MightyMerchant Services & Features > About > Meet Our Web Development Team

Meet the MightyMerchant Web Development Team

Datahost, Inc., the creators of Mighty Merchant, is based in Springfield, Oregon and has been providing top-level technical services to nationwide clients since 1996.

Our Goal

We believe getting your business online should be a fun and stress-free adventure for you. We love getting to know you, learning about your business, and putting together great websites. Our goal is to provide business owners with straight-forward, comprehensive, and affordable Internet services that produce positive financial results.

Staci Schipporeit

Co-Owner and Software Architect

I'm Staci, creator of our hosted eCommerce platform, MightyMerchant. I have been fascinated with computers since I got my first Radio Shack TRS-80 back in the 70's. I graduated with a CIS degree from the University of Oregon in 1987 and I've been writing database driven software applications non-stop since then.

After graduating, I spent a few years at the UO writing conference and course registration software, then moved onto mortgage origination software and sprinkled in several vertical market applications as an independent consultant. I've been developing software for the web for about 10 years.

Professionally, I love user-interface design, ideas, marketing, OOP, php, social networking and all things internet. I love to create software that is transparent so you don't have to think about how to use it, it just works as you expect it to.

Personally, I love spending time with my three kids, gardening, playing volleyball, tennis and soccer, working outdoors, reading and doing art.

Michael Stearns

Co-Owner, CEO, and Thumbs-Up Guy

I am Michael Stearns - the co-owner, jack-of-all-trades, and head cheerleader at MightyMerchant. My main areas of responsibility include System Architecture, Technical Administration, Customer Support, and doing anything and everything it takes to keep our customers' websites ticking along.

Since Al Gore has already laid claim to founding the Internet, I can't take the credit for that one, but I have been a die-hard Internet user since the early days. Prior to founding MightyMerchant, I worked as an Internet Technical Writer at the University of Oregon and went on to be the lead designer and maintainer of the University's central website. My initial focus of doing visual design and writing content has evolved into a much more technical one. My primary interest, as far as computing goes, is how people can use computers to improve the quality of communication.

For the past half dozen years my life has been focused on our Internet business, my wife and 3 kids, and our 17 acre mini-farm in Oregon. Sometimes this is a hard act to balance. But I am never at a loss for something fun and interesting to do.

While the Internet has been a very fast rags-to-riches-to-rags story for many participants in the dot-com craze, Datahost has taken a slow and steady approach to building our business. We like to think of ourselves as the Heinz Ketchup of Internet companies. We invite you to give us a try!

Kathy Smith

Lead Designer

After a previous life as an RN, I graduated in 1997 from the University of Oregon with a degree in English and a certificate in Electronic Publishing. Since that time, I have worked as a graphic and web designer.

I have been a web designer with MightyMerchant since Feb 2003 and think I have the best job around. I enjoy creating websites that look good and function well, and MightyMerchant's software features make that easy.

In my free time I like to watch movies, hang out in the backyard, and spend time with my husband. And I'm always up for a good game of Guitar Hero (yes, I am a rock goddess).

Carrie Todd-Michelson

Customer Care Specialist

I joined the Datahost/MightyMerchant/Heroweb team in Oct 05. My duties include customer relations, bookkeeping, administrative supprt to the office team, and reception.

My work history includes variety, human resources, customer service, medical billing, retail sales, and floral.

When I am not juggling a busy schedule, taxiing children, caring for 3 cats, our guppies, and 2 goldfish, I enjoy decorating our home on the hill, selling kids clothes on ebay and growing lots of pretty colorful dahlias.

As a family my husband, 3 children, 2 granboys love to go camping, fishing and trips to the beach.

Kathleen Boynton

Web Developer

After living in Central Oregon for nearly 30 years, I decided to put the cold snowy winters behind me and move to the beautiful McKenzie River Valley. Four generations of my family have lived on the McKenzie River and it was always something I dreamed of doing myself.

How did I get into doing web design? I had went to school to be a Recording Engineer as music is a major passion in my life. But, somehow life had me zigging and zagging into other fields. I spent 7 years working in cable television advertising on the technical side of things. Then the Internet came along and changed the world ;) Being of a curious nature, I wondered if I could figure out how people were making these new things called “web pages”. I started playing around at home making a little music website for my favorite band "Journey" (hold your lighters up now - LOL). Soon, word got out around work that I could build web pages and before I knew it, I was a web designer for the cable company. Now, eight years later, here I am at MightyMerchant.

Some of my favorite things to do are to go to concerts, do genealogy research, read books, bake, golf (not very well) and work in my garden.

Jesse Wakeley

Web Developer, All-Purpose Nerd

Originally hailing from the mountainous wonderland of North Idaho, I made the migration to beautiful Eugene, Oregon in 2002. I graduated from the University of Oregon in June 2007, majoring in Computer & Information Science and minoring in Business Administration and Music. My technological interests lie in the economic and social potential of the Information Age, primarily via the Internet, which I feel has just begun to be realized. My position as a Web Developer allows me to further my understanding of where this exciting future may take us, while also helping clients discover possibilities as well!

