Our Team

Mike Mallaro

Mike Mallaro is VGM's chief executive officer. As CEO, Mike provides a strategic and financial perspective to decisions made at VGM. His day-to-day focus is working on projects to strategically position VGM for growth and success in the future. Mike has been with VGM since 2001 and served as the lead on development of the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), which included transition to a 100 percent employee ownership in 2008.

Christa Miehe

Christa Miehe is president of VGM Marketing and Shared Services where she oversees four departments and 85 employees. The teams that she guides plans and implements internal and external communication and events for the more than 25 businesses under the VGM Group umbrella. They also help members and vendors of the VGM community with print and online marketing campaigns. Christa has nearly 20 years’ experience with planning, executing, and analyzing marketing and special projects for the employee-owned company. Christa is an impactful marketer who believes in progress over perfection. She helps guide company strategy to maximize brand enhancement, improve employee engagement, increase diversity of revenue, and nurture company culture.

Will Cousin

Always at the forefront of the web industry, Will Cousin is described by his peers as a lifelong learner who never misses an opportunity to deliver a well-timed “dad joke.” At VGM Forbin, Will is president and oversees the overall business and strategy. He is known for his keen understanding of online business systems and his ability to develop solid positioning strategy for e-commerce businesses. Will comes to VGM Forbin with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa in International Business and French. He has been in online sales for the last decade during which time he started a thriving e-commerce company and sold before joining our team. When he is not busy researching the next online solution for Forbin’s customers, Will spends his free time with his wife and son Teddy, or constructing home building projects with his dad and brothers.

Christina Throndson

Google Certifications: AdWords, Analytics, Mobile, Shopping & Video

The dominant voice in the office, Christina can be heard chatting with clients or talking about the funny things in life. Christina regularly attends conventions and conferences in order to keep the pulse of the search and social industries, her two loves. She is both certified in Google AdWords and Analytics which allow her to further enhance the exposure of clients’ websites. When she isn’t working or being social, Christina consumes her free time with her friends and family, or can be found curled up on her couch investing in the “lame” hobby of crocheting. And in case you require it, Christina can marry you, as she is an ordained minister.

Beth Streicher

Beth joined the Forbin team with a great wealth of experience in administration, marketing and helping a business run smoothly from top to bottom. With 15-plus years of experience in sales, account management, training, motivating, marketing and other areas, Beth is able to provide rock solid assistance for administrative and marketing tasks within Forbin. She loves being a part of high-functioning team, passionate about customer service and adept a problem solving, all great qualities to have at our office. Outside of work, Beth stays busy with painting and Pinterest projects, remodeling and interior design. She also really enjoys camping, swimming and road tripping, and she’s always up for fun board game or game of bags.

Donny Wilson

Donny focuses on banking and financial institutions outside of the local area. The Iowa State graduate brings experience in business-to-business (B2B) sales, having worked in that area for the last 14 years. Though his degree is in zoology, Donny’s talent for sales with all sizes of technology and software businesses from startups to large corporations led him to joining our team to help expand our client base. When he’s not out on the road meeting with clients Donny is most likely working with his hands creating one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture and cabinets.

Areas of Expertise

Donny’s focus is on assisting banks and financial institutions improve their presence on the web and provide their customers with the products and services they need. Working with small, medium and large banks, Donny’s expertise with Forbin’s BankWeb system, as well as his knowledge of current banking trends, allows him to show clients how beneficial BankWeb can be. Donny can also provide a detailed look at Forbin’s Social Performance Plans, Custom Facebook Tabs and Search Engine Marketing plans to help with relationship building and lead generation.

Darrell DeWinter

Heather Seevell

As a University of Northern Iowa graduate, with a B.S. in Marketing and an emphasis in Advertising & Sales, Heather is a master of online advertising and providing a great customer experience. With her extensive background in business development and opportunity analysis, Heather knows how to identify opportunities and competitive advantages to ensure her clients gain an edge in the digital marketplace.

