Meet
Our Team
Get to know the folks who bend over backwards to help your guests have the time of their lives
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Jeff is no stranger to fundraising events, having participated in them for over 25 years. He ran his first fundraiser in 2005 and has managed over 50 auction events and fundraisers for his own charities, not to mention hundreds more with Handbid. Jeff has been involved in technical product and software development since 1996 and has built and managed mobile app solutions since 2008. When it became clear that he and his wife, Kari Porter, needed a better solution for their fundraisers, developing a mobile bidding app was a no-brainer. The result? Jeff and his wife Kari developed and launched Handbid in 2011. The rest is what they call “history”.
Kari probably has more auction management experience than anybody at Handbid, having managed her first auction for her son’s preschool in 2004. Back then, there were paper bid sheets, and “card on file” meant a carbon of your credit card stored in a manilla folder — yikes! When the Porters got started with their own fundraisers in 2005, Kari knew just what to do! Prior to being a full time mom, Kari was a software developer working for enterprises like American Management Systems and Sybase. After their daughter was born with Prader-Willi syndrome in 2002, Kari shifted gears to focusing on the house and kids. But that did not stop Jeff and Kari from starting up a charity in 2004 and running auction events. After helping start Handbid in 2011, Kari became “full time” in 2015. Leveraging her computer science background, Kari quickly helped complete and launch a new version of the platform. She also focused on automating most of the company’s operations, allowing it to remain lean and mean. Today, the team still refers to Kari as the “wizard behind the curtain.”

Jeff is no stranger to fundraising events, having participated in them for over 25 years. He ran his first fundraiser in 2005 and has managed over 50 auction events and fundraisers for his own charities, not to mention hundreds more with Handbid. Jeff has been involved in technical product and software development since 1996 and has built and managed mobile app solutions since 2008. When it became clear that he and his wife, Kari Porter, needed a better solution for their fundraisers, developing a mobile bidding app was a no-brainer. The result? Jeff and his wife Kari developed and launched Handbid in 2011. The rest is what they call “history”.

Kari probably has more auction management experience than anybody at Handbid, having managed her first auction for her son’s preschool in 2004. Back then, there were paper bid sheets, and “card on file” meant a carbon of your credit card stored in a manilla folder — yikes! When the Porters got started with their own fundraisers in 2005, Kari knew just what to do! Prior to being a full time mom, Kari was a software developer working for enterprises like American Management Systems and Sybase. After their daughter was born with Prader-Willi syndrome in 2002, Kari shifted gears to focusing on the house and kids. But that did not stop Jeff and Kari from starting up a charity in 2004 and running auction events. After helping start Handbid in 2011, Kari became “full time” in 2015. Leveraging her computer science background, Kari quickly helped complete and launch a new version of the platform. She also focused on automating most of the company’s operations, allowing it to remain lean and mean. Today, the team still refers to Kari as the “wizard behind the curtain.”

After traveling with Jeff and Kari to their kids’ gymnastics meets for years, Elise witnessed hundreds of service calls and thought, “I can do this!” With five years of event experience under her belt, Elise collaborates with the Handbid team and clients to bring charities’ visions to life. She loves helping nonprofits raise money for great causes! Elise enjoys watching clients engage their audience through gamification and deliver an exceptional guest experience. She also delights in the fact that Handbid was designed by fundraisers, for fundraisers. The team voted Elise the most likely Handbid staff member to win the Hunger Games. Why? Because her 4’10” frame can fit into the smallest of spaces!

Kristen spent over 10 years in the nonprofit industry, raising millions of dollars through hundreds of fundraising events and auctions for both the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She also worked in marketing for franchises like Burger King and Slim Chickens restaurants and is now able to combine her nonprofit event experience with her marketing experience. The icing on the cake is that she finally has a place to share all of her event “war stories” with people who understand! When she isn’t making the Handbid team dress in feather boas and silly glasses for a fun photo, Kristen is busy hosting a top 100 podcast. She also owns a college bar as well as a line of jewelry for cheer moms. As a result, she enjoys the occasional nap and mini emotional meltdown.

Elise found out about Handbid when she hired us for one of her charity fundraisers. After working as a staff person for a direct competitor, she saw the advantages of the Handbid platform and decided to join the team! Over the past six years, Elise has worked as an on-site expert at over 300 fundraising events. She has also organized and managed 15 events for her kids’ schools and other organizations in which she’s involved. Elise enjoys knowing that her everyday work has a positive impact on the world. Every Handbid client is working hard to make a difference, and nonprofit organizations simply warm her heart.

Lori has worked over a hundred events since joining Handbid in 2018. For Lori, the best part about working at Handbid is building a relationship with clients and helping them run a successful event from start to finish. Lori brings a sense of hospitality and understanding that helps every auction event run smoothly. Voted by the Handbid team as the coworker we’d most rather be stranded on a deserted island with… because she always knows exactly what to do! When she isn’t coaching clients, you can find Lori at the gym, playing in the women’s golf league, or cheering for her family during their various extracurricular sporting and music activities.

Matt has worked in software since 2017. Originally from San Francisco, CA, Handbid wooed Matt to Denver to join our Client Services team. As far as Matt is concerned, the best part about Handbid is the truly awesome people who care about the organization and its work. In Matt’s role, he leverages his service-oriented personality to care for Handbid customers and his co-workers. His favorite part of the job is using his product knowledge to solve customer problems. In his free time, Matt is the goalie for a semi-professional soccer team and coaches soccer for various age groups. His favorite team? Arsenal, of course. Rumor has it, he also enjoys singing out loud… but only when he’s sure he’s alone.

Diana has co-chaired school auctions and run Handbid events for over 8 years. In fact, Diana was a Handbid customer before she joined the sales team! As the longest tenured Handbid employee, Diana claims she has “seen it all” with regard to fundraising events. Diana is a healthy 50/50 combination of business and fun. She can offer both strategic and creative solutions to your events. Deploying her charming Southern accent, Diana likes to tell clients: “Y'all: There is a lot to do. But, we believe that your events should be fun! So, toss that confetti in the air and lets get to work. Her South Carolina charm also encourages clients to share much more with her than they might share with the rest of us! From Diana’s perspective, Handbid is a family and any prospect is a potential addition to it. Therefore, expect to talk about kids, recipes, the outdoors, and anything else a client fancies. The best part of Diana’s job is seeing the “Aha!” moments during demos with prospective clients.

A budding auctioneer who hails from a famous auctioneer family, Justin loves meeting with people from different organizations and learning what they have planned for their event. He also enjoys collaborating with clients to make their event the best it can be. For Justin, one of the best things about Handbid is how it helps you organize and excel in your event. He also likes seeing the Handbid team’s event expertise in action. As far as Justin is concerned, his colleagues' knowledge of the fundraising space far and away exceeds what’s on offer from other mobile bidding platforms.

Stefanie began her IT career at Pratt & Whitney. She also worked for the hospitality technology startup EZYield (now TravelClick). Later, after witnessing the positive impact of technology for her daughter, who suffers from a chronic illness, Stefanie went to work for Ava, a company that developed a live-captioning solution for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. These experiences left Stefanie with a passion for the causes she believes in, which led her to Handbid. Here, she helps lots of people raise more money for lots of important causes! At Handbid, Stefanie enjoys helping clear a path toward success for clients and teammates from behind the scenes. She finds helping clients host better events to be immensely rewarding. When she isn’t hard at work at Handbid, you can find Stefanie indulging her guiltiest pleasure: watching reality TV!