Our Team
ThinkShout helps progressive organizations achieve their goals through the use of the Internet by leveraging web and open source technologies. We treat our business and nonprofit clients as partners. Our motivation comes from knowing that they make the world a better place.
ThinkShout was founded in June of 2009 by partner Sean Larkin. Soon after, Sean began working closely with Lev Tsypin, a successful entrepreneur, senior engineer, and founder of Level Online Strategy, a company with a similar focus he’d been running since 2004. After completing a number of high-impact projects together, Sean and Lev realized how much more impact they could have as a team and Lev came on board officially as a partner in ThinkShout in January of 2011. Andrea Burton, an amazing user experience engineer and project manager, was brought on as ThinkShout's first full time employee in May 2011. In August, 2011, ThinkShout welcomed Drupal engineer, Brandon Lee.
We approach our work knowing that no two projects are the same, but that with an open source mindset, we can collectively build better tools. We look for solutions that most closely match each client’s unique requirements. We start by defining the problem and evaluating all options, then implement the best-suited solution. Our borrow >> buy >> build approach ensures a high-value, high-quality solution. While we do claim technology agnosticism, the right choice for most projects as of late is Drupal, the leading open source content management system available. (Alright, that statement is subjective, but we are far from alone in our thinking, just ask the President.)
Partner - Senior Engineer
Lev Tsypin (levelos on Drupal.org) is a senior engineer and co-owner of ThinkShout, Inc. Lev leads our technical design, as well user interface and module development. In addition to his leadership at ThinkShout, Lev is the founder and principal at the highly-respected consultancy, Level Online Strategy, here in Portland, OR.
Lev has twelve years of experience in the Internet field. In the 1990's he worked as a consultant with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) and Inforte Corporation in Chicago. Before starting Level OS, he served as the Director of Programming at Pop Art, Inc.
When not working to help organizations through technology, Lev likes to take advantage of the areas they protect, be it on foot, skis, or bike. At least when he's not wrapped up with his 2 boys, which isn't very often these days!
Partner - Front End Engineer & Project Manager
Sean (seanberto on Drupal.org) brings over ten years of diverse leadership and technical consulting experience to the team. He has been working with the best and brightest software engineers and designers in the Drupal community for the past five years. He has led national community organizing initiatives and international relief projects, served as a fundraising strategist for environmental groups worldwide, and run two open source software consultancies specializing in Drupal development. He holds a master of public administration (MPA) degree from Syracuse University's Maxwell School.
Outside of work, Sean is an avid whitewater enthusiast, certified kayaking instructor, raft guide and whitewater videographer. He has been a long-time advocate and supporter of river conservation organizations such as River Network and Waterkeeper Alliance.
User Experience Engineer
Andrea (abelb on Drupal.org) has over ten years experience in all facets of software and web development and has worked as a project manager, graphic designer and a software developer. She's found her sweet spot in user experience and front-end design. She is also an expert Drupal technologist and themer and helps lead our requirements gathering processes.
Previous to working for ThinkShout, Andrea worked as a user experience developer for Meedan, a non-profit based in San Francisco that specializes in Arabic - English translation on the web. While at Meedan, she performed user research, provided design and project managed various multilingual social media projects. At Meedan, she also gained extensive experience in understanding the user experience of Drupal internationalization, localization and translation management.
Software engineer
Brandon (bleedev on Drupal.org) cut his teeth on Drupal and nonprofit technology building a television content distribution system for Portland Community Media. In addition, he has over ten years experience in enterprise software development.
Brandon says that he joined the ThinkShout team because he wanted to be part of a community of developers with a passion for open source and a commitment to best practices. Outside of work, Brandon is active in community theater and is focused on starting a family here in Portland, OR.
Brandon does not enjoy living on submarines.
Software Engineer
Tauno (tauno on Drupal.org) has over a dozen years of web development experience ranging from running his own consulting firm to working for the University of Oregon. In his consulting practice, he has worked with a wide variety of small businesses and non-profits in the outdoor and tourism industries. At the University of Oregon, Tauno had the opportunity to help develop a complex Drupal-based online learning platform for language teachers.
With a degree in Natural Resources Planning & Interpretation and a passion for the outdoors, Tauno enjoys getting out as much as possible by boat, bike, or foot.