Brit Galanin

Principal

Brit is responsible for directing creative and driving strategic communications at Element. Since co-founding our agency in 2015, Brit has led a range of research-based strategic messaging projects for clients such as Arctic Winter Games, the Alaska Travel Industry Association, Rasmuson Foundation, and The Salmon Project. A lifelong Alaskan and a sociologist by training, Brit began her career as a research associate at Alaska’s Institute for Social and Economic Research. She now combines her deep knowledge of human behavior with her social science research skills to help clients efficiently position their brands and reach new audiences.

Brit is co-owner of The Boardroom, Alaska’s first co-working company, and was named one of Alaska’s Top Forty Under 40. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the UAA Honors College and is a graduate of Leadership Anchorage. Active in her community, Brit is a past President of the Anchorage Federation of Community Councils, and has served on the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Sitka Legacy Foundation, and Institute of the North boards. She brings over fifteen years of project management and client service experience to Element.

Nora Gecan

Design Director

Nora brings over fifteen years of design experience providing high-quality and award-winning work to a wide variety of clientele in Alaska. Nora is a graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York, one of the world’s leading art and design schools, and led a team at NJG Design Co. before joining Element in 2021. Nora is adept at listening to her clients and creating design work based on research and collaboration. At Element she has led design for a range of
projects, including some of those that are included in our work samples: ATIA, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Shee Atika, ICC, and many more.

Nora is committed to listening to clients, creating work based on research and collaboration, and providing a high level of professionalism and creativity. She provides a flexible suite of services that can be scaled and tailored to your goals, from full-blown brand creation to one-off creative design projects.

View Nora’s personal portfolio at https://www.noragecan.com/.

Katie (Franciosi) O'Neill

Projects Director

Katie is a Projects Director at Element. A skilled listener with a penchant for problem-solving, Katie creates and executes content strategies that meet clients’ goals and audience needs. A planner at heart, Katie also wears the hat of a project manager, keeping projects running smoothly with client objectives top of mind. Her strong strategy and content development skills make her a vital asset to any Element team. 

A world adventure traveler, we love keeping up with Katie’s stories from the road. Born and raised in Valdez, Katie has strong ties throughout the state and has called many Alaska communities home. She currently lives in Juneau with her partner and their two dogs. She holds a BA in English from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Jenna Hooley

Strategic Communications Consultant

Jenna has a knack for taking big ideas and coming up with execution strategies, down to the last detail. She approaches her clients as partners and maintains collaboration, communication and commitment to meeting their goals.

Jenna brings over a decade of client service and project management experience to the Element team. With a background in advertising, brand development and web, she has worked on strategy, messaging and production for a range of organizations from large corporations, to start ups, and non-profit groups.

Originally from Indiana, Jenna spent her summers in Alaska as a kid and returned full time after college. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University where she studied Retail Management and Organizational Leadership. Jenna has served on boards for United Way of Anchorage and the American Marketing Association Alaska Chapter.

Shelby Ellingsen

Projects Director

Shelby is a projects director at Element where she oversees processes and coordinates all details of production activities and operations. Shelby has a sharp eye and keen sense of aesthetics. She joined Element in 2021 and is a key member of our content production team.

Born and raised in Sitka, Shelby spent a decade traveling, volunteering, and living abroad while earning her BA from the Metropolitan State University of Denver. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in International Relations and an emphasis in Nonprofit Management. During her time abroad, Shelby shared her travel adventures and stories on her social media, successfully (and organically) growing her personal Instagram account to over 14K followers.

Rachel Klein

Communications Strategist

As Element’s lead social media strategist, Rachel oversees social strategy, production and content curation for a variety of clients and platforms.

With a clean eye for design, a precocious aptitude for social strategy, and an uncanny ability to write engaging content, Rachel has organically grown her personal Instagram account, @thenortherncurrent, to over 11k followers. She uses this social media savviness to help Element clients better reach, attract and communicate with their audiences, and to develop a strong brand voice.

Rachel hails from Bristol Bay and obtained an English degree and a Masters in Education from Washington’s Pacific Lutheran University.

