Our Team

Mike Sperry, Partner, Creative Director

Mike’s first love was design. But after completing his studies in Graphic Design and Fine Art at the University of Washington, he parlayed his creative skills into a career in advertising.

Over the next three decades, Mike has been equal parts wrist and brain behind award-winning design, art and creative direction for agencies small and large, clients local and global in Portland, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco. Mike’s portfolio includes traditional, digital and direct for Nike, Henry Weinhard, Schwab, Intel, VeriFone, Sun, Sprint, National Semiconductor, Dell, Tandem Computers, Digital Equipment Corporation and Techtronix, among many others.

Well before the masses, Mike and a partner founded a branded content firm where they executed innovative work for Fireman’s Fund, Skyy Vokda, the Reno/Sparks Convention & Visitor Authority and Pinnacle Systems. Mike is an amateur photographer and filmmaker, and most recently an uncontrollable blogger in the form of his alter-ego, the die-hard Chicago Cubs super-fan, Joe Schlombowski.

Mike has a strong belief in the business advantages to be gained through great design, and approaches marketing with the conviction that it should be completely integrated, customer-driven, wholly interactive, and distinct. As Creative Director and mentor to his teams, Mike shares his fanatical commitment to strategy as well as his passion for all things beautiful.

Mike Litchfield, Senior Writer

Mike’s writing career began in an 1826 school-house in Vermont. His favorite tool wasn’t a pen or a computer but a sledgehammer, whose great grunting arcs resolved in satisfying explosions of horsehair plaster and wood lath. He was demolishing its walls, and in the process of renovating that old post-and-beam beauty, reinventing himself.

Never having built (or unbuilt) anything himself, he began haunting lumberyards and hardware stores, hoping the guys behind the counters would answer his questions. They did, and he listened. And learned. In fact, not long after completing the schoolhouse, he landed a contract for a first book on home renovation and helped launch Fine Homebuilding magazine.

Mike’s entry into advertising was similar. With the high tech boom just beginning, he moved to the Bay Area needing something to do. Although he was innocent of any advertising experience, he was hired by a creative director who figured that if he could write about houses, he could probably figure out technology. His first accounts were Memorex and Microsoft, three years before it went public. Banks, beer and biotech followed and before long, he was working at some of the best agencies in San Francisco and New York, on accounts like Intel, IBM, HP, Sun Microsystems, Dell, Compaq, National Semiconductor, Tandem Computers, Digital Equipment Corporation and Quantum.

Reema Vyas, Communication Strategy

Reema brings 20+ years in senior Strategic Planning experience from top advertising agencies in New York and San Francisco including McCann, TBWA/Chiat/Day, Ogilvy, and Deutsch. She was co-head of the McCann SF Strategy and Planning department and oversaw strategy for the entire Microsoft business. She has worked across a broad range of categories including technology, healthcare, packaged goods, retail and liquor.

Reema looks to fuse art and science to inspire simple yet sophisticated ideas that transform businesses and enrich people’s lives. Her efforts have brought clarity and humanity to brands such as HP, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Pfizer’s Zryrtec, Zoloft and Aricept, Publisher’s Clearing House; Grand Marnier, and Lenscarfters among many others.

Reema’s believes that exacting research combined with sharp instincts, intuition and a keen interest in the human condition are vital to effect in-market results. She graduated from Colgate University with a dual degree in Chemistry and Philosophy/Religion.

Michael Bettendorf, Senior Writer

Michael began his career at a small advertising agency in Miami called Crispin Porter + Bogusky, where he worked as a copywriter on accounts including The Miami Herald, Royal Crown Cola and the Florida Marlins.

Four years later he joined J. Walter Thompson/San Francisco to work on the agency’s signature California Lottery account, and Sprint Telecommunications, working on numerous occasions with Sprint spokeswoman Candice Bergen and helping Sprint become a powerhouse in the telecom industry.

For the next decade Michael worked at McCann-Erickson as a leader on the Microsoft account, working directly with Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and other top Microsoft executives on multiple projects while specializing in creating Microsoft communications for enterprise audiences including I.T., Software Developer, and C-Suite customers.

Since 2009, Michael has been a freelance creative consultant at One Degree, Wieden + Kennedy, Twitter, Salesforce, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, JWT/NY, and other leading agencies and companies across the country. Throughout his career he has worked to elevate top-tier brands including P&G, Chevrolet, Bloomberg Media, Apple, and Nest.

Erica Kozocas, Production Manager

When it comes to production, Erica rules the universe. She began her career in traffic, but in 20+ years has worked her way up the ranks of the agency business, eventually becoming a partner in one of them. She has been a part of many award-winning campaigns and plays a key, collaborative role on the One Degree team.

Perhaps most notable is Erica’s can-do attitude, ensuring successful ensuring successful outcomes on projects that might otherwise not see the light of day. One year, to promote Mpact!, a new product from Chromatic Research, she created 10-foot exclamation points and had them bolted to the roofs of custom painted Las Vegas taxi cabs during Comdex.

Erica’s work includes countless print campaigns, collateral pieces, direct mail, promotional items, trade show exhibits, POP/POS and permanent displays. She brings a vast network of time-tested partners, allowing her to choose the ideal vendor for each project, whether it’s a tiny non-profit or as large as HP, Sun, Coors, GM, P&G, Disney, Allstate, Bank of America, Visa, IHOP or Blimpie.

Brent Westberg, Digital and Rich Media Designer

Brent has invested his entire career in interactive design. He was the first international student to gain admission to the prestigious European Superior School of Arts and the Technologies of the Image (E.E.S.A.T.I) in Poitiers, France, where he studied interactive visual concepting for a year before graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in Fine Arts and Visual Design.

He entered his professional life at a mid-sized creative agency in the early ‘00s. In the subsequent 16 years he has been an independent creative, applying his keen eye and experience to help build creative departments at a pair of web design startups. In addition to One Degree, Brent has worked for a number of agencies in the Pacific Northwest, including Swift Collective, HAVAS Edge, and Razorfish. His passion for digital is broad and he has been involved in designing websites, interactive demos, and online ad campaigns for brands such as Fisk Alloy, Intel, HP, Tektronix, Best Buy, Netflix, Beats by Dr Dre, Microsoft, Windows Phone 8, xBox, Bing, AT&T, Nike, Holland America Cruise lines, and Starbucks.