriguing and inspiring.

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Stephanie Dunaiski

Senior Copywriter

Schooled as a journalist and a creative writer by nature, Stephanie has more than 10 years of professional writing experience under her belt and has written for everything from billboards and TV, to radio and digital ads. Coupled with her web content creation experience, SEO knowledge and keyword research skills, Stephanie writes engaging web content from a user experience lens. She insists on approaching hard work with a smile and an eye for improvement. Oh, and she'll probably try to make you laugh.

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Sheerah Krug

Project Manager

Sheerah has a knack for all things marketing. She is results-driven and client-focused. She knows exactly the right questions to ask to get a project timeline whipped into shape and is instrumental in supporting the creative team. She loves delivering solutions and creative work that completely blow clients’ minds. When she’s not setting timelines and to-dos for Swim, you can find Sheerah exploring Duluth, rock climbing, or hiking with her dog.

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Shawn Stigsell

Art Director

With over 15 years of design experience, Shawn has a keen eye for design and branding which he uses to make killer design on the daily. Shawn is a determined, outgoing, team-player with a unique skill set and background. He brings innovative creative design ideas and the grit to get the job done to every project. When he’s not designing for Swim, you’ll find Shawn mountain biking, hiking, and taking in all that natural beauty Duluth has to offer with his family.

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