Ramie Kraun

Designer

Ramie is an independent designer and visual artist driven to create work that is captivating and informative. With a background in printmaking and photography, she has always been passionate about visual communication and mixed media storytelling. Her coastal heritage and love for wild places drive her design work forward to build meaningful relationships and inspire stewardship of our natural world. Ramie is Alaska Native and returns home every summer to her ancestral village of South Naknek to catch the annual Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run. She is a recent graduate of the Seattle Central Creative Academy and holds a BA in Visual Art from the University of Washington Seattle.

Previously on staff, Ramie continues to support Element clients through contract work. More of Ramie’s work can be seen at www.ramiekraun.com.

Matt Lowber

Creative

Matt is an independent strategy-driven creative with a passion for brand building, campaign development, and practical ideas. Having spent the last decade in Colorado honing his craft at A-list agencies and a wide variety of brands, Matt brings a versatile set of skills and award-winning creativity to help grow Alaskan businesses.

A collaborative creative with a DIY ethos, Matt has worked with the industry’s top talent and multi-million dollar budgets, but enjoys the challenge of the smallest budgets just as well. Simply put, this guy likes making stuff: whether it’s designing, building campaigns or woodworking, Matt approaches every project with true craftsmanship.

Matt is born-and-raised and passionate about all things Alaska; a lover of conservation, resource management, and wild foods.

Vern Smith

Web Developer

Vern brings over a decade of web design and development experience to the Element team, and is our go-to lead developer for crafting complex online solutions. Over the years, Vern has managed large-scale website projects on multiple platforms and languages including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, MySQL, WordPress, and Woocommerce.

Vern has a background in graphic design and is uniquely suited to blend the worlds of design and web development. He works seamlessly with our team members to incorporate smart, goal-based user experiences; implement beautiful, effective designs; and to create mobile-to-desktop optimized, immersive, online experiences for all of our website projects.

Jontue Hollingsworth

Designer

Originally from The Bahamas, Jontue Hollingsworth is an independent designer focused on creating a clear message through bold expression. His mission is to be brave, thoughtful, open-minded and ultimately, make something good.

Jontue primarily works as a brand designer, lending his design expertise across traditional media and interactive platforms. A firm believer in using his powers for good, he routinely uses art and design to explore ways to support important causes and ideas. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Communication and Design from the University of Nebraska and has hands-on experience as a designer, art director, and creative director at multiple agencies and design studios. In over an 18-year career, his work has received numerous statewide awards and has been recognized nationally.

Previously on staff, Jontue continues to support Element clients through contract work. Jontue’s work can be seen at https://hollingsworthdesign.co/.

Jerrod Galanin

Artist & Consultant

Born and raised in Sitka, Jerrod comes from a long lineage of Tlingit artists  spanning multiple generations, who live in the truth that their art is a calling more than it is a career. Jerrod grew up watching his father and uncle, both professional artists who were also his primary mentors, practice and speak about their art and culture through skills and stories. He lives in awe of the Tlingit art form’s visual language and the way it can embody both simple elegance and infinite complexity at the same time. Through his work, which can be found in galleries across Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, Jerrod strives to stay true to those before him. His hope is to share with the world the beauty and sophistication of his culture and its art. 

Mike Kirkpatrick

Designer

Mike Kirkpatrick brings decades of design and print experience to the roster. Mike is an independent designer and the brains behind Screamin’Yeti Designs. Widely recognized in creative circles, Mike needs little introduction; his prolific design work and branding projects are visible throughout Southcentral Alaska. Known for his sharp wit and lighthearted demeanor, Mike infuses every project with witty humor and a fresh perspective. We are thrilled to have him on staff.

Born and raised primarily in Palmer, Mike currently resides in Anchorage with his family. Unlike his creative moniker, Mike can be found amongst trails and mountains throughout Alaska, or attending a wide array of live music shows. He obtained his BA in Graphic Design from Montana State University in Spring of ’01.

View Mike’s personal portfolio at: Screamin’Yeti Designs