Before joining Forbin, Heather worked for a national advertising agency for 13 years as a National Account & Business Development Director. While at the agency, she worked with national automotive manufacturers to develop strategy and execute advertising campaigns.

On the VGM Forbin team, Heather specializes in helping healthcare clients across the nation. Through years of organizing event volunteers, coaching young athletes and managing teams at work, Heather has a knack for identifying different strengths and motivations to make sure each project is a success. Heather says, “I truly enjoy helping others see their potential role in the team – because together we can all achieve more.”

Wendy Frost

Nick Dideriksen

Hailing from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Graphic Design, Nick offers quite a bit of charisma to the Forbin family. Nick says, “Even though I don’t do much design anymore, it introduced me into the technology business world that wasn’t readily available in small-town Iowa.” He has since used those skills to become a killer Senior I.T. Analyst. He believes any task is possible if you listen to your customer and provide a solution they need. Nick has an amazing ability to relate to the customer and for creating efficiencies in their workplace. He’s passionate about getting to know as many of his co-workers and customers as possible. He feels strongly that the more people you know, the easier it is to find help when you need it most. Nick says, “Being a dad to my two little girls has been the best thing to ever happen in my life. Other than my family, I’m one of the biggest golf fans you will ever meet. Golfers always talk about their ideal foursome if they could pick anyone in the world. Mine would be Bill Murray, Tiger Woods and my Dad. That would be the perfect day on the golf course!”

John Friel

John is a bit of a unique employee because he actually started Forbin as an internet service provider in Cedar Falls, the first ISP in the Cedar Valley which he later sold to the VGM Group, Inc. In his second run with Forbin, John works with our programming team to support them with new technology, as well as assisting networking and computer clients. John’s programming career started in 8th grade when his teacher introduced him to FORTRAN programming. Since then, he has been educated (both by instructors and through self-education) in numerous programming languages that allow him to provide great insight into various aspects of Forbin’s products. When he’s not tinkering with code, John likes to tinker under the hood and drag race. He also collects Monopoly sets, and divides time between working on his HO Model railroad and learning to play the guitar.

Jesse Farris

Gregg Erickson

Jessica Veren

Jess graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing. Jess does an INCREDIBLE job at Forbin and when asked how she does it, she says, “A little progress each day adds up to big results, or one of my favorite quotes by Benjamin Franklin – ‘For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.’” She consistently answers any and all questions regarding the development and works with clients on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to understand what they bought with their new web solution. If anything falls outside of the current contract, she works with the production team to properly scope and provide that quote to the Account Executive to formalize and quote. She is complimented most on her organizational skills as well as understanding where all of her projects sit in the development process. Being compassionate and listening to our customers’ needs as well as guiding production team members through the development process is another amazing quality Jess possesses. She is most passionate about helping people. Working with the production team and the customer to create a site that they love and our client’s clients love is her favorite part of the job! In her personal life, she enjoys spending time with her husband and family, as well as crafting her new-found love for woodwork.

Dan Whitmer

Taylor Rettig

Taylor hails from Simpson College where he received a degree in Math. (He’s pretty smart.) Taylor says, “In math, there is always a right answer and a wrong answer, but there is more than one way to get to the right answer. In serving our clients, there is a right answer in their mind, but there is more than one way for us to get there. Finding the path to the right answer in the most efficient manner possible keeps me going.” How Mr. Miyagi of you, Taylor. He is passionate about assisting the team and the client in any way he can to produce a quality product as efficiently as possible. His favorite part of his job is interacting with internal and external partners in order to meet the needs of clients. Being a Process Lead at Forbin allows him to do that on a daily basis. Taylor helps our clients solve problems. He says, “Clients don’t always know exactly what they need in order to meet their goals. I connect clients with the right people on our team in order to solve their problems and meet their goals.” In his personal life, he enjoys running, biking, kayaking and camping, and he prefers to do any combination of those things with family and friends. 

