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company : team
Laura Machanic Laura Machanic is president and CEO of New Target, Inc. A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Laura has been instrumental in New Target’s strong growth and success during the past four years. An entrepreneur with a marketing background, she also brings international perspective to the company. She was the founder of Travel Russia, Inc. and co-founder of Service Adventures, Inc., both operating in the former Soviet Union during the early 1990s. Much of New Target's success can be attributed not only to its technical expertise, but also to Laura’s unique ability to build long term relationships with the company’s diverse clients. Laura co-founded New Target in 1998 and has grown the company into Washington’s 14th largest Interactive Web Design Firm, as ranked by the Washington Business Journal. Laura has worked closely with clients such as American University, New York-based Spin and Vibe magazines, TicketMaster, the Inter-American Development Bank, Marriott, and multiple Washington-area associations. Collaborating on their Web strategies and initiatives, she brings marketing perspective and an integrated team approach to New Target projects. Laura is responsible for the overall strategy and execution of client projects, ensuring that the web solutions New Target delivers play an integral role in a client’s core marketing program and business processes. Laura ensures full accountability for every New Target project, including the availability of seasoned staff, the management of project budgets, and making certain the New Target team has all resources required to deliver award-winning web sites. Laura’s commitment to excellent customer service and the delivery of the highest-quality products and services are the driving factors of New Target’s approach. Laura is a graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut, and attended the University of Virginia for two years. She graduated from Barnard College at Columbia University in New York City with a degree in political science. She represents the fourth generation of entrepreneurs in her family. When not at the office, Laura might be skydiving in Australia, catching a show in New York with her mom, pursuing her newfound interest in swing or salsa dancing, or talking shop with her dad.
What our clients say about Laura:
“Laura, here’s a first: I just received your invoice and I can’t thank you enough! Your staff are terrific!” CTO/Director of Hosting Services A life long resident of the Washington D.C. area, Irve has spent most of his career in the computer industry. Joining IBM in 1973, Irve was instrumental in the rollout of the area’s first ATMs and grocery checkout scanner systems. The latter half of his tenure with IBM was spent in support of large mainframe installations. Irve was a three-time winner of the coveted IBM Means Service award. In 1994, Irve left IBM to jointly found Hub Internet Services in Arlington, Virginia. A regional, full service ISP, Hub Internet grew quickly with the new Internet until 2000 when the company was purchased by CAIS Internet of McLean, Virginia. Irve went on to manage the web hosting unit of CAIS and subsequently performed the same functions for Beyond the Network (BTN) when they purchased CAIS in mid 2001. Irve left BTN in 2002 to form his own web hosting and consulting business, TIC LLC. He joined New Target through the merger of TIC with New Target in March 2004. Throughout his three decades in the information technology arena, Irve has always kept one thing paramount, customer service and support. At New Target, Irve is responsible for further developing and managing the company’s hosting division and related assets, as well as the technical vision and direction for the company. His duties include the evaluation of client technical requirements, the provisioning of hardware and software for hosting environments, and directing New Target’s own internal technical processes. Irve enjoys the world of the Internet, computers, music, and movies. In addition, he is an avid gardener. He enjoys spending time with his wife of 33 years, his two children, and two grandchildren.
What our clients say about Irve Director of Operations/Senior Project Manager Komal joined New Target as a Director of Operations and Senior project manager. Originally from India, Komal began her career in London as a multimedia designer before moving to Washington D.C. to join Votenet Solutions. At Votenet, Komal started as a Senior Web Designer and worked her way up to be the Creative Director and Chief Technology Officer, with the IT department reporting to her. She was the primary force behind their product development and marketing initiatives. Komal has a degree in Fine Art, with a major in graphic design and advertising from Delhi College of Art in New Delhi, India. She received her post graduate degree in Communication Technology, specializing in Web/Multimedia from University of Groningen in Groningen, Netherlands. Her educational training provides an exceptional foundation that has enabled her to design web-sites for a diverse set of clients that include: trade associations, unions, elected officials, lobbying firms, corporate firms, government affairs offices and non-profit organizations. Justin StayrookManager, Application Development Justin Stayrook brings to New Target over seven years of professional experience in computer programming and web application development, as well as over five years managing web development projects and teams. A western Pennsylvania native and University of Pittsburgh graduate, Justin got his start as a materials engineer working in Maryland before moving to Washington, D.C. in 1999. Computer systems became his main interest when he worked as a systems and network administrator for the U.S. Government Printing Office. He developed and maintained a variety of internal computer networks and systems to facilitate the work of the department. Justin also worked as a web programmer for the U.S. Department of State where he served as a team lead for web development and operations. Before joining New Target, Justin was a senior manager for web development and operations for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. Justin’s career has exposed him to work in the government, government contractor, association, and consulting sectors. This broad experience allows him to understand the unique challenges that each type of organization may face when taking on large application development projects.
Elana Schaffer Elana has a diverse background in communications, including project management and strategic consulting. During her six years in marketing and public relations she has worked with a variety of businesses and organizations to advance their strategic goals through communications vehicles. She now brings this unique strategic marketing perspective to her New Target clients along with her organizational ability and drive to achieve excellent results on every project. After earning an undergraduate degree in communications and political science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Elana began her career at a public relations firm where she worked with a variety of clients including technology corporations, online retailers and investment bankers. She then went on to earn a Masters degree in public communication from American University. Her work since then has focused on marketing and public relations for non-profit organizations including managing web development projects and clients’ ongoing web maintenance needs. Through this experience, Elana brings to New Target clients not only knowledge of the web design and development process, but also the understanding of front-end user needs. Since coming to Washington from her home state of Massachusetts in 2002, Elana has grown to enjoy hiking the various trails in the D.C. metro area. She also enjoys many other outdoor activities and spending time with friends. Elana also loves animals and spends a great deal of time dog sitting for friends, neighbors and other people willing to share their pets when they head out of town.
Daniela Shuffler Daniela joined New Target as its new Client Services Manager. In this role, she provides another avenue of communication for our clients seeking answers and support. Daniela was born in San Salvador, El Salvador and moved to the United States shortly after. She graduated from the University of Virginia with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and Spanish literature and moved to Washington D.C. in 2003 to pursue a master’s degree in Media and Public Affairs from the George Washington University. Her graduate studies and thesis focused on the intersection of media and the Hispanic community. Before joining New Target, Daniela worked in communications for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, a professional association in D.C. She was responsible for the association’s web site, public communications and press releases, as well as its media research project. She brings varied experiences in association and non-profit work to our clients at New Target. Daniela is fluent in Spanish and enjoys a variety of hobbies. She recently moved to Alexandria and is enjoying being a resident of this city where she now lives and works. |