ABOUT KEARLEY
Kearley & Company, Inc., is a strategic marketing and branding firm founded in 1981 by Ruth Ann Kearley. Ruth Ann started the first marketing department for a credit union in the state of Texas while working at EECU in Fort Worth in the 1970’s. She left EECU to start Kearley & Company, Inc., to help support credit unions across the country in their marketing and business development efforts.
Throughout our history, we’ve expanded our services and the scope of our team, and today we are a full-service marketing and branding firm specializing in financial institutions (credit unions, specifically), healthcare, and various b-to-b and b-to-c industries.
Ruth Ann retired in 2009 and the firm was purchased by Elisa Rode. Elisa maintains sole ownership, and Elisa and team are committed to honoring Ruth Ann (Ruthie’s) legacy and the spirit in which she maintained relationships throughout her career. No one can fill Ruthie’s shoes, but we try.
And yes, we get it. Being in business since 1981 is unusual – especially for a marketing and branding firm. We’re not the usual kind of flashy firm. The secret to our longevity is our core purpose: People Helping People. It’s the cornerstone of the Kearley brand and the legacy Ruthie left for us. We are proud to be one of the most tenured marketing and branding firms around, and we’re proud to carry on the Kearley legacy.
OUR TEAM
Elisa Rode
President & Aspiring Chef
A Fort Worth native who has been with Kearley for over 30 years, Elisa knows two things better than anyone: marketing and credit unions (seriously, she wrote a master’s thesis about it). Over the course of her storied career, she has been the recipient of American Advertising Awards, Credit Union National Association Diamond Awards, Credit Union Executive Society (CUES) Golden Mirror Awards, and Cornerstone Credit Union League Pinnacle Awards. Her success as a creative and as a leader stems from her passion for the growth of the people and organizations she cares deeply about. To put it another way, she’s the best at helping anyone and any business reach their goals. On the weekends, you can find her hiking the local trails, creating new recipes in her kitchen, or teaching her (mostly indifferent) dog, Hank, new tricks.
Daniel Buenger
Vice President & Lifelong Artist
Born in Houston, Texas, Daniel cannot remember a time in his life when he wasn’t drawing, painting or writing in some form or fashion. He was first drawn in by the smell of crayons — and still keeps a box on his desk when he needs inspiration. He has been with Kearley since 2005 and in that time has won numerous American Advertising Awards, CUNA Diamond Awards, and Cornerstone Credit Union League Pinnacle Awards. His proudest project during those years has been his work for The World Bank, but enjoys every new creative mandate each project presents. When he’s not designing or building for our clients, he can be found in the great outdoors hiking with his family or working towards his second career as a semi-professional tennis player.
Denise Dyer
Project Manager & Gardener
Hailing from our home state’s capital, Austin, Texas, Denise has a storied history at Kearley going back 30 years, which makes her the best possible project manager for our clients as she has seen and worked in every field of this industry. To this day, she still helps our team and clients innovate workflow and counts getting our team and clients to utilize project management software amongst her proudest accomplishments. When she isn’t helping launch our next great project, she can probably be found pursuing her culinary passions – which extend to helping out whenever she can with the Tarrant County Food Bank.
Andy Silos
Account Services & Multi-Hyphenate Athlete
From our hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, Andy helped improve the lives of our clients within his first few months at the company. An expert at multitasking, Andy takes joy in wearing many different hats to serve our clients’ needs day-to-day. He has been instrumental in establishing CRM software as well as an Analytics Dashboard for Kearley which has improved the workflow between us and our numerous clients. In keeping with his multi-tool skill set, he also plays a number of sports in his free time including basketball, football, soccer, and tennis. That is, of course, when he’s not spending time with his wife, friends, and dog, Rex.
Destiny Dilleshaw
Social Media Coordinator & WoW Player
Destiny is from Burleson, Texas, but please do not ask her if she knows Kelly Clarkson (she won’t tell us). She was drawn to this field because of the creative potential she saw in the evolution of digital media and marketing. Still, social media and digital strategy for her is about results, which are made all the more clear from the analytic eye she’s brought to our team. When she’s not churning out monthly analytics reports for our clients, she can be found spending time with her fiancé, reading, or living her second life as a conquering hero on World of Warcraft.
Jay Overstreet
Copywriter & Renaissance Man
Just like our company itself, Jay is from Fort Worth. He’s the only Kearley team member who’s able to say that within 2 years of working here has worked on a commercial that aired during a Sunday Night Football game. He is expected to keep raising the creative bar for the rest of the team (no pressure, Jay). In his free time, he’s rooting for his favorite sports teams, teaching himself the piano, perfecting his cooking chops, and looking for new opportunities to support those who are looking to express themselves creatively.
Meredith Cody
Art Director & Amateur Sommelier
From McKinney, Texas, Meredith came to Kearley & Company eager to bring her wide range of creative skills and vision to serve a variety of clients. Since she first joined the team in 2012, she has done just that with work that has raised the bar for what we aim to deliver. Her creative work has won national design awards, but the project that she remains proudest of is her work on the 80th anniversary campaign for American Airlines Credit Union. Outside of work, she is most passionate about her three incredible kids Campbell, Ellie, and Everett — who are also our favorite office visitors. Ask her for a wine recommendation and how to beat Daniel at tennis.
Jonathan Patterson
Web Developer/Graphic Designer & Class Comedian
As an Army brat, it’s hard for Jonathan to answer the question “Where are you from?” but he’s happy to tell you about his childhood split between bases in Germany, Georgia, and Colorado. It was during this time that he developed a passion for drawing that (much to Kearley’s benefit) has continued to this day. His creative eye has resulted in exceptional website development and logos for clients like Edinburg Teachers Credit Union. Even though he’s the recipient of a New Mexico American Advertising Best in Show Award, he’s most proud of being named Employee of the Month six months in a row … when he was self-employed. When he’s not entertaining the office with the comedic chops he picked up from when he worked at a comedy club, he can be found hanging out with his best friend (his daughter) or catching up on his long reading list.
Mancel Herring
Web Interactive
Mancel is from North Richland Hills where he grew to be taller than average, a major accomplishment in the Herring family. He went on to earn his MFA from the University of North Texas, which would cause a major rift between him and Elisa if UNT could ever field a decent football team. He likes classic and alternative rock, but never just “rock.” In his free time, he brews beer and builds and designs furniture. Through the years, he has built the desks and custom cubicles for the Kearley team, but still refuses to share his beer.
Todd Hoeft
Web Interactive
Todd Hoeft is from Haltom City, Texas where he decided at a young age that he would become the greatest Star Wars fan this country has ever seen. And since he ran a renowned Star War memorabilia shop, he basically succeeded. While mastering the ways of the Force, Todd also mastered the ways of web design and continues to wield those powers for good for Kearley’s clients (he keeps the Force secrets to himself though). When not at work, Todd enjoys spending time with his family, writing, music, and, much like his web design partner, woodworking.
Sheila Hanson
Production/Proofing &Animal Rescuer
Hailing from Washington, Iowa, Sheila is one of the few Kearley team members to not be from Texas (we try very hard every day to not hold it against her). She’s worked with Kearley since 1994 which makes her a pro among pros at handling all of our clients’ proofing and production needs. When she’s not saving us from an ill-placed comma or typo, she’s busy rescuing pets through animal rescue.
