Sarah Edwards is a Contributing Writer at Awardco, where she creates insightful, research-driven content on employee recognition and rewards, engagement and retention, workplace culture, and HR technology. Her work explores strategies and tools that help HR leaders build stronger employee experiences, recognise great work, and keep their people engaged. Sarah is an experienced small business owner and holds a B.S. in Speech from Emerson College.

Ruth is an experienced digital content writer who specialises in employee experience and is also a true crime author. She cares deeply about helping to make workplaces more human – where employees are listened to, appreciated and rewarded.

When Ruth closes her laptop, she likes nothing better than visiting obscure medical museums and hanging out with her pet chickens.

Amanda Wowk is a freelance writer and data storyteller based in New York City. She has over 10 years’ experience writing research-backed, thought leadership articles for a wide range of clients in tech, travel, employee experience and mental health care.

Katie spent 17 years at J.P. Morgan, leading initiatives across Sales, Finance, and Employee Experience, and co-led Awardco’s rollout to 290,000+ employees, increasing recognition satisfaction by 17 percentage points. She’s known for aligning programme strategy with business needs through thoughtful design and change management.

A strategic, data-driven HR leader with over 15 years of experience, Kelly has led global HR transformation across manufacturing, retail, and other complex, deskless workforce environments. She has built and scaled talent, total rewards, and employee experience functions, connecting people strategy to measurable business outcomes. She brings this practitioner-led perspective to Awardco’s clients, helping them design and scale recognition strategies that drive engagement, retention, and performance across both corporate and frontline teams.

ShaNae McCleskey is the Director of Technical Account Services at Awardco, where she leads teams focused on delivering exceptional support to Awardco’s largest clients across the globe. Passionate about the intersection of people-first initiatives and technology, ShaNae excels at creating meaningful, sustainable solutions for companies seeking tech solutions to improve employee satisfaction. She is an active participant in Awardco’s Women’s ERG, Pride ERG, and a proud member of the company’s Centre of Excellence. Outside of work, ShaNae enjoys gardening and home DIY projects, spoiling her nieces and nephews, and watching documentaries with her 3 old dogs.

Nick Frazier is Senior Director of Client Success and Operations for Awardco EMEA, bringing years of operational expertise and global leadership to the Centre of Excellence. With a background in human resource management, data analytics, and over seven years at Awardco, Nick has played a pivotal role in scaling operations across regions.

His strategic oversight and cross-functional insight into client success operations help the COE deliver scalable, sustainable processes that meet the evolving needs of a global customer base.

A trusted expert in programme implementation and optimisation, Laura Shanley has led Awardco initiatives from the client side and now consults for multiple organisations navigating complex launches. With hands-on experience from Okta, DocuSign and Qualcomm, Laura brings unmatched insight into the nuances of R&R vendors and platform design. Her ability to build scalable, efficient programmes on tight timelines makes her an essential partner in delivering client success through the COE.

Christi Gilhoi is a member of Awardco’s Centre of Excellence and a seasoned employee experience executive with a passion for building people-first cultures rooted in strategy, data, and heart. With more than a decade of leadership across organisations like Qualcomm, Okta, and Cisco, Christi has designed global employee experience programmes that elevate engagement, spark belonging, and deliver meaningful results. Her work has driven double-digit increases in engagement scores, launched global recognition programmes, and built cultural playbooks that align with both business goals and human needs.

As a trusted voice in the HR space, Christi brings deep expertise in recognition, culture, and brand alignment—alongside a track record of translating strategy into action. From leading international initiatives at UC San Diego to transforming recognition at scale for 100,000+ employees, her cross-industry perspective and people-first mindset continue to drive innovation in today’s evolving workplace. Christi’s thoughtful leadership and ability to build equity-driven, scalable employee experiences make her a sought-after advisor, speaker, and change agent.

Sarah Marrs is a lead member of Awardco’s Centre of Excellence team, a group of practitioner experts advising some of the world’s largest organisations on managing and evolving their reward and recognition programmes. As part of her work, Sarah designs and conducts research on the impact of recognition on employee behaviour and subsequent organisational outcomes. She is completing her doctoral thesis in Evidence-Based HR at Birkbeck, University of London.

As an organisational psychologist, Sarah understands the principles of successfully motivating people at work. As a business leader, she understands the challenges associated with putting these principles into practice. Her work attempts to bridge this gap through well-designed solutions that find a balance between science and practicality.

Sarah has over 15 years of experience in organisational research, and prior to joining Qualtrics in 2015 held employee insights roles at Tesco, Hay Group, and Kenexa. Sarah is a member of the British Psychological Society and holds a Master’s degree in Work and Organisational Behaviour from Dublin City University.

A graduate of BYU-Idaho with a degree in Business Marketing and a specialism in Graphic and Web Design, Dillon blends creativity with strategic business acumen. Raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, alongside six brothers, Dillon developed a strong work ethic and a passion for bridging the gap between business and design. He is dedicated to bringing innovative solutions to his work, combining his love for working with people and his artistic talents to drive impactful product strategies.

Chantale Callingham is the Vice President of Client Success at Awardco and has over 12 years of leadership experience in HR technology. Prior to Awardco, she spent 5 years at O.C. Tanner, where she played a pivotal role in shaping their client success strategy and driving improved client satisfaction and retention. Chantale’s focus is on enhancing client retention and advancing strategic growth initiatives. She holds an MBA from the Australian Institute of Business and is passionate about putting clients first and driving business growth through exceptional service and support.

A keen runner who enjoys baking and yoga, Savannah is an extrovert who loves making every moment count through events and experiences. She is studying for a degree in Experience Design and Management and strives to put people at the heart of everything she does.

Allyson loves the outdoors, travelling the world, taking film photographs, watching films, scuba diving, and anything adventurous. She is currently working towards her degree in Digital Marketing.

Steve is the co-founder and CEO of Awardco. Since 2011, Steve has been hard at work reimagining the way we use technology to reward and recognise employees, and is passionate about driving change in the modern workforce.

An avid fan of fantasy books, a proud Hufflepuff, and a strong proponent of escapism, Jeff has a real passion for good storytelling. He relies on this for both his professional work and his writing hobby (don’t ask about the 10+ novel ideas gathering virtual dust on his computer).

Superhero nerd. Bookworm. Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast. Gryffindor. Bronson's background includes degrees in Psychology and Marketing, and he's passionate about the modern workplace experience and how to improve it.