Our Team

At Merge, we’re a passionate team of designers, developers, strategists and creative thinkers guided by the belief that our success depends on your success.

Michelle Dodd

Co-founder + Technical Strategist

Michelle is still fascinated by web tech after two decades of building websites and web apps for small businesses and non-profits. A diverse background in multiple business ventures and experiences shapes her world view. More +

Dina Barnese

Project Manager + Master Juggler

Julie Tuerk

Web Developer + Code Creator

Julie brings a diverse background to her practice of web development. She has studied computer programming, art, and psychology, and is also a certified sommelier. More +

Mark Hunt

Creative Strategist + Visual Designer

With 20+ years of design experience, Mark brings experience in strategic design and branding for both web and print. More +

Stacey Schultz

Co-founder

Stacey is co-founder of Merge Studio, and was Creative Strategist until December, 2018. You can now find Stacey in Crested Butte, Colorado as a Broker Associate with the Crested Butte Collection at Bluebird Real Estate. We wish Stacey great success as she lives the dream in her beautiful mountain paradise. Get in touch with Stacey here.

Our Story

Merge was founded on high standards for quality work, communication, and innovation. We share a desire to do only the best work, with the best people, for the best clients.

We help small businesses and non-profits achieve strategic and creative brand experiences that align with, and elevate, their organization’s mission. We deliver a full range of creative services from graphic design and branding to web design, web development, and digital marketing.

We strive to:

SUPPORT your organization’s business goals
CONNECT with your audience to engage, inform, and inspire them to action
SERVE the needs of your stakeholders and board members

We’re a small studio by design, delivering a personal, hands-on approach with senior talent. We measure our success by your success. You’ll be treated as a partner, we’ll communicate honestly, and you’ll get work that reflects your brand’s unique personality.

Get in touch Now

What we’re listening to

Wonder what inspires us while we work?

We'd love to hear your ideas and see if we can help.

Say Hello

Contact Us

303.257.0335
hello@merge.studio

Located in beautiful Boulder, Colorado

Michelle Dodd

Co-founder + Technical Strategist

With 20+ years in web development, Michelle loves her work and enjoys getting to know clients as she helps them achieve their goals. She's worked in and for non-profits, built marketing sites for numerous small businesses, and contributed to web apps that help millions to learn, invest, and get organized. Experience in usability testing and analysis keeps her focused on the user and she continually evolves in areas of accessibility, SEO and the details that set a great site apart from a good one.

Michelle finds solid, efficient, and affordable solutions to the unique needs of each project. With clear communication and enthusiasm, she enjoys the process of creating beautiful websites that make a tangible difference for clients.

Michelle has planned and experienced several multi-month, self-supported bike tours, sea kayak expeditions, and through hikes. These days she finds joy in camping, mountain biking and skiing with her husband and daughter, and playing indoor and sand volleyball.

Dina Barnese

Project Manager + Master Juggler

Dina is a project manager with a vast background in IT. Her two decades of experience include end-user hardware and software support, database design, web back-end development, business analysis, and enterprise-level project management. Not one to let the grass grow under her feet and always seeking knowledge, she sought new opportunities throughout her twelve years at Northern Arizona University, steadily advancing in the IT department. In 2013, she took her skills to the world of healthcare, where she managed complex projects to implement electronic healthcare record systems.

Intending to add to her management skillset, Dina attended mediation training in 2005. She was hooked and thus started her side hustle of becoming a mediator. She served as a volunteer court-appointed mediator for eight years, during which time she continued training in advanced facilitation, negotiation, and mediation skills.

Dina joined the Merge team in 2017. She approaches project management with a goal of guiding the client’s vision to reality, keeping the big picture in mind while managing details and tasks.

Outside of the IT world, she is a potter, musician and nature lover. She serves on the board of directors for the Flagstaff Foundry, a nonprofit performing arts incubator, and emcees the PineStories Story Slam.

Julie Tuerk

Web Developer + Code Creator

Julie brings a diverse background to her practice of web development. She has studied computer programming, art, and psychology, and is also a certified sommelier. Her eagerness to learn new technical skills has enabled numerous small businesses and nonprofits to create an online presence, improve website functionality, and manage data. Julie loves solving problems with creative solutions, but is equally at ease using traditional methods to help clients realize their visions.

Mark Hunt

Creative Strategist + Visual Designer

With 20+ years of design experience, Mark brings experience in strategic design and branding for both web and print. As an Art Director, he spent 11 years at Starz Entertainment, helping them shape and build their brand.

Mark enjoys serving a wide range of clients, from start-up ventures, non-profit organizations and established corporations, fostering solutions that fuel great design and building brand value.

Mark is entrepreneurial in spirit and committed to meeting the specific needs of each client by delivering innovative, tailored solutions with a personalized approach. He prides himself on getting to know each client and gaining a deep understanding of their business, their purpose, and their passion.

Stacey Schultz

Co-founder + Creative Strategist

Stacey is a 20-year design + marketing professional with a unique background that combines a decade as a web designer (both on the corporate and agency side) as well as another decade as a marketing director for a cultural travel company. She has led dozens of website and mobile app designs, encompassing everything from marketing content to complex online applications. She is guided by a belief that humans always come first and the best technologies are those that go unnoticed but add value.

In 2016, she co-founded Merge to help small businesses and non-profits elevate their online experience and digital strategy. She has a 360-degree view of everything that goes into creating and maintaining successful websites and an in-depth understanding of all the skills needed to accomplish even the most complex projects.

She has served as Interactive co-director on the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Board of Directors and on the artists’ committee at PlatteForum, a community based non-profit for the arts in Denver. Currently, she is a volunteer with the Crested Butte Adaptive Sports Center.

Outside of Merge, she is an accomplished artist and passionate outdoors person. In the winter you can find her on the ski slopes and in the summer mountain biking in her backyard of Crested Butte, CO. Her paintings are in several private collections including the National Renewable Energy Labs in Golden, CO and she has shown at the prestigious Cherry Creek Arts Festival, a national juried art festival.