Philipp Hoeltermann

Philipp joined the Forbin team having completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Information Management from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hannover, Germany. Working with the programming team is Philipp’s first work experience out of college and in the United States, and he has proven to be a valuable addition. Tasked with quality assurance and security, Philipp combs sites that are being developed to find possible bugs, errors or security issues to be corrected before they go live. Philipp has a love for basketball, baseball and football that is “more than all other Germans combined.”

Cassi Price

Google Certifications: AdWords, Mobile, Shopping & Video

Specializing in social media campaigns, search and social advertising and writing optimized content for websites, Cassi plays a vital role in Forbin’s web marketing. Before joining Forbin Cassi bolstered her skills as Director of Communications for the Orthotic and Prosthetic Group of America, and has attended conferences and completed the 7 Step Sales Process Training for Emerge Sales. A lover of music and anything outdoors, Cassi finds satisfaction in finding a client’s unique target audience through search and social advertising, as well as creating interactions through social media. Most nights find Cassi spending time outside with her husband and two daughters, then enjoying a glass of cheap-ish wine. She is also available as a wedding singer should you need one.

Al Strain

Google Certifications: AdWords, Mobile, Shopping & Video

Al joined Forbin after gaining extensive experience in journalism. Originally from St. Charles, MN, Al graduated from Wartburg College with a communication arts major and history minor. His journalism experience includes writing for the college student newspaper, acting as the editor-in-chief for the newspaper, and being a reporter for the Owatonna People’s Press newspaper for over two years.  His experiences in writing on a number of different topics (including going up in the air in a stunt airplane twice) prepared Al for the writing-intensive work he does at Forbin. Al is greatly interested in the ever-changing nature of marketing on the web and the rapidly expanding skill set it requires. He is an avid Minnesota sports fan, as well as a Grammy-award winning singer when driving in his car. He also has a passion for making people laugh and for theater. His upbringing as an only child with no imaginary friend has made Al a very personable and friendly member of our team.

Bailey Lubben

Certifications: Google Analytics, Google Ads Display, Mobile, Search, Video & Shopping

It is proven laughing is contagious, and that is true with Bailey Lubben and her bubbly personality. Bailey is the definition of efficient as she provides quality work in a timely manner. She is the lead in a slew of things as a web marketer including the Social Media, Reputation Management, Reputation Plus+, and Search Engine Optimization programs. Bailey enjoys helping clients better their online presence and reputation by reaching the right customers who are searching for their products or services.

Prior to her expertise in social media at VGM Forbin, Bailey was at the University of Northern Iowa getting her degree in Public Relations and minoring in Marketing. There she learned about writing and marketing strategies along with SEM and SEO strategies, although she credits Forbin for teaching her everything she needed to know to help her clients with their marketing needs. Bailey is a traveler at heart and always enjoys going to new places.

Thea Nicholson

Thea’s a Web Marketing wiz. She attended the University of Nebraska—Lincoln where she earned a degree in Advertising and Public Relations and was trained to fulfill the role she holds now at Forbin as a Web Marketer and Social Media Strategist. Her expertise enables her to answer all of her client’s questions from social media to their website platform. “Clients often have an idea of what they want to do in their head, and I get to make that happen for them by using the right tools and targeting.” Her clients love seeing her unique content and the topics she chooses to write for them. “I love telling the stories of people trying to make a difference. It’s rewarding to lift up business owners, and their employees, who are trying to provide products and services that make their customers’ lives better.” In her free time, Thea loves writing, fitness and spending time with her hubby.

Kelly Herbert

Kelly comes to us from sunny Georgia and brings her creativity and drive. Kelly attended Georgia State University where she got her degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. Her numerous years of experience in sales and marketing has translated into the career in web marketing she holds now! As a Social Media Strategist, Kelly gets her clients the brand awareness they may not currently have. She’s always thinking about how else she can make her clients’ social media a success. “Whether it’s a new campaign or some specialized ads, there’s always a way to take the next step and up their game.” In her personal life, Kelly loves spending time with her husband, baby girl and pup! “Whether it’s caring for my family or a client, I always try to give them my best.” Kelly is a valued member of the Forbin team and loved by coworkers and clients alike for her puns, wittiness and hard work.

