Tips & Tricks

Alex Herrera

Support Specialist

Alex is a communications professional who’s worked in the non-profit sector for over seven years and specializes in email deployment, database hygiene, and metrics reporting. She joined the team at Merge in the fall of 2021 as a Site Support Specialist, providing website maintenance and content support to keep our clients’ websites running smoothly.

Outside of work, Alex has a passion for fiction writing, is an escape room enthusiast, and has a large collection of art toys. She also spends plenty of time playing with her adorable cat, Luna.

Carolyn Kerchof

Carolyn is dedicated to understanding what clients want to communicate and conveying it in sparkling prose. She brings communications experience from the health care and elder care fields, the sustainable agriculture sector, and a wide range of research contexts. She earned a B.A. in English Literature from George Washington University, an M.A. in Communication Design from the Zurich University of the Arts, and a M.A. in the History and Philosophy of Knowledge from ETH Zürich. With a hybrid writing and design background, she thinks holistically about brand presentation.

When she isn’t working, Carolyn publishes zines, goes on hikes, and cooks elaborate dinners with the vegetables from her CSA box.

Luda Polyakova

Marketing + Communications Coordinator

Dana Tracy

Writer, Editor, Social Media Specialist

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 vision.

Michelle Dodd

Co-founder + Technical Strategist

Michelle was a web developer for over 20 years, but these days she is celebrating the joy of building a business with the focus of helping nonprofits and mission-driven small businesses improve their reach, communication, and web presence while leading a team of awesome, creative people who care about the client and their work as much as she does.

Today's new normal makes your websites and digital strategy more critical than ever to the success of your organization. We understand the pressure and we want to help you every step of the way. Whether it's a rebrand, upgraded website, or digital marketing - we want to be your partner for your success. And we think you'll enjoy the adventure with us.

Combining experience working for and in nonprofits and digital agencies, and owning three previous small businesses, Michelle brings a wealth of knowledge to each engagement, an understanding of challenges clients are facing, and a desire to solve problems and get results.

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

Dina Barnese

Project Manager + UX Strategist

Dina joined the Merge team in 2017. As a UX Strategist, she applies human-centered design principals to websites and mobile apps, keeping the user experience top of mind. 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.

Dina has more than two decades of experience in the tech field. She has worked as a database and software developer, business analyst, UX designer, and project manager. She also has experience as 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.

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

Stacey Schultz

Co-founder + Visual Designer