OUR STORY, OUR TEAM
In 2011, we founded Alter Endeavors to reintroduce one of the most important elements to the digital marketing industry – the human one.
Our clients are all experts in something; whether it’s real estate, painting, moving, food, wine, finances or something equally as important. It’s our job to communicate your passion and your brand to the world. We specialize in social media integration, digital marketing strategies, SEO, and website design and development so that they work cohesively with your offline efforts.
Technology is important, but it should never replace the human element of your brand – your passion, your expertise, your customer service, your performance. As consultants, it’s important to us to find our clients the best of the best. If we don’t offer it in-house, we have a powerful group of affiliates and channel partners who will line up with us to get you where you need to go.
Your online brand matters now more than ever to the survival of your company. Let us help you bring the Human Element of your brand, your company, and your voice to your web presence and establish you as the thought leader in your industry.
ENGAGE | Alter Endeavor’s Solutions | Contact AE
TEAM ALTER
Nicholas Alter – Principal
Leader of this merry band, Nick has worked with hundreds of brands across a myriad of different sectors – from commercial real estate to healthcare, service companies to retail, thought leaders to startups. The focus for Alter Endeavors stems from Nick’s passion for stories and technology. After graduating from Southwestern University with an English and Communications double major, Nick started as a freelance content developer & strategist which quickly evolved into a consulting position for a number of brands in Austin, Dallas and Houston.
After 2 years as a freelance consultant, Alter Endeavors was founded back in 2011 to meet the growing needs of Nick’s freelance clients – drawing together incredible talent to accomplish client goals. Today, Nick continues to serve as a consultant for Alter Endeavors’ growing client base while also researching and pulling together new strategies and programs for a constantly evolving digital marketing space. Nick is always available for a game of racquetball or happy hour, whichever works for you, he’s flexible.
“Brands succeed by celebrating who they are and what they do – all the while inviting others to participate. You know, like happy hour. Everybody loves to celebrate five o’clock somewhere. Selling never works. If we have to sell who you are, then we’ve already lost, like trying to sell your family and friends timeshare. No faster way to lose family and friends than trying to sell them timeshare…or really long quotes. Nobody appreciates really long quotes.”
Jamie Martin Alter – Director of Brand Development
With a master’s degree in public history and undergraduate degrees in history and international studies, Jamie has spent her entire adult life conducting intensive research and developing a diverse array of writing and communication skills. From 2011 – 2013 Jamie served as a Curator for two different museums, while working part-time as a Content Developer for Alter Endeavors. In January of 2013, Jamie began working full-time for Alter Endeavors, translating her curatorial skills and ability to interpret history for the public to crafting effective content marketing campaigns for targeted demographics. Today Jamie helps Alter Endeavors’ clients develop and execute digital marketing strategies to reach and engage with their desired audience. Having married Nick in 2009, she is an expert on managing both her husband and her Shih Tzu.
“Nick, you can’t wear that to a meeting. No, not that one. Here, wear the Shih Tzu shirt I made you.”
Christopher “Topher” Jennings – Director of Operations
With 20+ years of design, marketing, and project management experience, Christopher is ideally suited to oversee our operations. Design, content, development, customer interaction, and timelines—he makes sure the individual gears of Alter Endeavors are greased and turning. From concept to completion, he ensures the pieces are in place, delivering your site on time with the elements for online success intact. He’s put his expertise to work in other arenas, such as an animation lead on Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly, and is the author and illustrator of a stack of children’s books.
“My goal is to make all the sites we build as handsome as the Shih Tzu shirt Jamie made Nick.”
Teylor Schiefelbein – Director of Digital Marketing
Teylor has a passion for writing and getting to the heart of how brands differentiate themselves in the marketplace. As Digital Marketing Director, she conducts industry research and develops content creation and distribution strategies based on brands’ positioning and goals. In her role, she oversees the Digital Marketing department, from strategy to execution, as they work to build lasting relationships with established audiences, provide content of real value and bring a healthy dose of personality to the web.
Teylor has a travel and health blog of her own, Have Health Will Travel. She graduated from Concordia University with a degree in Communication, specializing in Public Relations, and a minor in Business.
“Better to see a place once, than to hear about it a thousand times.”
Steve Joiner – Director of Web Management Services
As our Director of Web Management Services, Steve manages a department of developers, graphic designers and webmasters to assist a network of Alter Endeavors client websites with updates and fixes through AE’s tech support system. Better yet, he created that tech support system, allowing Alter Endeavors’ clients to get friendly and fast help with updating their site or addressing any issues that may occur. Steve has years of expertise in many arenas, having been a Director of Operations and IT Director, with specialties in Database Programming and SEO. His hobbies include playing the guitar, singing in the church choir and attending UT football and basketball games.
“Be the person your dog thinks you are.”
-J.W. Stephens
Aubrey Berkowitz – Senior Consultant
Aubrey brings a clear-eyed, marketing informed perspective to business development. He is your go-to for making your online presence its most effective. As marketing/sales manager, he was instrumental in the success of one of our clients, SMB Health Consulting. With that, and his savvy oversight of the rebranding of Arctic Wolf Ice Center to Spirit Ice, we had to have Aubrey on the Alter Endeavor’s team. Aubrey brings practical, real world brick and mortar know-how to building your brand online. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University, head coach of the University of Texas Ice Hockey team, and an accomplished guitarist.