Hillary Reents

Ana Dobrilovic

Certifications: Google Analytics & Google Ads

Helping clients reach their goals is one of the many things Ana Dobrilovic is passionate about as a Web Marketer. Ana keeps herself busy by problem-solving and using her extensive and diverse knowledge to write compelling content for all of her clients. To say Ana aims to please would be an understatement as she is known to go above and beyond to help clients reach their goals. Whether it be through social media, blogs, site content or anything in between, Ana can put a creative twist on anything through strategy and collaboration.

Before devoting her time at VGM Forbin, Ana was busy getting her B.A. in both English and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at the University of Northern Iowa. In her free time, Ana enjoys all things reading & writing along with spending time with her family and her kitty! She also will throw anyone down in a mean game of tennis. She is always learning about different cultures and becoming a better, more informed citizen. Fun fact: Ana can speak multiple languages! How cool is that?

Taylor Palmer

Taylor Palmer is a Web Marketing Intern here at VGM Forbin. She is also a student at the University of Northern Iowa majoring in Digital Media Production and minoring in Marketing. She is passionate about content creation and is very grateful to be learning so many new skills as part of the Forbin team. Taylor loves all things social media and promotion, which is why she says the time she spends at Forbin doesn’t feel like work at all. 

Taylor is a waitress on weekends and enjoys picking up shifts as a CNA for a nursing home when possible. Outside of school, work and her internship, Taylor enjoys hanging out with friends, going to coffee shops, watching The Bachelor on Monday nights and staying active at the gym. Her close-knit family members double as her best friends, so she loves spending time with them as much as possible. Taylor is so excited to continue learning and gaining more wonderful experience in her position here at Forbin!

Joshua Schneiderman

Sean Dever

Certifications: Google Analytics & Google Ads

Sean Dever is a driven and talented Web Marketing Intern here at VGM Forbin but is not the “typical intern” as he is consistently taking on responsibilities beyond his expectations. Sean is currently a non-traditional student in Public Relations at UNI. Sean’s PR studies have proven to be very helpful and beneficial in his Web Marketing role and vice versa. A problem solver at heart, Sean is known for his ability to take a task and exceed it’s expectations effectively and efficiently. Any process that can be improved, he does just that. Among many things, Sean handles a lot of SEM in the office. He is often communicating with clients on what the statistics from those reports mean for their specific business.

Outside of work and school, Sean is active in many outdoor activities, especially hunting and hiking. He has a passion for the environment and is a volunteer with Pheasants Forever. He strongly believes in protecting and managing wildlife in a safe manner and shows that through his actions. Sean is a resourceful and selfless person inside and outside of the office!

Nathan Hauser

An"active"outdoorsman"by"nature,"Nathan's"passion"for"web"design"and"sinking"his"teeth"into"a"variety"of"projects"make"him"an"invaluable"member"of"the"Web"Design"team"at"Forbin."Nathan's"educational"background"includes"degrees"from"Hawkeye"Community"College"and"the"University"of"Northern"Iowa,"and"his"work"at"other"area"agencies"brought"him"to"Forbin"with"a"well"rounded"skillset."Nathan's"zeal"for"whatever"project"he's"working"on"–"full"websites,"updates"or"social"media"branding"–"allow"him"to"do"something"unique"every"day."He"loves"coming"up"with"out-of-the-box"solutions"to"bring"a"product"or"service"to"life."This"passion"extends"outside"the"office"as"Nathan"has"many"interests"and"hobbies"(take"a"big"breath):"camping,"hiking,"running,"lifting"weights,"shooting"pistols,"leathermaking,"inline"&"ice"skating,"swimming,"long"boarding,"survivalist"training"and"watching"Philadelphia Flyers hockey.

