Our Team
Meet The Clever Catalyst
It is has been said a company is only as good as its employees. And we absolutely believe that.
We'd like to say that we only work with the best. But that's nonsense. Everyone says that but there is only one best of anything. So statistically it's not likely our team is the best, individually or together.
What we can say is our team is skilled. Having a small team means having a well-rounded and capable team. Every member of our team has mastered not one but often times dozens of skills. They are all highly adaptable, cooperative, and able to wear multiple hats within our micro-business.
Warning: This is NOT the cool kid's table. We are all nerds here.
(and we wouldn't have it any other way!)
Each and every member of the team is also an honest, hard-working, and compassionate individual. With a real-life goal, ambitions, strengths, and weaknesses. We are not all about the numbers here; but rather more about the stories.
We find the business is best when it's treated less like a transaction and more like a collaboration.
Christi is the proverbial mother of this entire marketing co-operative!
Christi was one of those straight-A students that never had to pay attention. #goodtesttaker She received her Bachelor's Degree in Business with a concentration in finance in 2014 - on the day her daughter was born!
She started freelancing in 2017 - to be home with said child -and by 2019 she launched her LLC, The Clever Catalyst, earning her shiny new C.E.O. (Clever Executive Officer) name badge!
She is STILL the single point of contact for every client at The Clever Catalyst. She is STILL the final set of eyes on every deliverable and she is the Reigning Heavy Weight Champ Chaos Coordinator for both this small business and her small family.
Christi enjoys playing Civs 6 for longer than any person should in a single sitting, painting, and watching bad reality tv. She is a vegetarian, a DC superhero nerd, an Ohio State Football fan, a novice crocheter, and a homeschooling mom.
Christi Underwood
Clever Executive Officer, CEO
Bryan has been with The Clever Catalyst BEFORE there was A Clever Catalyst!
He reps the roles of Chief Creative Officer here at The Clever Catalyst. He is the head of design and spearheads ALL graphic design projects. As well as being the head (and the majority) of our Web Design & Development Department! And as if that didn't keep him busy enough he also functions as an Assistant (to the) Regional Manager, helping Christi manage all strategy, planning, and operations of all things!
Bryan lives in North Carolina with his - caterpillar enthusiast - wife, Vanessa, and their three Reedlets and growing foster family. In his off time he enjoys the simple things in life; hanging out with his family, cooking things from scratch that no one cooks from scratch anymore, doing art things, and driving.
Is he to blame for all the Star Wars fans on the team? We can't say for sure but before him, no one on the team liked the saga.
Bryan K. Reed
Chief Creative Officer, CCO
Marlea is proof that change is a good thing!
During the chaotic and unexpected time that was the "mass exodus of 2022" we had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful ball of sunshine, rainbows, youth, and expletives that is Marlea!
Malea is our resident social media expert with skills ranging from wonderfully tasteful uterus-related social media graphics to cost-effective Facebook Ads.
She ALSO helps with all things administrative, technical, research-driven, project planning, and team management. She is the Lisa Frank equivalent to the metaphoric duct tape that is precariously holding us all together.
Marlea Parson
Creative Associate
Resident Data Dweeb
David Underwood has been working for The Clever Catalyst in an unofficial capacity since its inception; as he is in a long-term committed, co-parenting, paying-too-much-for-rent, legally binding, life partnership with the owner. #nepotism
David spends most of his working life helping the great State of Ohio at Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, where he is on the roster as a "Senior Financial Analyst".
David graduated in the top 10 of his class and has a serious, genius-level IQ. The dude can math faster than anyone has ever mathed before. He was accepted to The Ohio State University fresh out of high school achieving his lifelong dream of becoming a BUCKEYE.
Accounting degree in hand, David helps by managing most accounting, and bookkeeping tasks as well as using that huge brain of his to help us decipher and read the complex data that comes with digital marketing.
David is an amateur movie director, an experienced BBQ sauce maker, a Lego enthusiast, and a Batman lover. He is also a Sagittarius, an Enneagram 5 (big surprise), and a proud supporter of the Snyder Cut.
David is NOT a Star Wars fan but he pretty much exclusively reads "graphic novels" so don't worry he's not cool.
David Underwood
Our Charities
We believe all businesses should make it a point to leave their communities in better shape than they found them. And we practice what we preach!
We've made it a priority to give back to our communities and support social change.
Every new team member is asked to choose an organization that means something to THEM, specifically. The Clever Catalyst then makes a monthly contribute to said organization.
We aren't a multi-million dollar company so our contributions are modest. But it is our hope that as we grow and prosper as a business we can help to create powerful and necessary change.