When not making all of your e-commerce dreams come true, I enjoy the marvelous outdoors (Rain or shine, but mostly rain), spend way too much time reading numerous articles online, work on building a home studio, or play music, be it guitar, piano, electronic doodling, or DJing for fun (I spin traditional vinyl and CDs! I'm old AND new school!). Aside from this technology stuff, music is my passion. When I grow up I still want to be a rock star.

Mike Brown

Marketing Director

A lifelong Oregonian, I graduated from the University of Oregon in 1996 with a double major in Business Management and Marketing.

My career path has led me through various industries – minor league baseball, staffing, apparel buying, and ultimately to the world of online marketing, where I’ve been for the past 5+ years.

During my time in the industry, I’ve had the pleasure of working with companies as large as Best Buy and as small as the mom and pop shop down the street. I’m excited to now bring this experience and my enthusiasm for all things marketing to the team here at HEROweb/MightyMerchant!

When I’m not at the office, I enjoy spending time with my wife Lindsay and our two dogs Floyd and Rufus, attending Oregon Duck sporting events, and watching movies on my beloved Blu-Ray player.

And no bio would be complete without a couple of favorites:
Food – Mexican, Band – Jellyfish, Movie – Almost Famous

Dave W. Reed

Internet Marketing Specialist

I joined the HEROweb/MightyMerchant team in mid-2009 as an online-marketing specialist, an industry I have been a part of for 3 years. I work at PPC, shopping feeds, and am the group leader the office SLI.

I was born in Illinois, but grew up in Nebraska and Salem, OR. I came to Eugene in 1997 to attend the University of Oregon, where I studied Architecture and Physics. Since then, I have worked in high-energy physics, campus ministry, jewelry manufacturing, and search-engine marketing.

When I’m not dazzling the HEROweb team with my PPC prowess, I am likely to be found on my bike, gathering fruit scraps to feed to my worm bin, enjoying a pot of tea at the Beanery with a good book, or enjoying the good book with friends at Bible study.

Nekhia Christian

Web Projects Facilitator

Oregon born and raised, I graduated from the University of Oregon in 1999 with a specialization in entrepreneurship, a passion for business, and experience running a franchise of a home painting business. It was the height of the dotcom boom, and I jumped in and started a web services company up in Seattle specializing in websites and Internet marketing for brick & mortor small businesses.

After 10 interesting, rewarding, and successful years working with great businesses all over the Puget Sound & Pacific Northwest, I decided it was time to move on and try new things. It had been awhile since I spent much time with my family, so I came to back to Oregon for an extended visit, and ended up deciding to stay. My entrepreneurial sprit, as well as my interest in the Internet, has continued through my own eCommerce business: www.DiffuserStore.com.

I had been missing working with clients and helping to improve their businesses; then I found HEROweb/MightyMerchant. They are a company that shares my values of genuinely caring about helping their customer's businesses over the long term. I like them so much in fact, that not only am I now part of the HEROweb/MightyMerchant team, I am also a client myself.

I look forward to putting my wealth of experience and knowledge to work growing HEROweb/MightyMerchant and improving our client's/your businesses.

Robert Asumendi

Web Developer

A nomadic path not unlike the plot line of The Alchemist brought me to the Willamette Valley in 2005, where I've met enough great people to convince me that this is Home. For a guy who started life among seemingly-endless Midwestern cornrows, this is a pretty amazing corner of the world.

My background in advertising design covers a variety of skills in addition to Web design and development, including brand identity, print design, art direction, packaging, and promotional merchandising.

I am well into my second decade of building Web sites. I joined the HEROweb/MightyMerchant team in 2010 because after having seen it all, I'm qualified to say we offer a really unique, bulletproof combination of people and technology. That's such a rare thing in this industry. I leave the office every day impressed with what we do.

Almost all of my spare time is spent salsa dancing and promoting the local salsa scene. I try to plug the holes in my dance schedule volunteering down at Food for Lane County.

Teija Stearns

Intern

Hi, my name is Teija and I am back for my fourth summer working in the family business. I've observed the growth of this business since an early age (when it was only Mom and Dad working out of the basement in our house) Working at HEROweb/MightyMerchant has taught me so much and it has been a great experience working here!

I just graduated from Pleasant Hill High School where designing the yearbook consumed most of my time. This fall I will attend the University of Oregon. I like photography, running, tennis, reading, playing piano, hiking, and surfing the web.

Quinn Stearns

Intern

Hi, I'm Quinn, and this is my first summer working at HEROweb/MightyMerchant. I was born right here in Springfield, and have been around the business my entire life. Working at HEROweb I hope to improve my computer skills, and apply some of the knowledge I already have.

Next year, I'm going to be a sophomore at Pleasant Hill High School. Some of the things I like to do for fun are: play tennis, go running, hang out with friends, and swim. I'm a member of the cross country, track, and chess teams at school and I also play piano.