About Us
Our team has walked the halls and sat in the C-suites of some of the most successful companies in the world. We’ve also launched new ventures with tests in a mall kiosk and a boat show booth. In short, we’re up for the challenge – no matter where it takes us.
The Team
Kirk
Strategy
+Kirk Dahlgren is a business guide, river guide, and life guide. As he oversees strategy for Verify, his calm, cool problem-crushing skills can find a way forward in any situation. Kirk has seen it all while working for some of the most brilliant creative agencies in the US as well as Nike’s Valiant Labs (the company’s in-house innovation incubator). It is this vast, deep experience that he wields as new ventures launch. Honestly, nothing surprises this man. When he’s not figuring out how to make life and business better for our incredible clients, you can find Kirk tying knots, kayaking, or welding with his two ultra kind, brave kids, James and Norah, to the sweet tunes of his wife’s guitar.
Emily
Operations
+Emily Crotty has an innate sense for business. As an attorney and the Chief Operating Officer of Verify, Emily keeps every project running with precision and professionalism. She’s no stranger to the world of start-ups, acquisitions, mergers, and franchises. Emily has played a key role in numerous business leaps, and she handles it all with a smile and some fresh perspective. Her gift of seeing past the spreadsheets into the heart of a business is unmatched. When she’s not crushing it in the office, Emily is most often found cheering on her three kids, Kendel, Cameron, and Caleb, or laughing at her husband’s outrageous stories.
Russell
Ventures
+Russell McLemore connects dots and builds companies. In his role with Verify, Russell gravitates towards helping corporate clients identify growth strategies (untapped consumer segments and adjacent services and products) and building innovation capabilities to drive new growth. For start-ups he focuses on product/service design and go-to-market strategy. Russell's optimistic outlook has served him well as a consultant and strategist in the financial world. Just before joining Verify, Russell led a large cross-functional initiative for Nike’s DTC and Global Sales teams. If he’s not working, you’re likely to find Russell outdoors with his wife, three kids, and St. Bernard (Waldo).
Keith
Digital
+Keith May comes from a long line of educators. Like a great jazz album, the layers behind the words count: he’s got loads of data behind every story, and a course of action behind each question. As Keith leads the digital work for Verify, his style is focused yet laid back. He’s not one to let passion or emotions skew strategies or directional focus for a brand. Rather, he’s solely dependent on letting true data provide insights, direction, and targeting. At Nike’s Valiant Labs (the company’s in-house innovation incubator) Keith worked on every new start-up during his time on staff. When he isn’t heads-down in data and implementation, Keith makes music to express his creativity. Keith and his wife Kari live in Portland where you can find them schooling local challengers on a volleyball court most weeknights.
Jack
Analytics
+Jack Bonacci brings clarity to the chaos of statistics and advanced modeling. As Verify’s local data science and analytics guru, Jack takes pride in choosing the right tools to solve different problems and brings his background in economics and mathematics to everything he does. While Jack’s most prominent experience is in the vast world of analytics & reporting, he also stays hands on with research and strategy projects at Verify. Jack’s personal life is also as varied as his work life where, depending on the day, you can find him playing basketball, honing his photography skills, or designing and building new pizza ovens around Portland.
Lance
Enterprise
+Lance Charlish is as comfortable in two-person startups as in large multinational companies. In his role with Verify, Lance proactively seeks opportunities to scale the adoption and operations of companies from foundational to millions of customers. Before joining Verify, Lance worked on the Alexa team at Amazon, leading the early adoption of AI-based actionable advertising. Before Amazon, Lance was in leadership roles in publicly traded tech companies focused on enterprise systems and co-founded two companies that scaled to serve consumers throughout North America and Europe. Outside of work, his curiosity curates an obscure collection of books covering topics from 17th-century law to 20th-century quantum mechanics.
Rachel
Communication
+Rachel Peters turns ordinary messages into magic. In her role as Chief Communications Officer for Verify, Rachel regularly helps the team transform an idea that has never been done before into something relatable, sell-able, and loveable. Her experience spans the globe from the most successful fast-food campaign in history, to telecommunication strategy, to naming household products, to writing speeches for Presidents. Rachel’s super-human positivity is an asset to any project, especially because we whole-heartedly believe failure is part of success. She is a wife to Andrew and mom to Cana, Wake, Wren and Park — together they are a fierce crew of surfers with the work ethic of farmers.
Brian
Innovation
+Brian Roesler can’t be boxed in by typical. As the Chief Innovation Officer for Verify, he’s always on the hunt to learn more, test new ideas, and punch up the fun. Brian’s steeped experience includes multiple successful startups and most recently Nike’s Valiant Labs (the company’s in-house innovation incubator). You can turn to him when a new idea needs to be proven then shaped into a viable business, and also in six inches of fresh powder when you need a ski buddy. You’ll know you’re all the way in with Brian when he claps for you with one hand or shares the glory that is Parking Kitty (c’mon Portland people). Go ahead and add Brian to all of your meeting invites now and you’ll look forward to working like never before.