“Teamwork is the delicate balance between standing out and fitting in.”
-John Couret
Stephen Burton – Branding Genius and Graphic Designer
When it comes to branding, Stephen sees himself not so much as an artist or designer but more as a miner of sorts. Though a client may not realize it, they already know who they are and why they embarked on the dream at hand. In brand development, it isn’t our job to define a client’s identity but to help them discover it and then to start digging until we find what shines. For Stephen, helping clients reach that moment of discovery never gets old.
“What the…oh I know what that is.”
-Copy Machine Repairman
Christie Zangrilli – Art Director, UI/UX Lead
For the past 14 years, Christie has been working with clients to bring their brand to life. She loves to craft websites that are not only user-friendly and attractive, but also work hard to optimize the company’s message. Committed to good design, Christie firmly believes that visual communication is the often-underestimated key to success in business. Through her experience of growing up in an entrepreneurial family, owning her own studio and working with countless small business owners, Christie understands the challenges these fearless folks face and strives to be their creative advocate throughout the process. Christie also co-owns a design-forward event furniture rental company, Party at the Moontower (an AE client).
Christie has a MFA in Design from the University of Texas Austin and a BA in Communications from New York University.
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
-Albert Einstein
Jonathan Olivo – Graphic Designer
With an Advertising major and an Art minor from Texas State, Jonathan possesses the extensive skills needed to be a graphic designer. His artistic expertise paired with an advertiser’s mind, allows Jonathan to create graphics that jump out to customers and draw them in further to a client’s content. His designs include logos, website mock-ups, business cards, UI/UX designs, social media shareable’s and much more. On the side, Jonathan is currently working with friends to create a video game.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky”
-Michael Scott
Jonathan Nic Weiss – Digital Marketing Strategist
Nic is our middleman, the wearer of many hats here at AE. He works with the digital marketing to maintain social platforms for clients and on specialize in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to help improve client’s rankings online. With his past experience in compliance and digital advertising, Nic applies his knowledge of industry best practices — providing his client’s with high-level service. Nic attended Concordia University Texas and studied Business Management with a concentration in Marketing while playing soccer. A traveler at heart, Nic enjoys experiencing new cultures and cuisines along the way.
“If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats.”
-Lemony Snicket
Megan McGrath – Digital Marketing Strategist
Megan graduated from Southwestern University with a BA in Business and a focus in Marketing. Her passion is digital marketing, with a particular interest in content creation (think clever puns and riveting material). With an analytical mind and a passion for content, Megan connects brands and consumers together through humor and personality. She is thrilled to work with fellow Southwestern alumni as well as fellow dog lovers.
“Whenever I’m about to do something, I think, ‘Would an idiot do that?’ And if they would, I do not do that thing.”
-Dwight Schrute
Patti Conrad – Finance Manager
With a Business Administration degree from Santa Clara University, Patti has spent many years in the fitness and golf industry as a General Manager, in the startup world as a CPA for a local Austin-based company and in the Public Relations world as a Finance & HR Manager for a local PR firm in Austin. As the Finance Manager at Alter Endeavors, Patti oversees client billing, bookkeeping, employee payroll and more. When she is not balancing the books, Patti enjoys spending time in the great outdoors and experiencing the food and music that this wonderful city has to offer.
“When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.”
-William Arthur Ward
Rusty Shelton – CEO of Zilker Media (sister agency to Alter Endeavors)
Rusty is the founder & CEO of Zilker Media, a full-service agency that helps the world’s biggest brands and thought leaders navigate the new media landscape. Prior to founding Zilker Media, he built and sold two businesses before the age of 35. He is also the co-author of the book Mastering the New Media Landscape: Embrace the Micromedia Mindset, which debuted at #2 on the Austin American-Statesman bestseller list. Rusty teamed up with our principal Nick in the creation of Catch Engine, an online quiz and assessment platform that helps clients gain important data based on their specific objectives. Catch Engine has produced great results for many of our clients, in some cases growing their email lists by more than 150,000. Along with that, AE & Zilker work together on numerous projects and have built an invaluable business partnership over the years. In his free time, Rusty loves to play golf, fish and spend times with his three children.
“When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it.”
-Yogi Berra
Dr. Dan French – Branding & Content Consultant
Meet Dr. Dan, part of the leadership of AE’s branding and creative team. As a Rhetoric Ph.D. and former college professor, who spent years in Hollywood as a late night talk show writer/producer and professional standup comic and who has a true love for building messages that rocket around the world, Dan helps companies with brand & message development, persuasive strategy, content growth, story generation & all things creative. He loves technology, but if the world were relying on him we’d have a rhombus-shaped wheel.
“There are only two things in life I love — making large groups of people laugh, and getting paid obscene amounts of money. And I’m only happy when they both happen at the same time.”
-Groucho Marx
Lulu – Mascot, Morale-Booster, Chief Snuggler
The world’s hardest working lap dog ensures that all Alter Endeavors staff members are never without companionship or have to suffer through a cold lap. Lulu, a Shih Tzu, is a constant presence behind the computer screen. She enjoys cookies, snuggling and licking anyone’s face she can.
*Licks screen. Stares at screen. Sneezes on screen. Cycle repeats until someone sits down, then focus shifts to trying to lick their face off.*