Mike Koehler

CEO and Chief Strategist: The smirk behind Smirk New Media is Mike Koehler’s.

In the Summer of 2010, after more than 15 years in the trenches of journalism and public relations, Mike founded Smirk New Media, turning his future over to the world of the web.
Why? As he’s said at speeches around the country, Mike believes web content and social media have become the greatest tools for people to connect with one another and for companies to connect with their customers.
Before Smirk New Media, Mike has done a few other things, managing web content for Oklahoma’s biggest web site, introducing clients at the state’s biggest PR firm to social media, helping plan coverage of three national championship football games, enraging George Lucas, cheering for the Thunder, spreading the Good News, leading Cub Scouts and raising three future rock stars with the greatest woman in the world

 

Stephanie Bice

Director of Business Development

Stephanie Bice has joined the Smirk team as Director of Business Development and will be contributing to the development and refinement of Smirk’s overall  vision and strategy. With almost a decade of marketing experience,  Stephanie will  be focused on building market position by locating, developing, negotiating and closing business relationships to achieve continued growth of Smirk New Media.  Stephanie brings a wealth of marketing knowledge to the table, including extensive experience in search engine optimization and search engine marketing practices, as well as social media strategy. In her spare time, Stephanie is an avid cook and restaurant reviewer and can be found dishing about her latest restaurant experience on her blog and other local news sites.  She is happily married and is mom to 2 daughters who she is grooming to be future foodies. Stephanie holds a BS in Marketing from Oklahoma State University.

Kevin DeShazo

Senior Strategist

Kevin DeShazo serves as a Senior Strategist on the Smirk New Media team, developing and implementing high-quality social media strategies for our clients. With a passion for people, social media allowed Kevin to quickly establish himself as a connector in OKC. You can often find him in local coffee shops meeting up with new friends, figuring out ways to help them or directing them to somebody that can. He’s a bit obsessed with coffee, really. Buy him a good cup and you’ve got a friend for life. Kevin also runs Fieldhouse Media, where he works with high school and collegiate athletic programs, educating coaches & student-athletes on using social media in a positive way. Before launching his own business, Kevin worked in the healthcare staffing industry, serving in various leadership roles for a Forbes Top 100 Company to Work For. Kevin has a BS in Management Information Systems from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from Oklahoma Baptist University. Kevin lives in Edmond with his wife, Megan, and sons Gabe and Noah.

 Allie Carrick

Strategist: Oklahoma City

Allie Carrick has been part of the Smirk New Media team since September 2011. Allie is motivated to assist clients in positive, creative and productive social media management. She studied public relations at Oklahoma Christian University and lives in Oklahoma City. Allie is an Iowa native and has a passion for social media strategy, digital trends, blogging and pop culture. During her college years, Allie was a DJ for a variety radio station in Des Moines. She was a member of PRSSA and a delegate at the 2009 National Assembly. Allie grew up living and breathing technology and social media. She excels at clever copywriting, layout design and strategy development. Allie loves bowling, movie trivia, board games and the Boston Red Sox.

Matt Derrick

Strategist: Kansas City

With more than 15 years experience in broadcasting, print and public relations, Matt Derrick brings both journalism and marketing sensibilities to online and social media strategies. A native of Springfield, Mo., Matt earned his Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia. After starting his career in radio, television and print, Matt joined the Home Builders of Association of Greater Kansas City in 2000 and rose quickly to the role of Senior Vice President of Communications. At the HBA, Matt oversaw membership communications for one of the nation’s largest home-building associations while also providing public relations for one of the nation’s top ten home shows and the second-largest housing tour in America. Matt joined the Smirk New Media team after serving as Director of Communications for Time Warner Cable where he led internal communications, public relations and philanthropic initiatives for the Kansas City/Nebraska area. Matt is an avid sports fan, particularly the Missouri Tigers. He resides in Liberty, Mo., with his wife Nancy.

 

Matt Blackwell

Strategist: Tulsa/Eastern Oklahoma

Matt started his first web development company in 2003, building a network of customers and developers while focusing primarily in the areas of sales and business development. During that time, Matt gained extensive experience in contract negotiation, sales pipeline management, lead generation, and account management.

 

Tony Steward

Strategist: Oklahoma City and Edmond

Tony has been working in social media for the past eight years as a strategist, content marketer and and media producer. Starting his work at two of the largest churches in the country (Saddleback Church and LifeChurch.tv) Tony has worked in larger organizations helping them step into social media and increase their reach while being authentic in the connections they make with people online. Recently he has become a co-owner of a bike shop in Oklahoma City, diving into how social media works for a local business and gets results. In the past few years Tony has helped two Facebook Pages grow to 100,000 plus fans, and twenty others grow past 2000 fans. He also helped in the production and promotion of a weekly online event that grew to have over 100,000 viewers a week from people all over the world. And in his own passions for cycling and connecting with people he has a cycling blog and personal accounts that engage him with over 10,000 people every day.

 

Rebecca Dula

Strategist: Springfield, Mo. 

Rebecca Dula, is a native to Springfield, Mo., where she oversees Smirk New Media’s operations there. Rebecca has two children, 5 and 8, that are in kindergarten and 3rd grade at Mark Twain Elementary. Rebecca has been PTA president at Mark Twain for the past three years. She is active in creating a yearbook club and planning classroom parties. Rebecca graduated from Missouri State University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations. She worked for the past 10 years for a local law firm. She has since left the law firm to work for Smirk New Media, to be more active in volunteer work and to be available for her children’s activities. She has begun an obsession with Pinterest, the latest social media network for those with a passion for family and crafts.

 

Cory Boatright

National Business Relations

Cory brings a wealth of marketing and business experience to the Smirk New Media team. He has be featured in WSJ, Fast Company and recently recognized by Harvard University for his business aptitude. He has a long list of business building ventures including fields in real  estate investing, information marketing, mobile app development and personal consulting. He’s a best selling author twice on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. He is valuable asset to  Smirk New Media and frequently contributes his knowledge to social media forums and speaks at  national marketing and business conferences making powerful connections to build on the Smirk New Media vision.

 

Kurtis Wiles

Intern

Kurtis Wiles is a senior organizational communication major at Oklahoma Christian University. A native of Washington State, Kurtis’ most recent appointment to Director of Social Media for Oklahoma Christian’s PRSSA has sparked a strong desire to engage in the social media field. A high school and college baseball player, Kurtis has learned the value of honesty, dedication and courage both on and off the field. When Kurtis isn’t active in the world of social media, he can be found playing ultimate frisbee, drumming alongside Phil Collins (figuratively speaking) or working on his five-year-old novel. Kurtis joined Smirk New Media in spring 2013.