With his limbs flailing violently, head rocking rhythmically and favorite song playing loudly, Professor Mark Swanson is doing the Electric Boogaloo. Perhaps he realizes doing this dance – especially while wearing Star Wars storm trooper armor – is not exactly customary for a man with such a coveted title and impressive résumé. Then again, being different has always been one of his biggest strengths. Swanson has wisely used his gift of seemingly infinite creativity during his 17 years in the advertising business. He was a copywriter for advertising giants Foote, Cone & Belding (Impact) and Barry Blau & Partners (Direct Edge). He won numerous Gold ADDY awards and was the 2005 Silver Microphone National Winner for excellence in radio advertising. In his spare time, Swanson can be found playing soccer, but he admits that he has an unexplainable fondness for German board games. His career highlights include talking with singer James Brown, hosting online chats with astronaut John Glenn and Koko the gorilla, writing ads for sports legends Gordie Howe and Patrick Ewing, and creating transit signs featuring Battlestar Galactica starlet Tricia Helfer. His long list of accomplishments truly is intimidating. At least until you see him dance.

Frank has worked as a creative professional for about as long as he can remember. His more prominent roles have included Senior Art Director and Lead Designer for both agencies and in-house environments, but he has also worked as a creative consultant, photographer, illustrator, writer, director and web designer. His fascination with art, music (both old and new), biographies and vintage serigraphs add depth and understanding to his work in the advertising world. His background makes him a conceptual thinker who has often been called upon to visualize large, cohesive campaigns; generate strategic marketing solutions; and write, storyboard, and direct motion and video concepts. No matter the aspect of advertising Frank is working on, he always has his eyes and mind set on producing staggering creative work that will not only stand out on a national stage, but will generate results as well.

Sometimes, you have to suck it up and make big sacrifices to get ahead. Jamie Flink first encountered this working as a VP/Account Director at Barkley. Her client was Sonic, and while managing the brand’s integrated marketing communications campaign, she also worked as part of their new product development team. She was already drinking Sonic’s legendary Cherry Limeades, but now she had to test and launch new items like Toaster Sandwiches, Cream Pie Shakes, Cream Slushes and more. Had she bitten off more than she could chew? Not Jamie! After this difficult time of delicious new Sonic menu items, Jamie’s career continued on without incident. She became the director of brand growth initiatives for Payless ShoeSource. Her guidance and insight led to a shift in how Payless presented itself, which resulted in a campaign that consistently appeared in Ad Age/IAG’s Top 10 for advertising recall. However, after this calm, Jamie was asked for more. She was tasked with crafting a new brand identity and communications strategy for Blue Bunny, and faced with a dilemma: to eat the ice cream, or to eat the ice cream? At this point, what choice did she really have? She also played a key role in developing an award-winning campaign that made “premium” an appropriate description for a friendly brand with a funny name. It was also something Jamie knew from first hand experience. Of course, these are only highlights from nearly 20 years in advertising that have brought Jamie into contact with brands such as Sears brand Tire America, Helzberg Diamonds, H&R Block, and Greenies Pet Treats. Her wealth of experience makes her a fantastic resource and an invaluable new member to the MOJO team.

Brad Best is from Staunton, Illinois, a small town just outside of St. Louis, but he was bound for the excitement of a big city. Brad was hired right out of college as a sales rep for FOX TV Sales and moved to Chicago. He soon moved on to work at MindShare as a broadcast negotiator and worked with clients like Ford, Sears, Domino’s, Arby’s, Burger King, Unilever and White Castle. He then was hired by Carat as a media buyer and did TV direct response media buying and optimization for Jenny Craig, Papa John’s, Orbitz and National Association of Realtors. His final stop in Chicago before moving to Columbia to work at Mizzou was at an interactive agency, where he acted as the Director of Media Buying and Planning. Outside of his impressive work life, Brad is married and has three sons. He enjoys playing softball, golfing, running and confesses to being addicted to TV. He is interested in sports, music, politics, advertising and marketing.

Jon Stemmle is an assistant professor of strategic communication and former director of the Health Communication Research Center at the Missouri School of Journalism. He also has an appointment as a core faculty member in the Master of Public Health program. In his role as a professor, Stemmle teaches classes in public relations, health and science communication, social media, event planning and integrated marketing campaigns. His primary research interests involve health-related community-based participatory research, tailored health communication and non-traditional learning. Stemmle’s work in the area of strategic health communication has been presented to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European CDC, National Cancer Institute, and various health literacy groups around the nation. Stemmle has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona (1997) and undergraduate degrees in history and communications from Virginia Wesleyan College (1993).