Company

Our company is a collection of principles, practices and people.

Principles

We focus on excellent user experience and build valuable, high-quality, standards-compliant websites and applications that support strategic goals.

Practices

  • Ours is a four step process of Planning, Design, Development and Quality Assurance, where the client stays in the loop.
  • We focus on client value and frequent client communication.
  • We work iteratively when we can, allowing our customers to make business decisions based on their understanding of their space.
  • We have definite expertise, but are platform independent (We prefer to use the best tool for the job).

For more information on our specific practices contact us today and ask for our process outline.

People

Our people make good decisions and are easy to work with. Would you like to learn more about them?

Joaquin Lippincott

President

The founder and President of Metal Toad Media, Joaquin is an internet veteran. Throughout his career he has worked as a web designer, web video tech, programmer and manager which has given him a breadth of experience he applies at Metal Toad Media. Over the years has worked with industry leaders such as Verizon Wireless, Limewire, the Linux Foundation, Sony Picture Television, 76 Lubricants, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, American Suzuki Motors as well as numerous small businesses and internet start ups. With over 10 years of experience in his field he is still as passionate about the internet as ever. Joaquin also is an active participant in AIGA Portland where he serves on the Board as the President.

Barrett Olafson

Director of Web Development

Barrett is a Director of Web Development with a background as a developer with experience in PHP, Perl, Linux and MySQL. He is a devout follower of Drupal, and uses his experience to make sure projects at Metal Toad run smoothly. He has managed numerous successful projects for companies such as Sony Pictures Television, LimeWire, the Linux Foundation, the Emmys and Verizon, along with numerous advertising and design agencies.

As a holder of a degree in Meteorology from the Florida State University, he also considers himself a severe weather aficionado and self-proclaimed "weather dork".

Barrett is also a world-renowned kickball star, enjoys outdoor activities, perusing xkcd, and considers himself to be an excellent judge of characters.

Julie Baumler

Web Developer

Julie Baumler has worked in many different areas of IT — system and network administration, security, systems, application and web programming, and database administration and in a variety of industries since the early 90's. Julie holds multiple industry certifications including GIAC´s GCUX, GSEC, and GCIA and ISC2's CISSP and sits on the GIAC Advisory Board. Julie is also the Computer Careers editor for BellaOnline, the 2nd largest women's website on the internet. She holds a degree in Religious Studies from Lewis and Clark College and is currently doing graduate work in Software Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Mariya Borisova

Project Coordinator/QA

Mariya joins Metal Toad bringing 5 years of experience with testing software and a degree in Communication Technologies from the Technical University of Sofia Bulgaria. Her passions are manual and automation testing. Second to spending time with her husband and son, she enjoys using her free time learning about new automated tools.

Brent Dillender

System Administrator

As resident Cobbler’s Elf, Brent strives to keep Metal Toad’s Internet black boxes (they’re actually silver and blue) running smoothly while enjoying the role of resident wallflower. It’s not that he is shy, it’s just he believes if you are noticing the IT guy, something is likely amiss.

Brent has been involved with supporting clients on the Internet since the Netscape 1.0 era, and wistfully recalls the age when the Cambridge Coffee Cam was cool. When not perfecting his invisibility skills, Brent loves to study roller coasters, classic comic strips, and his leprechaun ancestors.

Dylan Tack

Web Developer

Dylan is a software engineer with nearly a decade of experience. His background includes training as an electrical engineer, but he became passionate about open source through his work with a university genetics lab. The freedoms afforded by open source were key to the university's research efforts. Dylan currently specializes in Drupal development, and has extensive experience with Perl and Java. His other interests include computer security, embedded design, climbing, and brewing. Dylan is also a proud member of the Drupal security team.

Scott Vandehey

CSS Ninja

Scott is a front-end developer who has been creating web sites since the mid-90s. Since graduating from Portland State University in 2000 with a degree in graphic design, he has been active in the Portland web development community. A firm devotee of the Zeldman/Meyer school of web standards, he was attracted to Metal Toad Media by the passionate developer culture. As a strong advocate of social media, he can frequently be found updating his blogs and twitter account. Outside of work, he spends time with his wife and daughter, and loves video games. He is probably not a Cylon.

Chuck Vose

Web Developer

Hailing from the frigid northlands he hacks with a heavy hand and reduces lambdas in his admittedly strange dreams. Best to avoid when he gets that far away look in his eyes, it usually means he's thinking about something 'interesting'. It's just easier to run than to listen to his latest thought about mapping crime statistics and real estate dynamics to predict the next criminal activity.

Gizzelle Williams

Account Manager

After years of success with retail strategy, public relations, and business operations, Gizzelle comes to Metal Toad Media eager to put her skills to use in the web development arena. An Economics enthusiast, she completed her degree in the field at Portland State University after two years of studying Computer Science. When not working, you will usually find Gizzelle singing at a nearby karaoke establishment, watching the most recent boxing match, or helping her friends plan their next business venture.