Our Team
Amad Ebrahimi
Founder/CEO
Amad started as an eBay seller in 2002, eventually marketing his own websites and helping others do the same. He founded Merchant Maverick out of frustration with the shady tactics he encountered when setting up merchant accounts for his clients. In his spare time, he's usually trail running, paddle boarding, or anything that requires the sun, ocean, or some dirt. When not outside, he's likely reading a book…or two…or ten.
Julie Titterington
Content Director
As editor-in-chief, Julie Titterington oversees an expert team of writers and analysts and helps to maintain Merchant Maverick's unique culture. She has been researching project management, point of sale, payments, and other SMB software and services since 2013, and her expertise is cited in a variety of business and news outlets, including MSN, GoBankingRates, Yahoo, and Cheapism. Julie's own work is published in PM Times, SmallBizClub, and other online industry journals, and she has also written for lifestyle publications including Scary Mommy and The Mighty. She graduated from George Fox University in 2004 with a BA in Writing/Literature. She proudly hails from the Pacific Northwest where she lives with her husband and three very crazy children. When she's not writing, Julie spends her time baking, eating, and reading British mysteries from the Golden Age.
Tom DeSimone
Product Director
Based in New York’s Hudson Valley, Tom has written for Merchant Maverick since 2013. His work is cited by publications including TechCrunch, Washington Business Journal, and Bank Advisor. He currently serves as Product Manager, where he spends most of his time creating custom Slack emojis and overly complicated Zapier automations.
Markus Mazen
Partnerships Director
Markus is Libyan, grew up in the UK, and moved to Los Angeles in 2016. He worked in ecommerce in the years leading up to him joining the Merchant Maverick team in 2018. He currently serves as our Business Intelligence Analyst and Partnership Manager, ensuring we build and maintain strong strategic partnerships with the leading providers in the industry.
Chelsea Krause
Content Strategist: Accounting & Payroll
Chelsea is a writer who has specialized in accounting for over three years. She has a BA in English & Creative Writing from George Fox University and studied at the University of Oxford as well. She has been quoted in Forbes and her work appears in Startup Nation, Small Business Bonfire, and Women on Business.
Shannon Vissers
Expert Analyst & Reviewer: POS, Payments, Finance
Shannon is a retail and shopping analyst, writer, and editor based in San Diego, CA. Shannon attended San Diego State University, graduating in 2005 with a BA in English. She is the former editor-in-chief of SteelOrbis, an online trade publication. Shannon has also published articles for Livestrong, eHow, Life'd, and various now-defunct blogs with names like Bit Candy and Sketchy Van (the early 2000s internet was a colorful, chaotic place).
Jason Vissers
Expert Analyst & Reviewer: Credit Cards, Payments, Finance
Jason is a writer and cereal chef from San Diego. He graduated with a Political Science degree from San Diego State University in 2001. He's been writing about website builders, crowdfunding sites, online lenders, and credit cards for Merchant Maverick since 2015. Additionally, Jason can't eat raisins.
Chris Motola
Expert Analyst & Reviewer: Payments, Loans, Finance
Frank Kehl
Expert Analyst & Reviewer: Payments, Merchant Accounts
Frank has been writing about merchant services, payment gateways, and international money transfer services since 2015. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State and a Juris Doctorate from the Ventura College of Law. After a long and enjoyable career of traveling around the world as an Air Force navigator, he’s comfortably settled down in the wine country town of Paso Robles in California’s scenic Central Coast region. He enjoys reading, photography, hiking, and numerous other outdoor pursuits.
Matt Sherman
Expert Analyst & Reviewer: Restaurant POS, Retail POS, mPOS
Matt recently walked away from a 14-year stint in the thriving print media industry where he spent the bulk of his time as the sports editor for a pair of weekly newspapers in suburban Portland, Oregon. He is the father to a pair of energetic boys and can easily be distracted by Netflix, Amazon and HBO Go.
Erica Seppala
Expert Analyst & Reviewer: Loans, Finance, Accounting
Erica began her writing career in 2008, writing about various topics until shifting her focus solely to small business lending after joining Merchant Maverick in 2018. Erica is a native of Greenville, South Carolina, and graduated from Limestone College with a degree in Liberal Studies.
Shelbi Wescott
Managing Editor
Shelbi is a writer and educator from Portland, Oregon. When she isn't writing about business insurance, she is a published author churning out pages for her science-fiction and mystery books. In 2015, her book After Life won an Honorable Mention for Best YA Mystery from the Library Journal. Shelbi has both a BA in English Literature and a Masters in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College.
Kate Hoots
Expert Analyst & Reviewer: eCommerce
With a background writing about sales management, teamwork, and communication, Kate worked most recently as a newspaper reporter. None of her work is influenced by her Lewis & Clark College degree in Elizabethan literature. A native Oregonian, she has lived in five states and visited all 50. She now lives on a small farm outside Canby, Oregon, with her family and almost enough animals.
Davina Ward
Expert Analyst & Reviewer: Accounting & Payroll
A New York native, Davina earned her BA in English from SUNY Geneseo in 2018. After graduating, she began her career as a freelance writing generalist before finding a niche writing about SaaS. Davina unironically enjoys testing and reviewing software on her free time but otherwise can be found oscillating between hobbies every few weeks or so — most recently, longboarding.
Nicolette Kier
Expert Analyst & Reviewer
Nicolette was born in Pittsburgh, PA, and has no intention of leaving anytime soon. She earned degrees in both Physics and Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She has happily left her lab to write about small business building, freelancing, and education. She loves jewelry making, Search Engine Journal, caring for cats, and stable employment.
Rose Holman
Executive Assistant
Rose began her career at Merchant Maverick as a writer in 2016 and ultimately became Executive Assistant to our fabulous CEO in 2020. She has an MA in Teaching from Western Oregon University and resides in Portland, OR, with her husband and two teenagers. The four of them take occasional breaks from remote work and school to play music together as a family band. It's pretty cute.
Shelli Woodward
Finance Director
Shelli holds an MS in taxation from Golden Gate University and has been in the accounting industry for 15+ years. She is dedicated to helping small businesses succeed and has worked with organizations in a wide range of industries. When she is not analyzing numbers, Shelli can be found hanging out with her kids. She enjoys snowboarding, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
Kendall Dalton
Social Media Strategist
Kendall grew up in Corvallis, Oregon, and she recently graduated from Oregon State with a BA in Digital Communications. When she’s not busy using her writing skills to help small businesses connect with Merchant Maverick’s resources, she loves enjoying a nice cup of coffee and dreaming of the day when she can finally get a French Bulldog!
Charlotte Kackley
HR Director
Born and raised in California, Charlotte currently resides in Los Angeles. After earning a degree in Business Administration from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, she began her career in Human Resources and hasn’t looked back! She brings nearly ten years of HR experience to Merchant Maverick, focusing on employee well-being and development. When she’s not working, Charlotte enjoys reading, going to the beach, or hopping on a spin bike.
Weston Happ
Sr. Web Developer
Weston is a Web and Product Developer, a Massachusetts native, and currently lives in Washington, DC. He graduated magna cum laude from Muhlenberg College with a degree in Computer Science. He has developed software and websites in industries ranging from education to hospitality and across fields from art to finance. He is also a recently minted Big Island enthusiast.
