Born and raised in Idaho, Denise received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Idaho and also attended undergraduate school at Pacific Lutheran University. After some time spent acting and directing in the windy city she eventually opened up her own theatre company there – Theatre Du Jour – and quickly delved into learning how to run a business. Of the many lessons learned, “no-one’s going to come see your show if they don’t know about it” was perhaps the most valuable, and certainly the beginning of her interest in marketing and graphic design.While designing playbills and posters, writing press releases, and generally managing all the marketing efforts for productions, soon Denise was more interested in a graphic design and marketing career than the bright lights. After more than 20 years experience in the industry as a freelance designer, she launched BRANDgfx ("brand graphics"), a full service marketing and design agency. This agency has allowed her to focus more directly on what her client's truly needed: brand development and cost effective marketing solutions coordinated under a single point of contact, with someone to guide them through the myriad of options available to help them make smart choices with their marketing. Her previous work history includes: Marketing Director for GreCon, Inc. - an international manufacturing company (Portland, OR), Marketing Assistant at PacifiCorp Power Company (Portland, OR), Client Services Manager at I.P.A. - a video post-production firm (Chicago, IL), Production Artist at The Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL), and Creative Designer for numerous other advertising agencies.