BIOS

Katherine Jones

Principal and Founder

Katherine founded Milkshake in 1999 and continues to lead the firm today, building a team of experts who deliver unparalleled, authentic solutions for Milkshake’s clients. Katherine’s primary focus is leading the strategy group, where she guides key strategy engagements and delivers core strategy insights and recommendations. Kat’s particular passion lies in uncovering the soul of a brand and getting to its core essence so that the brand can be clearly positioned and ultimately, creatively expressed.

Katherine has more than 20 years of experience in designing brands, experiences and storytelling. Katherine is recognized as a leader in branding and community and speaks regularly at industry and client conferences. In 2005, she was awarded the Austin Ad Fed’s "Ad Woman of the Year." That same year, Milkshake received the American Marketing Association’s Marketer of the Year Award. Katherine’s received the Austin Business Journal "Profiles in Power: Futurist" Award and in addition to community service for many organizations, she has served on several boards, including the The Seton Cove, Austin Children’s Museum, GENaustin, and American Youthworks.

Trained as a medical illustrator, she entered this world through 3-D computer visualization via her medical imaging work with the Visible Human Project at the National Library of Medicine. For five years, Katherine served as creative director at Engineering Animation, Inc., where she produced animations, illustrations and CD-ROMs for clients such as The Smithsonian, Time Warner, Merck, Glaxo, Hasbro and Mattel. Her direction on top-selling Barbie Magic Hairstyler CD-ROM lead to her next position as senior vice president of creative development at Girl Games, Inc., where she designed and produced original and licensed interactive entertainment products for teen girls. Just before starting Milkshake, Katherine worked on several films including the title sequence for Fight Club, and concept designs for The Cell and Minority Report.

Raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Katherine graduated from University of Michigan with a BFA in Fine Arts and a BGS in Zoology and earned an MA from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Biological and Medical Illustration.

Shannon Ratliff

Client Service Director

As Client Service Director, Shannon’s diplomacy and engaging style enable him to expertly serve the needs of our clients while managing the flow of communications and service delivery between clients and the Milkshake team. Shannon and his team serve as the primary point of contact for all client relationships. The client service team aims to provide expert guidance to our clients as well as being responsible for retention and growth of all client relationships.

As a leader in the organization, Shannon contributes to the growth of Milkshake through business development and strategic direction. His particular passion lies in guiding clients to brand strategies and expressions that connect individuals in communities for social change.

Shannon has broad experience working with both public and private sector clients in diverse fields such as renewable energy, financial services, technology networking, healthcare and local government. An Austin native, Shannon is actively involved in the community currently serving as a member of both the Austin Area Research Organization and the St. David's Foundation Community Health Access Committee.

Shannon graduated from Haverford College with a BA in Philosophy With Honors and earned a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.

Brian Auderer

Creative Director

Brian brings creative leadership to a mix of Milkshake’s clients including Whole Foods, Populous, Trek, National Cooperative Grocers Association, John Wayne Brands and the creation of LIVESTRONG. From listening for insights about brand truths, to concepting authentic, nontraditional expressions, Brian adeptly guides the creation of compelling design solutions.

Brian has over 15 years of design experience. Prior to joining Milkshake in 2003, he held design positions at Metrowerks Corp., University of Texas, Tocquigny Advertising and Design Edge, as well as doing freelance work for clients including Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top and Texas music landmark The Continental Club. His love of music and old cars led him to be a founding partner of the Lonestar Round Up, one of the largest traditional hot rod and custom car shows in the country.

Brian earned a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas.

Stephanie Leach

Account Director

As an Account Director, Stephanie handles key client accounts with precision, warmth, and best-of-class organization. Stephanie has a diverse background that spans design, project management and client services.

Early on as retail designer in Atlanta Stephanie focused on creating experiences that connected brand with sales. As a project manager she has worked on several corporate accounts including The Home Depot for whom she successfully oversaw the execution of multi-million dollar point of purchase campaigns. Her experiences also include unifying branding efforts for a national buying group of over 3,000 locally-owned appliance, electronics, bedding, home furnishings and floor covering stores.

Stephanie came to Milkshake from fd2s in Austin where she managed environmental graphic design projects for clients that included the health care industry, retail developments and civic projects. She leverages a keen understanding of both design and client relationships to facilitate lasting solutions.

Stephanie has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from The Georgia Institute of Technology.