White Whale

As the lead designer for White Whale, Sacha works with clients to shape beautiful and usable experiences for the web. Born and raised in Oregon, Sacha left the state to study at Stanford University, where he received a BA in Art and Art History. A father of three small children, he now lives on a farm outside of Portland with his family, chickens, cat, books and oil painting studio.

On top of managing White Whale’s business affairs, Tonya works with clients on top-level branding and communications strategy – helping them get past organizational roadblocks and find ways to present web content to make sense to their multiple audiences. Raised in small-town Wisconsin, she headed east to attend Wellesley and then Brown, and then west to Portland, OR where she juggles work, kids, chickens, and a side-gig making napkins for her sister’s restaurant.

A pathological multitasker, Jason is involved in every aspect of the website development process – from collaborating with our senior designer on design work to overseeing the care and feeding of the LiveWhale CMS. Jason first began exploring interactive design in 1997 as a complement to his graduate study in linguistics at the University of Chicago (where he holds a master’s degree).

As a former tutor, Cindy has found a perfect combination of her love of teaching and web development in White Whale. She leads the theming and implementation process for new LiveWhale Calendar clients, and assists with testing and accessibility compliance. Outside of work, Cindy enjoys all sports, gaming, building mechanical keyboards, and going on long walks with her sister’s two dogs – Boba and Mango.

Lisa is a web developer with a passion for using code to find technical solutions to everyday problems. With previous careers education and human resources, her experience in helping people began long before she learned to code. A graduate of the University of Florida, she holds a B.A. in Sociology as well as an M.S. in Human Resources Management from Tarleton State University. When she is not in front of a computer, Lisa enjoys watching all things Gators sports and spending time outdoors.

Alex has been indispensable to White Whale since its inception, becoming a permanent full-time employee in 2004 and taking the lead in the development of LiveWhale, our content management system. He is a graduate of NYU’s film and psychology programs, an active writer and photographer, and a student of metaphysics.

Isaac writes front-end code for the LiveWhale CMS, assists with other CMS implementations, and backs up our UI development team. He has developed and managed web applications since 1999, working on corporate teams as well as individually. Isaac lives in San Rafael with his wife and sons; his non-code interests include surfing, capoeira, and burritos.

Rachael has a wide range of knowledge and background experiences from working in the fine art, media, and higher education professions. She brings together all her strengths and translates them directly into helping with clients. Born and raised in the midwest, Rachael now calls the Blue Ridge Mountains her home—where she will make any excuse to go explore. She is a mother, photographer, avid recipe tester, and a former barista champion.

Karl is all about bringing people together to make beautiful things. Besides being a designer and programmer in his own right, Karl also has extensive experience in higher ed as a student, faculty, and staff member. Outside of White Whale, Karl is a musical theatre composer, where he continues to feed his love of collaboration, art, and storytelling.

Kris’s goal as a web developer is to make clients’ work easier. With two decades of experience in making and managing higher education websites, she now codes and configures White Whale’s client sites. Away from the computer, she creates with cloth, clay, metal, and wood, and tries to start early music ensembles. She lives in the woods of Virginia with her children, gardens, and domestic birds.

A compulsive list maker and professional organizer, it’s Katie’s job to shepherd projects from start to finish. She makes sure everything is on track, on budget and everyone is happy. She holds a Bachelor’s from Alma College and a Master’s from Michigan State University. In her free time, you can find Katie with a camera around her neck or enjoying the outdoors with her husband and dog.