Article summary
In the past few months, five new Atoms have joined our molecule – two in Ann Arbor and three in Grand Rapids. I asked each of them to tell me a little about themselves and to share their favorite thing about Atomic Object so far.
Tabitha Blanski
As Atomic’s second Marketing Coordinator, Tabitha is responsible for answering sales calls, writing case studies, producing Atomic’s internal newsletter, and managing photography and videography. She also helps with all other marketing tasks, including Atomic Spin, trade show materials, and creating Atomic’s new website (currently in the works).
Before venturing into marketing, Tabitha earned her BA in Film Studies from Calvin College. After a brief stint in Hollywood, she returned to Grand Rapids, where she’s worked on everything from documentary films to shooting, managing, and editing a large number of photography projects.
When not with her husband and young daughter, Tabitha can be found singing with The Choral Scholars, photographing weddings with her husband at Inkling Pictures, and hanging out with her high school youth group ladies.
“I love the smart, interesting, reliable people I work with. I look forward to coming into work, especially on pair lunch days, when I consider who I might talk to in greater depth. I appreciate the smiles and the kindness. I am grateful for all of the willing advice and help, when I have questions. AO’s community is really something special.”
Bryan Elkus
Bryan is the first Software Designer in Atomic’s Ann Arbor office, where he’s been working on applications for Bible Gateway, a bank, and a furniture manufacturer.
Bryan received a Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Packaging from Michigan State University. After his time at Michigan State, he worked as the Marketing/Media Manager for REAL Watersports in North Carolina. During that time, Bryan also became an action sports and adventure photographer.
He also enjoys the outdoors, photography, action sports, investing, and technology.
“My favorite thing about working here is being surrounded by smart people who care about what they’re working on.”
Jamie Lystra
As the Atomic Assistant, Jamie manages schedules for Atomic’s CEO, Business Manager, and Grand Rapids Managing Partners. She also answers the phone, takes care of guests, schedules/plans company events, books travel, creates forms, orders swag, and many other small projects that keep things running smoothly at Atomic’s Grand Rapids office.
When not at work, Jamie loves to be in her garden, build and shoot guns, play beach volleyball, go on small adventures with her 4-year-old, and dance.
“We have the best culture: anyone is willing to drop whatever it is they’re doing to stop and help you if you need it — whether it’s checking an email to make sure it sounds right, to helping you empty the dishwasher. It’s just a great group of caring individuals.”
Abigail McClung
Abbi is the newest Software Designer in Atomic’s Grand Rapids office. So far, she’s worked on teams creating apps for Dexter, Varsity Network News, and several other companies.
Abbi graduated from Kendall in December 2013 with a degree in graphic design, and a minor in digital media. She did a variety of design freelance work before starting at Atomic in April.
When she’s not working, Abbi enjoys gaming (RPGs and anything by Bioware is amazing), cycling, and reading.
“I really enjoy the wide assortment of projects we work on here, as well as working with the great developers and designers here to make awesome stuff. I love the opportunity to work with and learn from my coworkers. Everyone here has been open to sharing their knowledge on various projects, and I admire the focus Atomic has on learning new skills.”
Matthew Nedrich
Matt is the newest Software Developer in Atomic’s Ann Arbor office, where he’s been working on iOS development for a wearable quantified-self project.
He has BS and MS degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University. His research involved scene understanding and modeling for outdoor camera networks, and his thesis focused on the automatic detection and exploitation of entry and exit regions. After school, he spent three years at Intel where he worked on tools to characterize and validate x86 CPUs and SoCs.
Outside of work, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife, participating in local meetup groups, and learning about science and technology. He also enjoy taking courses on Coursera.
“I really like the diversity of projects and the broad technical skill sets and interests that everyone has. It’s a great environment for continuous learning.”
You can learn about all of our Atoms at the Team page on our website.