Comfortable on the agency side or the corporate side, Paul has owned successful creative firms as well as large, 100+ employee companies. In the early 2000s, as marketing director of a health-tech company, Paul navigated the waters of the new marketing revolution. Seeing the future of marketing spread out before him, he knew it was time to get back into the agency game. First with Saunders Integrated Marketing, Paul focused on interactive initiatives for clients and moved toward a holistic mix of traditional and digital marketing. As the realization set in that technology was a constantly changing and moving target, Paul realized that he brought more value to the technology through the branding of his client companies. So SI became Brand Buddha.

Now surrounded by the people that make sure Brand Buddha is on the cutting edge of technology, Paul acts as Creative Director and Brand Curator for numerous clients, from the pharmaceutical and healthcare world to law enforcement and DOD industries. Paul enjoys the challenge of developing, building and strengthening quality brands.

When not creating world class brands and marketing initiatives, Paul can be found looking to sea, imagining more than just navigating the rough waters of the business world, but charting a course for the Marquesas in a sturdy sailing vessel. At least sturdy enough for his wife Gina and their Mastiff Cosmo.

Will brings added dimensions to the Brand Buddha team.  Recently, he was voted as one of 7 billion most likeable people on the planet. An unparalleled expert at sitting and reclining, Will has contributed countless hours of skilled effort to keeping chairs from floating around the Brand Buddha office space. Will is a veritable dispensary of the most unimportant facts that you never need to know.  Will has attended nine universities, and having collected more than 600 college credits wants to remind you to water your plants.

A San Clemente resident for over 30 years, Jim has been a serial entrepreneur since 1987. Jim has launched several successful companies of his own and is very familiar with the obstacles and challenges of starting, running, and marketing a business. Jim has also worked for several companies as Brand Manager, Marketing Director and Sales Manager. His experience gives Brand Buddha an insight from our customers’ perspective. Jim is also a Social Media Marketing expert and, like most entrepreneurs, thinks out of the box when challenged with marketing obstacles. His goal is to give all of our customers results, streamline their marketing efforts, and help them grow their business.

A graduate of UC Irvine, Jim has stayed true to his California roots –his interests include music, mountain biking and an occasional surf session (board meeting). Jim has been married for 22 years to his beautiful wife and is the father of two cool kids.

Design plays a pivotal role in a company’s image. Strong brands are built through functional aesthetics and by applying style to communication. Matt Girard does just that. Whether he is crafting innovation with a startup business or redefining the identity of an existing one, Matt always strives for simplicity and precision.

Matt’s passion lies in designing for artistically-centered clients and his past partnerships have inspired him by allowing integration of culture and versatility of creative talent. His portfolio includes his role as Art Director for Kidrobot, a leading creator of limited edition art toys, and collaborations with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Andy Warhol, The Simpsons, Sonic the Hedgehog, Crayola, Oakley and Burton to name a few. He has also held positions designing for Warren Miller Entertainment and Storm Mountain Media, the publishers of Freeskier and Snowboard magazine. Matt formally studied at The University of Colorado Denver in the College of Arts and Media and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Design.

Lola is the resident “Jane-of-All-Trades” at Brand Buddha, utilizing her diversified background to do everything from wordsmithing to program and account management to keeping day-to-day business running smoothly.

A native to San Clemente, Lola can tell you an animated history of just about any location in SC. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, reading, listening to all things NPR, adding to her indoor menagerie of plants and working on her never-finished garden. Lola holds a Bachelor’s degree in Literature from Cal State Long Beach.

Originally from Philly, Barry has a five-year Bachelors of Architecture degree from Syracuse University in upstate New York. Barry started the first 10 years as the Archaeological Illustrator for the Egyptian Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City . He has spent fifteen years in web development and project management in California and South Carolina for such places as NOAA, the SC Sea Grant Consortium, Charleston County School District, Goodwill, and the SC Aquarium.

Barry is an experienced PHP developer with a focus on Drupal and WordPress Content Management Systems while managing projects and making clients happy. He currently lives in Capo Beach with his beautiful wife Kaye and enjoys home-made margaritas, gardening, and handyman work.

Born and raised in the sweltering climate of Palm Springs, CA, Nick thrives in the challenging, fast-paced environment of digital media. His background extends all corners of online marketing, from content creation and SEO writing to social media and email marketing. Nick’s passion for digital marketing began when he sold his first e-commerce website, turning a simple keyword into a dollar amount. From there the addiction grew to helping brands enhance their digital footprint to improve brand engagement, awareness and revenue.

Nick currently resides in San Diego where he leads a moderate, but salacious, lifestyle. His interests (in no particular order) include traveling to new destinations, drinking whiskey, tindering, and watching football.

Shelby has a bilingual background that opens so many opportunities for her to see the world. Being Chinese born and raised, she discovered her love of language and art at a young age. She has lived outside of China since her Freshman year in high school, in Colorado, the Netherlands, Missouri, and now the sunshine state of California. Shelby has extensive film marketing experience in film production, International Film Festivals and Premieres, working with The Paramount and HBO, and the Academy Awards on behalf of the top film station in China.

To stay fresh and informed in the marketing field, Shelby regularly takes Marketing classes at UC, Irvine. She has recently discovered her new hobbies, sailing and scuba diving, which fascinated her on her first cage dive with the great white sharks in Guadalupe, Mexico.

Design & marketing are two essential parts of a company’s success. From first impressions to keeping loyal customers, Denae’s primary focus is on making sure the customer’s brand message is both communicated properly and remembered by consumers. Good design speaks volumes to the quality of your product or service you are offering. Denae will help you achieve your optimal position in the market, working with you every step of the way and helping your company’s voice be heard.

Denae graduated from the University of Southern California, earning her B.S. in Business Administration and minors in Communication Design and Dance. Outside of the design world, you can find her pursuing her lifelong passion of dance and spending time with the wonderful people in her life.

Bio coming!

Bio coming!

A native Southern Californian, Julie studied Communications/Advertising at California State University, Fullerton, where she discovered a flair for writing creative copy that generates results. After graduation, she applied her skills in the corporate world—rapidly moving up the ranks from lowly copywriter to Product Communications Manager at one of Orange County’s premiere medical device companies. One husband and three kids later, Julie ditched the corporate track and went independent—trading her business suits for a better uniform (shorts and flip-flops). Now in her happy place, Julie has the freedom to enjoy more family time and still write award-winning copy for the top names in Orange County and beyond.
During her free time you’ll find Julie chasing her dreams—renovating her home, kayaking, traveling to Cabo and discovering new recipes for the perfect margarita.