Squids

Cássio hails from Brazil. He considers São Sepé to be his hometown, but he has also lived in Porto Alegre. Cássio enjoys traveling and has journeyed as far as Patagonia in the far southern reaches of South America (basically, the last stop before Antarctica). 

Like many members of the SQUWIX team, Cássio holds several Umbraco certifications. He earned an undergraduate degree in Information Systems and a Masters in Engineering from Universidade Luterana do Brasil. His list of technical skills is extraordinarily long and includes everything from .NET to C# to Raspberry Pi. One noteworthy accomplishment: upon the conclusion of his IT studies in Brazil, he created a smart home application and presented it on national television.

Cássio’s hobbies include building electronics, watching Netflix, playing sports, and making music. He prides himself on being detail-oriented and having a strong focus on excellence. His innate curiosity means that he is always researching new technologies and finding new fields to explore.

Something people are surprised to learn: Because Cássio tends to have a laid-back demeanor, it may come as a surprise to know that he is a martial arts expert and is about to test for the black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Chris is definitely one of those “living life on his own terms” people. When he’s not leading projects for SQUWIX’s client-partners, you may find him deep in the wilderness, hiking and/or hunting with his dog. He also enjoys fly fishing and snowboarding. A Colorado native, Chris spent some time living in Asia when he was younger. Later, he earned a BA in Speech Communication from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a Master of Project Management degree from Colorado State University. 

Chris describes himself as loyal, detail-oriented, and forward-thinking. He brings to the table a decade of experience managing digital marketing projects. He’s never met a deadline he can't crush, all with an eye on the project's budget and goals. Chris may seem a bit quiet in meetings, but he’s incredibly skilled at listening and understanding needs. He prides himself on being able to communicate with many different audiences (technical, non-technical, etc.) - he makes sure everyone feels heard and understood. In turn, he is able to drive solutions and recommendations that move the needle. 

Random fact: Chris’s mom didn’t have a chance to finish college when she became pregnant with the future project manager. Years later, she finished her degree at the same time as Chris; they graduated together.

We might call him our “sound guy” or “video guy” informally, but Dan brings many other skills to the table. Dan first came to SQUWIX as an intern six years ago. He then spent several years running a production studio (doing everything from sound mixing to management) before returning to the fold. Dan wears several hats at SQUWIX, including Quality Assurance Director. Nothing gets by his eagle eye. He sees himself as a jack of all trades and his work ethic drives him to be good at all of them. Dan will happily take on any job that makes the whole team better.  

Dan describes himself as an outgoing perfectionist, which means that he fits in well with the rest of the SQUWIX team. He also stands out in a couple of unique ways. Dan is dyslexic, meaning that his brain sees and interprets language a bit differently. He views his dyslexia as a gift and not a disability. Dan also has a mild case of synesthesia, a word you probably haven’t seen since it appeared on a vocabulary test when you were in 7th grade. In a nutshell, Dan sees music as colors and shapes. When working on sound editing, he doesn’t stop until the colors and shapes are right.

Random fact: Not surprisingly, Dan is a fan of many types of music (from jazz to R&B) and has a deep appreciation for any song that’s been mixed properly.

Prior to joining SQUWIX in 2016, Joe spent some time in a construction job. However, he couldn’t help but notice that working construction during Wisconsin’s notoriously challenging winters was not as fun as he’d imagined. Joe decided to change course and headed to a coding boot camp. There, his lifelong interest in “how things work” re-emerged. He was always the type to take things apart and see how they were built. In fact, understanding how things work continues to be a source of motivation for Joe. That’s the good news for parents: if your kid just took your alarm clock apart . . . it might actually lead to a viable career someday.

Joe’s fellow SQUWIX team members regard him as a fast learner, someone who is adaptable and responsive. He also interfaces comfortably with our client-partners, so he’s not one of those introverted coders that we have to hide in a back room. Joe is handy with front-end and back-end development and continues to learn with each new project. He describes himself as resourceful, determined, and hard-headed, which are great traits for a developer to have.

When he’s not knee-deep in code, Joe enjoys long-boarding, running, gaming, and playing hacky sack (no lie).

Random fact: Joe started with SQUWIX as an intern, and counts moving cross country as one of his proudest accomplishments to date.

