Becky McKinnell
President
 Almost ten years ago I left Massachusetts to go to school at the University of Southern Maine. In 2006, I started iBec fresh out of college as a graduate in Art and Entrepreneurial Studies. Maine was the perfect place for me to start my company. The opportunity to build a business that combines my passions for art and strategy has been, and still is, exciting and rewarding. Each day I love coming to work and thinking about creative ways we can help our clients grow their business through a web strategy. It has been such an amazing journey growing iBec and building our team as a young entrepreneur. BusinessWeek named iBec a Top 25 Entrepreneur 25 and Under and was recognized as the Maine Young Entrepreneur of the year in 2010....it is an honor!
Cuchi-Cuchi: Becky named her dog "Charo" after the Spanish-American actress, comedienne, and flamenco guitarist
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Leah Arsenault
Designer
 I chased my degree and powder days to the University of Colorado where I studied Advertising and Design. After a stint back in Maine that included working at N'East Magazine and McClain Marketing I decided to head west to Anchorage, AK. Alaska was an incredible place to seek opportunity. As an art director at an advertising agency I created new campaigns that stretched a wide breadth of mediums, directed and wrote commercials, and became the go-to girl at the agency for web. Lured back to Maine by the smell of low tide and the sound of boat engines, I studied documentary photography at Salt before joining iBec as the designer. I believe every website is unique and enjoy getting to know our clients businesses and personalities to incorporate into their design.
Could she be more of a cliché: Leah worked on a lobster boat
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Chris Putnam
Web Developer
 I was born and raised in Presque Isle, Maine. My father was the editor of the local newspaper and this meant that I always had multiple home computers and I took to playing around on them when I was very young. Some of the very first chapter books I read as a child in first and second grade were the detailed DOS and BASIC manuals that came with our Pacard Bell 286. From there I kept on self-teaching via books and the Internet until high school where I gained access to a couple of programming classes. I attended Northern Maine Community College from 2005 through 2007 and while there held various jobs: student work study in the campus Information Technology office, a math tutor, a peer mentor for first semester students, and as a web developer at a small local company. Since graduating I held a couple different computer-programming jobs but decided to join iBec in the spring of 2010. I really enjoy working with the very talented team we have here, as well as creating beautiful and functional web solutions with our amazing clients.
White man can't jump: given the choice, Chris would come back in his next life as Lil' Wayne.
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Ashlee Doherty
Client Services
 I received a B.A. in Journalism with a sequence in Advertising and a Minor in English from the University of Maine in Orono. My experience includes an internship at WCSH 6 and working on advertising campaigns with local businesses in both northern and southern Maine. Having always loved the city of Portland, I was more than thrilled to join the team at iBec. Not only is it located in the heart of the Old Port, but also its youthful energy and media immersion are exactly what I went to school to be a part of.
Why the deck at iBec is a summer hotspot: Ashlee doubles as a bartender.
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Matt Smith
Mobile Web Developer
 I was born in Duluth, Minnesota - and have lived all over the northeast US. After graduating from Monserrat College of Art with a degree in Printmaking I attended the Print/Media Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where I explored the link between the handmade and the digitally generated. My affinity for digital creation is what led me into the design field, and I have been working in web design ever since. I've spent the last 3 years focusing on mobile web design & development.
Everyone loves a man in uniform: Matt once worked as a guard, in an art museum.
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Sarah Frisk
Web Developer
 I graduated from Colby College in English and Computer Science – a combination that often made me want to pull my hair out at times since at first glance the two disciplines had nothing to do with each other. As a result, I spent my early 20s adrift in essays and code until May 2010 when I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. Born and raised in Bangor, Maine, I migrated 2.5 hours south to Portland, drawn by the up and coming web technology community. I found iBec the perfect answer to what I was searching for after college - and spend my days working on the web development side of things playing around with PHP, Smarty, HTML/CSS, Javascript, and Ruby on Rails.
May the force be with her: Sarah's terrified of the day George Lucas touches Star Wars again.
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Joe Cardella
Web Developer
 I'm a self-taught programmer with a degree in English, which is reflective of my long-standing love of things both creative and technical. That love has led me to gain experience in a wide range of creative fields, from television and video production to desktop application and web development. I love working in such a versatile and ever-changing field, and am absolutely excited to be here in Maine and part of the amazing iBec Creative team.
Road Trip: Joe has driven from Mississippi to Alaska twice, a one-way trip of over 5000 miles.
Jukebox Hero: An avid music lover, Joe once saved Tipitina's from disaster by stopping Eddie Bo's keyboard from falling off its stand during an epic piano solo.
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Seth Storey
Web Advisor
 I grew up in Maine and have also lived in Canada and Belize. I love to travel but will always come to back to Maine. I went to USM to study business and fell in love with the idea of having my own business. When I left college, I became a bit of a serial entrepreneur and started multiple companies; including a direct marketing agency, a car magazine, and a video production company. I came to iBec so that I could share creative insights and “outside the box” marketing ideas with our clients. I find it so rewarding to be a part of the creative process. Mark Twain said, “The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation.” I would have to say he was right!
That sucks. Seth started out as a door-to-door salesman, selling vacuums.
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Elizabeth Smith
Interactive Coordinator
I’m “from away” but have called Maine my home for the last 7 years. After graduating from Boston University’s College of Communication I have spent the last 10 years working at advertising agencies on both the east and west coasts, specializing in all aspects of project management. These experiences allowed me to work on a multitude of different marketing campaigns, gaining an in-depth understanding of how to execute projects of all sizes. Organizing projects and keeping them on track is my specialty and I’m so excited to join the iBec team and immerse myself in the digital world.
p2tog tbl: No, Elizabeth doesn't write code in her spare time out of the office, she writes knitting patterns. (For those who are curious, this means purl 2 together through the back loops.)
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