Our Company
Our advantage resides in our ability to adapt to new experiential technology. Brightline has assembled a team that is driven by the desire to LEARN and CREATE new experiences.
Our team has a great mix of creative, design, production & development mojo. Everyone has the experience & ability to both create award winning experiences & the actual ability to talk to clients.
Erik Muendel
CEO & Creative Director
Erik Muendel is a new media executive with over 15 years of experience. As Creative Lead and Director for Brightline Interactive, LLC, Erik leverages creative, strategy and management skills to develop and execute effective multi-channel interactive marketing. His team-building skills result in industry awards, and the interactive campaigns he manages help national accounts meet strategic communication goals and improved brand awareness. Erik has a BS in Political Science and a minor in Computer Science from James Madison University.
Sam Santarelli
Executive Vice President
Alessandro (Sam) Santarelli identifies opportunities and then works in symmetry with both the client and Brightline’s team to ensure that the client’s vision and Brightline’s creative are fully executed: on time and on budget. For over 9 years, Sam was an award-winning new media and film/video producer. His most recent documentary film, The Cultivated Life: Thomas Jefferson and Wine, was distributed nationally by PBS and was awarded two Emmy® Awards. Sam has a BA in History from the University of Virginia.
Jason Powers
VP of Technology & Interactive Services
Jason is a software developer with 13 years experience developing a wide range of software from web applications to manufacturing configuration tools. While his background includes many programming languages and software tools, since the arrival of Web 2.0 and AS3, his interest is in web development using JavaScript and Flash. Having spent a considerable amount of time in China over the last few years, when he’s not coding, he’s usually studying Mandarin or running.
Jen Ohs
VP of Production and Account Services
Jen Ohs handles client relationships and ensures that our projects stay on time and budget. With extensive experience as a graphic designer and project manager, Jen brings additional insight into the position. Jen also likes to code when no one is looking. Originally from the Philadelphia area, she graduated from The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and promptly relocated to Washington, DC. In her free time, you can find Jen teaching ballet or fishing with her husband in the Outer Banks.
Benjamin Joseph Jancewicz
Senior Art Director & UX Designeer
Benjamin Jancewicz has been designing, illustrating and animating since 1999. He grew up in Northern Quebec on the Naskapi Native American reservation of Kawawachikamach, just slightly south of Eskimo (Inuit) territory. An alum of Messiah College in Grantham, PA, he also studied photography & engineering. After graduating, he began a successful career as a graphic designer, both in print and digital mediums. Benjamin brings a strong dose of creativity to Brightline, with a drive to constantly improve whatever he's working on. When he's not doing design or art, he's typically tearing around on a motorcycle, playing in rock bands, or crawling through abandoned buildings with a camera.
Kristen Novak
Senior Programmer
Kristen is a creative developer with a knack for understanding the user experience. With over seven years of experience developing interactive content for a wide range of single and multi-player experiences for major media brands and well-known museums, she continues to apply an ever-growing skill set to applications that appear in web, mobile, touchscreen and gesture-driven applications.Kristen enjoys exploring new development languages and tools building upon her foundation of HTML, CSS, Actionscript, Javascript and Java. When she's not geeking out, Kristen is likely climbing rocks, playing softball on the National Mall or cheering for one of the best teams in the world: the New Orleans Saints, the LSU Tigers and the UNC Tar Heels.
Jason Kuntz
Senior Interactive Producer
Jason came to Brightline Interactive after an eclectic turn of events. Starting his professional career in the print world, he quickly grew fond of the possibilities of interactive and digital marketing. Graduating from Towson University with a Degree in Advertising, Jason takes theories learned, practices picked up at past agencies and his personal interests of movies and music to help plan and create innovative strategy that will achieve our clients goals. When not staring into a screen, Jason is an avid Redskins fan and stays active in the local music scene.
Michael Szypula
Senior Developer - Flash / iOS
Michael Szypula works to architect scalable coding solutions for cutting edge interactive and mobile experiences. He has a background spanning software development, interactive media, and graphic design. His primary development tools are Actionscript, Flash, and Flex, and he has recently jumped onto the fast-growing Apple iPhone and iPad platform. Since graduating UVA as an engineer in 1997, Michael has worked for some exciting startups as well as recognized industry giants.
Andrew Otey
Programmer
Andrew specializes in developing user experiences for touchscreen kiosks, for interactive tables, and for the web. His background is in Flash and Actionscript, but he continues to delve into new development tools and languages, including Unity3d and C#. In his free time, Andrew enjoys traveling, driving with the windows down, spending too much money downloading music, and watching Carolina basketball.
Curt Seiss
Interactive Producer & Director of Marketing
Curt comes to Brightline with 10 years experience in the communications industry spanning large and small market radio broadcasting, print news and advertising. Through these diverse experiences he has developed a solid, creative approach to problem solving and account management, and demonstrated a natural ability to form lasting relationships with clients of all sizes in both the public and private sectors. When not servicing Brightline's client account needs, Curt can be found actively supporting the D.C. arts scene. Curt holds a BA in Communications from Shepherd University and an MA in Art from Savannah College of Art and Design.
Sam Hanks
Experience Designer
Sam Hanks is a new media designer with over 15 years experience. Before coming to Brightline Sam helped launch a web startup, Nascent Technologies, which was acquired in 1999. He then went on to create his own award winning multi-media creative firm and worked with large clients through out the DC area. One of Sam's more notable achievements is the creation of the Napster logo. Sam has a BA in Fine Art with a concentration in Graphic Design from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Quin Woodward Pu
Public Relations/Communications
Quin Woodward Pu is a publicist, blogger, and communications connoisseur. The Georgia native has a BA in English from Vanderbilt University and comes to Brightline with extensive experience in boutique PR and social media. Quin made her writing debut in high school as a contributing writer to teen self-help books, and recently published her first memoir, Type A+. When Quin is not writing, she can be found sailing, doing charity work, or rear-ending expensive cars with her '01 Honda.
Mike Hilario
Developer
Michael "Mike" Hilario is a fresh new member of the team. He specializes in developing interactive media with various programming languages and is always eager to learn more. He started out in the Computer Engineering field at the University of Virginia and then transferred to the Art Institute of Washington in Arlington to focus on Web Design & Interactive Media in which he has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. When his nose isn't buried in code, he enjoys playing video games, reading graphic novels, and singing karaoke. He sings a mean rendition of Blink 182's "What's My Age Again?" Another fun fact: He was a contestant on the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in 1997. It was the closest he ever got to being on ESPN.