If you’ve made the mistake of thinking that Generation Z is unfocused or unprepared for the real world, Justin is here to let you know that the digital natives will run the planet sooner than later. Justin fills the role of IT Intern at SQUWIX, assisting with code deployments and cloud hosting tasks. A fast learner with a reputation for being highly dependable, he is conscientious and detail-oriented, which is great news for co-workers and clients alike.

Like many SQUWIX team members, Justin is innately curious and likes to know how things are constructed. He can build anything as long as there is a YouTube video on the topic. 

Justin is a Wisconsin native, but he currently lives on a ranch in Texas with his wife (and lots of cats and other animals). He and Kassidee often take in disabled cats for rehabilitation and/or long-term residence. Justin’s other hobbies include cinematography (he’s particularly interested in claymation), gaming, and listening to old-school rock. He’s a sucker for classic rock from artists like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and the Eagles. He loves museums so much that his wedding reception was held at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Pet peeve: People who stand up on the plane as soon as it lands. Word!

SQUWIX needed a creative person who understands web development, and we found her! Kristin is a Colorado native who considers herself to be a lifelong learner. She earned a BS in Advertising from the University of Colorado at Boulder and rounded out her education by delving into coding on her own. In addition to her impressive design portfolio, Kristin brings to the table strong skills in HTML/CSS, Javascript, WordPress, and of course the full Adobe Creative Suite. She has also been initiated into the Umbraco universe and picked it up in no time. 

Kristin describes herself as conscientious, detail-oriented, curious, and thorough. She enjoys DIY projects, photography, and water sports like wakeboarding. She has family in Hawaii and spent time there growing up, which is where she developed a love for the water. Kristin carries the spirit of Aloha with her wherever she goes by reflecting compassion, hope, and empathy in every interaction.  

When she’s not flexing her design and development skills, Kristin enjoys true crime documentaries, puzzles, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune. She loves to explore design trends, particularly as they relate to sustainability and eco-friendliness. At all times, Kristin is carefully supervised by two cats, Lakshmi and Vishnu. 

Random Fact: Kristin wants nothing to do with ketchup (and no, spelling it catsup won’t make it any more appealing to her). Other condiments are fine, but ketchup? No.

Krizzia joined our team in 2017. When it comes to handling large volumes of data, nothing scares Krizzia. Her “can-do” attitude makes her a valued member of our team. She routinely asks, “What can I do to help?” - wouldn’t life be easier if everyone had that attitude? She enjoys working for SQUWIX because of the company’s culture of bringing people up and helping them to grow.

Krizzia studied Computer Science in school and strives to continue growing and learning. In addition to handling data-related tasks, she uses Umbraco to build content pages for our client-partners. She also handles photo editing and email cataloging.

When she’s not working, Krizzia enjoys cooking, photography, hiking, and swimming. She also admits to a slight addiction to watching food shows.

Random fact: Krizzia enjoys researching names and photos of edible plants. Did you know that dandelions are highly edible?

He’s fit, he’s an accomplished photographer, and he knows fancy words like al dente, compote, and canape. But wait, there’s more! Tony is also an SEO expert, which is an in-demand skill in today’s data-driven world. He’s a knowledgeable and energetic addition to the SQUWIX team and does a great job of explaining SEO strategies in a way that non-experts can understand. Tony prides himself on being able to communicate with different types of people in a team environment. 

Growing up, Tony spent time in New Mexico and Colorado before settling in Colorado for good. He later attended the Art Institute of Colorado, which gave him an opportunity to explore his love of art, painting, and graphic design. Tony also had a keen interest in technology and website development. As the SEO field began to form, Tony jumped right in, learning all the ins and outs of search engines and how to drive targeted traffic in all the right directions. 

Tony has two adult children, a son and a daughter. When asked about his proudest accomplishment, his children come first. He’s also proud of participating in a cycling fundraiser that found him crossing the entire state in two days. In addition to cycling, Tony also enjoys weightlifting (he used to compete in cross-fit), hiking, and longboarding. Now, back to those fancy words: Tony is a gourmet cook and enjoys the challenge of mastering new dishes. Photography is one of his other great passions. He found a niche in sports and fitness photography, even booking some commercial clients. 

Random fact: While most people would agree that how you pronounce the word “caramel” depends largely on regional differences, Tony would like you to know that there is only one pronunciation: care-ah-mel. There will be no further debate.