Mark Wubbena

Having a background in a smorgasbord of old-school art techniques and modern design and web applications, Mark brings both knowledge and varied experience to his work. A designer, drummer and daddy to his daughter, Mark has experience in working with drawing, painting, video post production, web and print design, video integration and Flash animation. In short, he knows a lot of useful stuff. While he loves design, Mark is infatuated with branding and helping companies develop a visually expressive exterior that reflects the interior values and inner workings of that company. Mark also takes his creativity and mind for design and applies it to his home, which he is usually renovating or remodeling in some way.

Therese Kuhlman

With a strong passion for continually learning from our clients, Therese Kuhlman spends her days at VGM Forbin doing what she loves – fulfilling clients’ goals through great user experiences and fresh designs that offer a clean and consistent look. As a UX designer, Therese thrives on continuously learning from her clients about their industry and their unique needs. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa where she majored in both Graphic Technologies and Graphic Design. Before coming to VGM Forbin, Therese gained experience in a large variety of industries, serving client needs through commercial printing design, and found that she loved the user experience and problem-solving aspects of digital design. When Therese is not developing killer website designs, she enjoys an active lifestyle filled with exercise, music and outings with friends.

Cheyenne Newman

When it comes to unique branding projects, we turn to Cheyenne Newman. After providing a custom Rubix cube business card following a student visit, we knew Cheyenne would produce equally innovative work for our clients, and she quickly became Forbin’s design intern. Now a UX designer, Cheyenne is charged with a wide variety of responsibilities including serving both VGM Forbin’s marketing design needs as well as the design needs of our ongoing web marketing programs such as social media, search engine optimization and search engine marketing. She is truly motivated by her client work at VGM Forbin because it connects customers to products or services that improve their lives. Cheyenne graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. When Cheyenne is not helping clients connect with their customers, she lives for weekends with her friends, family and dog Cooper as well as completing amazing crafting projects.

Sydney Owen

Justin Berning

Another team member in our multitude of UNI graduates, Justin specializes in PHP programming.  Having earned his BA in Management Information Systems, Justin uses his familiarity with various programming languages to create and maintain websites as well as support and lead the VGM Forbin development team.  Justin feels most accomplished when he's created an online solution that helps a client connect with their customer.  A sports lover, Justin stays active outside of work by trying to keep up with his young son, wife and pup.

Sara Doerder

Josh Carroll

Josh attended Luther College and received a BA in English with a writing emphasis. He also went to Hangzhou University, Hangzhou Zhejiang PRC and was given a foreign Language/Cultural Studies Certification. Finally, he attended the University of Northern Iowa and received an MA in Software Engineering. DANG! After all of that education, Josh says, “My English degree led me down the path of technical writing, which in turn led to project management opportunities and eventually software development. From there, I completed my MA to solidify my skills as a software engineer.”  He spends most of his client interaction helping to articulate how specific software systems will solve their identified problems as simply as possible. Josh has an amazing knack for his ability to break down complex issues into understandable chunks of information. When asked how he came into this position, he states, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.” Josh is passionate in his personal life about his family and friends, spending as much time outdoors as possible, wildlife rescue and habitat support, reading and learning about history and supporting the groups that make up his martial arts and Zen lineage. Josh would describe himself as adroit – very good choice of words, Josh!

Brett Schwickerath

It’s all in the details for VGM Forbin’s Brett Schwickerath. At Forbin, Brett uses his talents in UI development and UX design to make sure that the choices of our clients and our designers not only look great, but also function well in all situations. No matter the project, Brett is up for the challenge and is known for his passion for learning new things. While earning his bachelor’s degree in Digital Cinema Production at Wartburg College, Brett became fluent in just about every Adobe product and developed a passion for design. Brett is truly motivated by solving problems for our clients and by streamlining processes within website production. Outside of VGM Forbin, you’ll find Brett watching a wide variety of TV shows and movies, listening to music and playing video games so that he may express his greatest passion, sharing those experiences with others so that they may enjoy them as well. 

