Why Choose Our Team?
- We’re a team of experienced digital marketing professionals who are strongly in tune with the ever-changing landscape of digital advertising.
- We’re dedicated to constant optimization and learning.
- We manage client accounts as if they were our own.
- Each one of our clients has real people behind them, not just software.
John Thornton
Founder & CEO
While John may be a marketing rock star, he thinks he’s an actual rock star, and a movie star too. These days, when he’s not obsessing over boring acronyms like ROI and CRO, you can find him drinking the worlds worst coffee and lamenting the fact that he’s the only person in the office who’s seen every episode of Saved by the Bell.
Annie Yeager
Director of Growth
Annie is the glue at Black Propeller, but we don’t tell her that. Glue is a sensitive topic for her. See, Annie loves horses, a lot. And they love her too. Especially Serene Harbor, who made her a famous Steeplechase Jockey. Unfortunately, Annie’s horse racing skills don’t really translate to most other sports, like ping pong. She’s awful at that.
Brendan McKernan
Head of Paid Media
Brendan loves data – whether its analyzing a client’s digital performance or running numbers on who to start in fantasy football. When he isn’t knee deep in numbers he can be found searching for the next craft beer to enjoy or cheering on the Baltimore Os or Washington Football Team. (maybe not the best choice in winning teams).
Justin Smith
Senior Account Manager
Justin was born and raised in Maryland and has decided to stay, despite the lack of rock climbing. Outside of digital marketing Justin is a passionate, lifelong rock climber. You can typically find him at the climbing gym or traveling across the country to seek out adventure.
Mary Morris
Senior Account Manager
Mary’s pride and joy is her dog, Fred. He might be cross-eyed and scared of balloons, but she loves him just the same. She recently moved to Maryland and is already obsessed with crab dip. When she’s not crossing items off of her to-do list, she is staying up to date on the latest Tik Tok trends, and researching new marketing tactics.
Dietrich Heiss
Senior Account Manager
It is not hard to tell where Dietrich is from. He is probably wearing a Milwaukee Brewers jersey or Pabst Blue Ribbon sweater. However, since moving from Milwaukee, he has made DC his home. On the weekend you can find him drinking a boba in the National Portrait Gallery lobby and reading a good book.
Allexander Lainez
Account Manager
Allexander is a Miami native who was born and raised in south Florida. Outside of loving everything PPC and constantly loving to learn more of the PPC world, Allexander is a blue belt in BJJ & Kickboxing and enjoys spending his Sundays watching NFL RedZone.
Dalton Bowlin
Account Manager
When he’s not bragging about how great working in Glacier National Park was or listening to extremely heavy music (which he listens to nonstop), Dalton’s just a normal dude with a passion for PPC. He loves learning the latest digital marketing techniques, loves his awesome wife, and loves to say he can quote 95% of the movie, “The Other Guys”, but we have yet to verify if that’s accurate.
Adam Baldridge
Paid Media Manager
Adam is a recent transplant to the Maryland area from Alabama where he attended the University of Alabama and majored in college football (do they even offer other majors?). Adam also drinks Mountain Dew Baja Blast. Yep, he’s that guy.
Jessica Bratton
Paid Media Manager
Jess is a Harford County native, that clearly doesn’t get out much. When she does, she enjoys glamping with her husband but only if cornhole is involved. On the weekends you can find Jess bartending at the local brewery or hanging out with her cats. Crazy cat lady, or just crazy?
Ashley Poling
Senior Paid Social Manager
As a native Annapolis resident, Ashley is passionate about two things: sports and food. Her love for the Washington Capitals runs almost as deep as her true love – playing volleyball. If she isn’t playing in a tournament, she is most likely trying a new recipe or searching for Maryland’s best espresso martini.
Delaney Newhart
Paid Social Manager
Immersed in social media from a young age, Delaney was frequently told by teachers “you’ll never get a job that lets you sit on social media all day”. Determined to prove someone wrong besides herself, she continued to post on social media and learn as much as possible about each platform. #Inspiring. And while she could have never predicted the multi-billion dollar future of social advertising, she’s thrilled she never lost sight of her passion for discovering new audiences online and finding creative ways to connect with them. Or at least that’s what we hear. She’s not writing this in the third person or anything…that would be weird.
Paige Aldave
Paid Media Specialist
Ravens fan and ex-D1 lacrosse player, Paige’s Baltimore roots run deep. If she isn’t watching football or the Florida gators, she is probably podcasting about it. Paige loves running and Mexican food. On summer weekends, you’ll likely find her at the beach hanging out with her two sisters, Maddy and Andie.
Nick Daeschner
Paid Media Specialist
Nick takes a lot of pride in his knowledge of digital marketing – almost as much pride as he has for being in the 100 lap pacer club at Fallston High School. Outside of the office Nick enjoys hanging out with friends, working out after work, and playing Disney Scene It with his family.
Emily Hlavac
Paid Social Specialist
Emily loves social media advertising, but loves the Chesapeake Bay more. Although she spends most weekends in the crab capital of the world, she claims to have never tried seafood. Instead, she’ll ask any restaurant if they have buffalo chicken wraps. Maybe that’s weird, or maybe buffalo chicken wraps are just that good.
Kayla Anderson
Paid Media Coordinator
Kayla enjoys spending her free time staying active with spin classes, CrossFit, and occasionally running for fun (is that fun?). When she isn’t doing something active you can find her wishing that she was at the beach getting in touch with her spirit animal, the dolphin.
Hannah Johnston
Senior Designer
Hannah may sit a lot for her job, but makes up for it with all the hiking she does out of the office. Although she’s not satisfied with east coast “hills” after living out west, she says they get the job done. She may be infamous for getting lost on the trail, but lucky for us she can map out an eye-catching design like a pro.
Larissa MacDougall
Digital Designer
Larissa loves everything design – from beautiful landing pages to dashing display ads, she is always creating something new. Her love for design stems from her love for adventure. You will never find her without her trail running shoes on, or a (super great or super terrible) recipe for homemade coffee in her hand.
Kyle Wedemeyer
Junior Digital Designer
Kyle may be our team’s newest designer but he’s Maryland’s oldest fan. He spends his time cheering on the Orioles and praying on the Yankees downfall. He is passionate about creativity, although that mostly just manifests in new ways to incorporate Old Bay into already perfectly good meals.
Bill Barbre
Project Manager
Meet Bill, National Staring Contest Champion and all-around technical guru. He’s also designed a few websites in his career, building his first website over 20 years ago. Which just so happens to be the last time he smiled.
Leah Forest
Office Manager
Managing life with two little boys at home has prepared Leah for her role as “Office Mom.” When she’s not organizing and keeping up with demands, she’s either watching Netflix or eating pasta. But probably both. While she’s 99% Greek, the 1% of her that is Italian is her appetite. Seriously, pasta is all she eats.
