Julio Colmenares, Partner
As President & CEO, Julio is a master at integrating strategy and creative, and matching in-house talent to client needs. He is fluent in multi-cultural communication, and able to manage a diverse and complex slate of projects. Julio earned his degree in graphic design from Instituto de Diseño de Caracas, Venezuela. He began his career as a graphic designer in Caracas, Venezuela where he did agency work for L’Oreal Cosmetics. From designer and creative director for bi-lingual newspapers and magazines, to environmental design for an architecture firm, to his current role at CGR, Julio brings the expertise, experience, and enthusiasm necessary to lead our company, and serve our client base well into the future.

When Julio isn’t working or spending time at home with his wife, Veruska, son, Julian, and daughter Camila, he can be found on the golf course or playing a serious game of dominos. He is also the Chair for the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte, member of the Business Advisory Board of Charlotte and member of CBI - Leaders Under 40 programm.

Jason Ramsey, Partner
As Chief Creative Officer, Jason has quietly been influencing the graphic design aesthetic in Charlotte and the surrounding region since he graduated from King’s College with the Top Design Student Award in 2003. His unique ability to communicate complex concepts with simple yet vibrant designs sets him apart from the field. He is a workaholic, regularly putting in 60 hours a week in his loft office cranking out some of the most inspired creative material you are likely to find outside of an art gallery.

Jason spends what little free time he has with his wife, children, and dogs. He leads an active lifestyle that mirrors his energetic personality. Jason is always looking for a challenge; he relishes the opportunity to try something new and different that is out of the box.

Melissa Ortiz, Online Media Director
Melissa received her Bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University and her Master’s Degree in English, Business and Multicultural Education from Stony Brook University, NY. She possesses 13 years of hands on SEO marketing, PR and digital strategy. Melissa is multilingual, including fluency in French and Creole. She has 8 years in a financial services background, coupled with a being a former Global Director of Henry Schein pharmaceutical and working as the Former VP of Consumer Marketing at Tribune’s Newsday newspaper, which was acquired by Cablevision. Her agency experience with a myriad of Fortune 500 clients, adds to her diversified print and digital background. Melissa is published in three editions of Search Engine Strategies Magazine. She also spoke at the last Mactech Conference in LA on behalf of Steve Jobs.

Tay Fewell, Lead Designer
Tay brings agency experience and professionalism to every project he touches at CGR Creative. He is truly a sponge soaking up every drop of design related information he can get his hands on. Tay feels like a true designer must constantly learn new techniques and seek new and diverse sources of inspiration. He is well versed in both web and print design which allows him to develop synergistic campaigns for our clients.

Nick Palmer, Online Media Specialist
Nick joins CGR with over 4 years of SEO marketing experience for an array of businesses. He is no stranger to the agency world and brings mutli-talents ranging from mobile and Facebook app development to building content management systems! Nick's background includes a Business Degree from Lord Fairfax College and a seasoned webmaster in the medical industry in Savannah, Georgia.

Lyn Barbour and Linda Hargett (The Lynda's), Media Buying/Client Services & Strategy
Lynn and Linda are both veterans of the advertising community in North Carolina, each having over 35 years experience in media buying for business-to-business and consumer driven clients, including long-form TV infomercials. Our expertise includes Print (newspaper and magazine), Out-of-Home (billboards, bus and shelters) along with broadcast (TV, Cable and Radio) media buying.

Both have made media buys all over the United States for accounts such as Wal-Mart and Kmart, Family Dollar, BlueCross BlueShield, GM Dealer Groups, Skylight Financial, First View Financial and major retailers. Both were employed for 10 years by Belk Department Stores (with 350+ locations) – responsible for all aspects of the retailer’s $18 million ad budget on TV, Radio, Cable, Magazine and Outdoor in 35 Southeast markets. They have extensive experience across the U.S. in broadcast, print and outdoor.

Astrid Chirinos, Marketing Strategist
Astrid has been providing Multicultural Marketing and Multicultural Workforce Development Strategy to Fortune 500 companies and other large organizations in the Charlotte Region through an integrated approach that includes the Cross-Cultural Competency, the Organizational Readiness and the effective Community Outreach and Action Plans required to retain and increase our fast growing multicultural markets.

Joe Burroughs, New Media Specialist
With over 15 years in the Charlotte design community Joe brings a range of skills to the table. He has a bachelor’s degree in Communication with a concentration in Advertising from Appalachian State University and a masters of Science in print media from the prestigious Rochester Institute of Technology. He currently chairs the graphic design department at King’s College and is a sought after lecturer on various design topics. Joe is on the cutting edge of new media in the Charlotte community helping retailers and businesses cope with social networking and search engine marketing among other issues. Joe is a problem solver who constantly uses design to overcome challenges for his clients.

Lisa Lee Morgan, Environmental Consultant
Lisa Lee Morgan, AIA, LEED AP is the Sustainability and Technology Strategist at Calor Energy, offering a full range of audits, analyses and solutions for “greening” built facilities, mobile assets, manufactured products, and corporate administrations . Lisa Lee is a licensed architect and holds US Green Building Council LEED-AP accreditation. She is a native of Charlotte, NC and a graduate of Princeton University with both a BA and Master of Architecture.

Antonio Calderon, Lead Programmer
Antonio a talented Programmer maintains ten years of experience. He is a perfectionist who works hard to please our clients. He takes pride in his projects as he is meticulous and takes time to produce his best work. He is a master in Mobile Applications, JavaScript, HTML, ASP, CSS, Flash and XML. Mobile Development has become Antonio’s passion as he develops for Android, iOS, BlackBerry, HP webOS, Symbian OS, and Windows Mobile support typical application binaries as found on personal computers with code which executes in the native machine format of the processor. He is well versed in the multiple platforms associated with mobile programming including: C+ and Java.