Josh Tanberg

Having worked at other area web development companies, Josh brings many fresh, new ideas to our team to help us refine our production process. At the time he joined Forbin, Josh had a mix of real-world and in-classroom web development experience. His passionate approach to being on the cutting edge of web development and design trends means Josh is always an asset in idea generation meetings regardless of which type of project is being discussed. He is by no means your cookie cutter web developer: Josh loves old cars (he drives a 1950 Mercury), plays guitar and is an Army Infantry Veteran, having completed three tours with the 101st Airborne.

Dave Wirth

Dave has done everything and held nearly every position in web development, from programmer and trainer to sales support, IT staff and everything else. Dave graduated from Luther College with a degree in accounting and minors in math and physics. In 1973, he began working with the Cohn family at Santa Claus Industries in Waterloo writing programs. Over the course of time, Dave became the President and COO of ASI Computer Systems, also owned by the Cohn family; he retired in 2013 after 40 years with the family. Dave joined Forbin in late 2014 as a programmer and analyst. When he’s not programming or creating software, Dave has taken up golf (“not very successfully”). He and his wife, Carol, have spent much time in the past five years going to Coe College basketball games to watch their kids play. Dave also enjoys yearly canoeing and camping trips to the Boundary Waters near the Minnesota-Canada border.

Trevor Covington

Trevor Covington graduated from Devry University with a Bachelors in Multimedia Design and Development. Pretty impressive, right? His education taught him a lot about the basics of web design and development, but we won’t bore you with the nitty-gritty. Trevor consistently solves problems for customers, such as figuring out how to make the applications work in a way that helps them achieve their goals. He loves finding new ways to accomplish tasks. Trevor says, “I am passionate about learning how to better improve not only myself but all of the products that we offer.” What a guy! Trevor is also passionate about his family and would describe himself as “hip.” Whatever you say, Trevor.

Jade Manning

Jade Manning brings new ideas to the Forbin realm, as well as cute pictures of her fur babies. Graduating from Hawkeye Community College, Jade received a degree in Web Development and Programming. She also received a Business Administration degree from DMACC. So how did Jade make it here? She says, “I worked in retail before this so my past work decisions just made me realize I wanted something different. I started going to school for something I wasn’t sure I was going to like but ended up loving it.” She is great at solving problems, such as if something on a client’s site isn’t working properly, she’s the one to help fix it! She also works on getting sites to be web accessible. Jade loves to learn new things and apply those skills to her career. She is extremely valued here at Forbin and has a passion for photography, biking, video games, and taking care of her fur babies.

Joe Nikas

Joe comes from Hawkeye Community College with a degree in (AAS) Web Programming and Development. This is how he got started in the Web Programming field. Joe has worked in plenty of different industries from carpentry and construction to the automotive and food service industry. He then went back to school, where he met Jade, who recommended him for the position at Forbin. He consistently solves errors on sites and then updates the functionality of a client’s site. He is known for being thorough and maintaining high-quality code. Joe prides himself on being able to solve issues to meet our clients’ needs and increases the efficiency of our sites/products. Joe says he’s passionate about “Classical and blues music (singing, playing), reading (Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegut), video games, carpentry, automotive work and my pets.” He leaves us with describing himself as assiduous…get a dictionary and see what it means!

Zach Oliver

Zach Oliver graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Programming. He learned the basics of programming there and has flourished in his role here at Forbin ever since. He’s held many odd jobs before coming to Forbin, such as making pizzas, being a custodian and manicuring lawns. Zach helps fix general bugs and implements any requests a client has for anything on their site. He’s the man! He is passionate about finding the right solution to a problem at work, as well as lifting weights in his tiger tank top in his free time. We see you - and we enjoy your fashion sense!

Mike Schmidt

The longest-tenured member of our networking team, Mike has helped lead the way in the growth of Forbin as an Internet Service Provider, web development, design and hosting company. With an expansive knowledge pertaining to the software and hardware needed to keep our systems up and running, Mike ensures a high quality workflow across our entire team, meaning fewer interruptions and slow downs.

Michael Cormaney

Justin Wheelock

Austin Davis

Jared Hughes