Meet the team

Carolyn McMaster, principal
Sandra Stewart, principal
Kim Saccio-Kent, managing editor
David Kerr, web designer
Nancy Cutler, design consultant
Sarah Grolnic-McClurg, APR, public relations
Josh Krist, writer
Reed Kirk Rahlmann, namer & researcher

Carolyn McMaster, principal
Carolyn gets fired up every day because she gets to work with great people who share similar progressive values. She's inspired by creativity in all its forms and collaborating with clients on ways to bring new initiatives to fruition. She serves as Thinkshift's de facto creative director, and is also certified by the Global Reporting Insitute as as sustainability reporter.

But years ago, if you’d asked Carolyn what she’d be doing now, her vision would not have included Thinkshift—she’d have said she’d be an editor at the New York Times or Salon. Now it seems inevitable that she’s a Thinkshift co–founder. Thinkshift makes great use of her mixed–up background of journalism (covering both the environment and the arts, but not at the same time), activism (starting nonprofits) and corporate publishing (going up and down with the dot–com boom).

Though Carolyn is a city creature, she can’t get enough of camping and hiking in the mountains, the deserts and the hills of Northern California. She builds a mean campfire.

Sandra Stewart, principal
Sandra loves anything involving brainstorming, watching ideas become realities and pushing comfort zones (her own included). A zealous pursuer of the perfect word, she serves as Thinkshift's editorial director. She feeds her passion for public policy as co-chair of the Green Chamber of Commerce's Political Action Committee.

How did she get here? After seven years as a magazine editor, Sandra realized that regular employment was not for her. She loved the independence of freelancing as a writer, editor and editorial director, which she did for several years in a wide array of fields: high–tech, travel, the dot–com boom (she’s not sure that’s a field, but it felt like one), media criticism and women’s health. But after working on some great creative teams, she realized she wanted to be a part of one indefinitely. Thinkshift seemed like a good idea at the time, and it still does.

Despite Southern California roots, Sandra has never owned a car, but she does have a reasonable–size collection of primitive weapons. Her alter ego is the Grammar Queen, so watch your mouth.

Kim Saccio-Kent, managing editor
Kim soothes clients, grooms freelancers, whips copy into shape and keeps projects running on schedule no matter what gets in the way. Kim believes cities should be environmentally friendly and people-centric—and that art is not a luxury. We don’t know where she finds the time, but Kim is also an artist and art educator who is working with colleagues to build a nonprofit dedicated to bringing art to every classroom in San Francisco. When she’s not at her desk, in the classroom or in her studio, Kim can be found on long walks around Golden Gate Park, Land’s End and Ocean Beach.

David Kerr, web designer
David, principal of David Kerr Design Inc., has been building strategic and intuitive user interfaces for 14 years for clients in training, consulting, nonprofit, design, and business. David focuses on user-friendly, approachable design, looking for ways to make content feel fresh and approachable.

Nancy Cutler, design consultant
Nancy, principal of Midnight Oil design studio, is a longtime collaborator who’s up for any print challenge: magazines, books, annual reports, newsletters, marketing collateral and corporate identity systems. Her clients include Earthjustice, RSF Social Finance, Solar Pro magazine and Ventana Research, and her work has been recognized by the Western Publishers Association, the Society of Publication Designers and Communication Arts. She teaches publication design and portfolio courses for the UC Berkeley Extension Graphic Design program, where she has been an instructor for more than 10 years.

Sarah Grolnic-McClurg, APR, public relations
Sarah, principal and owner of Pounce PR, is our media relations and social media maven. She’s a pragmatic pro with an unerring sense of what makes the news, honed by more than 15 years of experience placing stories with the media and developing solid relationships with reporters. She’s also an optimist and something of a cheerleader, which makes her the perfect person to energize clients and conduct media relations workshops. She’s into American politics, cooking and wine, and admits to an obsession with skincare products.

Josh Krist, writer
Josh is our go-to writer for newsletters and reportorial-type projects because his experience is literally all over the map, with specialties in travel, technology and spirits (the kind found in bottles). He has worked for the Associated Press in Jerusalem and Paris, and for a research center in Japan, and he has helped leading companies—including American Honda, HP and Microsoft—with marketing and metrics analysis. He writes for Thinkshift in between updating guidebooks for Lonely Planet, cycling around the Bay Area and feeding his interest in livable cities and climate change. He’s afraid he’s becoming an urban hippie, but we think that’s OK.

Reed Kirk Rahlmann, namer & writer
Reed is a veteran namer who has named and renamed services, products and companies in fields including food, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, financial services, high tech, agriculture and toys. He’s also a very funny writer. In addition to providing those services for Thinkshift and other clients (such as Landor, Metaphor, Addis Group and Brandslinger), he walks on glass for tourists at Pier 39 and performs Saturday nights in Magic at the Rex in San Francisco.