Elsie Kellerman, CFO
Elsie was truly in at the beginning when she and Richard and Paul started the company in 1977. She has mostly been involved in the financial end but did her share of building Cox-Box units in her basement in Webster, NY. Accounting progressed from a big red account ledger, to records kept on computers that would be laughable now, to a home-grown multiuser Fox-Base system to Mas 200. In 2008 semi-retirement will allow her to spend a lot more time with gardening and riding 2 horses and judging dressage.
Kate Kelly, Office Manager Extraordinaire
Kate Kelly has been at NK since 2001 and keeps the office running smoothly. She was first lured to NK by her niece (a former NK employee) and since then has handled just about every task this hectic office can dish out. Kate likes to garden, go to the movies and has two great kids, two cats and a bipolar parakeet.
Rick Plavcan, Senior Electrical Engineer
Rick joined the NK engineering staff in 2004. He has a BS in electrical engineering and computer science from Drexel University. Life before NK included (among other projects) designing high frequency satellite electronics for RCA/GE and developing optical parts recognition hardware for Moore Push-Pin Co. When Rick came on as a Designer Engineer at NK, he took on our most ambitious project to date – the SpeedCoach XL, and two years later it was released to rave reviews. When not working odd hours at NK, Rick and his wife Angela can be found chasing around their houseful of pets.
Alix Kocher, General Manager
Alix’s first job with Nielsen-Kellerman was soldering CoxBox boards in the Kellerman basement as a senior in high school (founder Richard Kellerman is her step-dad). Since her solder joints rarely met Paul Nielsen's standards, she headed off to Yale University where she began rowing, winning the Sprints on the Varsity Crew and participating in development camp. Penn Law School, marriage and a move to the West Coast intervened in her rowing career. After practicing law in California for three years, she stepped off-track for motherhood and returned to working for NK in advertising and marketing. Fourteen years later, she's assisted with many facets of the growth of NK and Kestrel, and now is the General Manager. When she's not working or traveling for NK, she can be found with her family (husband Bruce and two boys), in her Empacher single, or on the back of a horse trying to master the intricacies of dressage.
Frank Biller, Rowing Sales Manager
“Swiss Frank”, born and raised in Switzerland, joined NK in 2005 and is responsible for the sales of all rowing and timing products. Frank has been rowing for nearly 20 years and is an active masters rower and coach at Vesper Rowing Club. After receiving his MBA from Drexel University, he decided to stay in the area and marry a fellow rowing enthusiast who shares his passion for the sport. Frank enjoys talking rowing, hockey and has a love for food, wine, and good company.
Mary Giovanetti, Kestrel Customer Service Representative
Mary joined the NK staff in early 2007 looking for a change of career from her 10 years in Automotive Sales. She handles all Kestrel order processing and customer relations. She’s been married to her husband Joe for 26 years, and they have two children, Joe (25), and Jennifer (22). When not helping customers with their Kestrel purchases, she loves to travel and try new things. (She recently had her first ATV experience in the Hills of Mexico's Baja.) Mary enjoys reading, watching the Philadelphia Eagles, and spending summer weekends at her beach house in Cape May, NJ.
Christy Munding, New Business Development
Christy joined NK in 2004, after doing a summer internship at NK while attending Syracuse University. Christy is responsible for New Business Development and Marketing initiatives. After earning her undergraduate degree in Business and Entrepreneurship from Syracuse, Christy pursued her love of travel and other cultures and spent a year in Shanghai, China teaching English to primary school students. After a brief stint with Octagon Sports Marketing, driving the new BMW X3 around the country to promote the product, Christy joined the NK team full time. She holds a M.B.A from St. Joseph's University in International Business. Christy has a passion for travel, enjoying friends and family, sustainable business initiatives, and trying to convince anyone and everyone that they need a Kestrel.
Katie Horn, Sales Manager
Katie joined the NK team as the Kestrel Sales Manager in 1999 after graduating from Temple University. A four year coxswain for the Temple women’s crew, Katie continued to coach rowing after graduation and through a rowing contact was offered the job at NK. Selling wind meters sounded just odd enough for her, so she joined the NK team.
Katie works with dealers from all over the world and is constantly on the road traveling to trade shows and learning about the many ways our customers use their Kestrels. Through her customers, she’s become a certified Wildland Firefighter (thanks to the Colorado Wildfire Academy); has taken multiple hang gliding flights (thanks to Kitty Hawk Kites); has shot many big guns (thanks to Special Agent Jin Kim); and gone skydiving (thanks to Sky Dive New Jersey) – just to name a few adventures!
In Katie’s spare time she coaches high school rowing and has won medals in three World Championships as a drummer for the USA Dragonboat team. She is constantly being followed closely by Dazey, her SPCA mutt, who gets to come to the office and boathouse everyday.
Michael Naughton, Product Manager
Since Michael’s start at NK in 1995, he’s had many jobs including manufacturing, sales, marketing and product development. He’s finally settled into his current position of Product Manager where he has had a hand in developing just about every product we currently sell.
Raised in Philadelphia, Michael started his rowing career at La Salle College High School, and continued to row at the University of Miami. He took up sculling while pursing his masters from Cal Berkeley, and after graduation moved back to Philadelphia to continue sculling at Undine Barge Club. He picked up a part-time job at NK to fill the time between practice, and had no idea that it would turn into a career! Meanwhile, he raced at Undine for seven years then switched to coaching in 2004. “To say rowing has been good to me would be an understatement. I've had the chance to row on 5 continents, see most of Europe on behalf of NK, and make some very good friends along the way.” Michael and his wife Monika’s family grew in 2006 with the addition of a French bulldog, Morris, and their son, Max.
Maureen Cummings, Customer Service Representative
Maureen has been with NK since 2003 and is one of the friendly voices you’ll hear when calling NK. An avid volleyball player, Maureen has done an excellent job making the transition to rowing, and has become quite the expert on boat configuration and setup.
Maureen graduated from WCU and coached women’s and girls volleyball for 16 years until her children’s activities took priority. She has 2 sons and a daughter who keep she and her husband entirely too busy, not to mention an “indecent” number of cats! “I love the people here at NK, and have enjoyed working with college and high school coaches in a sport that requires oars and not nets!”
Jamila Vaughan, Graphic Designer & Website Manager
Jamila came to NK in the beginning of 2007 because it looked like a great place to work. Since starting here, our website has gone through dramatic improvements, and in the words of President Richard Kellerman: “We look like a real company!” Jamila is interested in redecorating and landscaping, and does volunteer education work and studies Spanish in her spare time.
Scott Wynn, Marketing and Brand Manager
Scott joined the NK team in the spring of 2008 after working the previous nine years as a Marketing & Advertising manager in the motorcycle industry. He is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys; skiing, fishing, golf, lacrosse, scuba diving, and racing his dirt bike.
He spends most of his spare time now a days taking care of his 2 young boys Carter (4), Mason (3) and his golden retriever “Only” (35 - in dog years). He is originally from Abington, PA and currently lives in Hatboro. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1989 with a degree in Advertising Design. Scott has some very big shoes to fill at NK, but is looking forward to the challenge.
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