meet our team
Steve Hardin has been the CEO of VIP since 2016. Before taking on his role at VIP, Steve served as President of Worldwide Photography from 2011-2016 and was the co-founder of Insta-Plak (IPI) from 1985-2011. A graduate of The Ohio State University and father of 3 children, Steve and his family have spent the last 15 years in Texas after his 40 years in Ohio. Steve is also a National board member for AIM and has helped raise over a million dollars for his beloved charity.
Steve Hardin
CEO
shardin@viprec.com
John Kampschroeder
Group CFO, Joy
john@joy.co
As the Director for WelcomeNewborn, Laura has a passion for working with photographers, developing and sharpening their craft. With over 10 years of professional photography experience and training, Laura has inspired team members to perform at a high level introducing new techniques, technology and procedures in the field. Her mentorship approach has yielded a high rate of retention with the photography team, which in turn has strengthened the consistency and integrity of the WelcomeNewborn brand. Laura’s relentless pursuit of the perfect newborn images brings excitement to the entire organization.
LAURA SWARR
Director of Newborn Division
lswarr@welcomenewborn.com
Dawn is a Skilled Business Development leader offering over 26 years of experience in the holiday photo industry with leading operations and enhancing revenue. She brings expertise in client acquisition and contract negotiation, along with excellent interpersonal communication, relationship-building, and team leadership abilities. She is result driven and proactive with a demonstrated record of accomplishment in meeting and exceeding sales and revenue objectives.
dawn Williams
Senior Account Executive
dwilliams@viprec.com
Mark Dzuris is a results driven professional with over 12 years of all encompassing experience in business and sales, and 8 years of management in the holiday photo industry. He prides himself on the ability to build strong teams with excellent communication skills which are used to foster long term, mutually beneficial partnerships. As a father of 6 children, Mark has made a personal commitment to spread the magical wonder of the season and to keep Santa very busy with future visits from children.
Mark Dzuris
Territory Director - North
mdzuris@viprec.com
(724) 456-1656
Brandi graduated from the University of North Texas, Denton and has close to 20 years experience in Sales, Marketing, and Management. From the office to trade shows to warehouses and everywhere in between, Brandi’s a true “Jill-of-all-trades.” Brandi embraces change and finds problems to solve. One of her largest challenges was organizing and arranging a nationwide meet-n-greet tour for her social media influencer daughter, Haley, to 15 major cities, which involved hundreds of fans buying tickets, merchandise creation and sales, music production, eCommerce website creation, logistics, and so much more. She is excited to contribute to VIP Recognition’s continued success with WelcomeNewborn and Holiday Photos in her home state of Texas.
Brandi morales
Territory Director - South and West
bmorales@viprec.com
(346) 366-8260
Ted started in the photography business at IPI (Insta-Plak) in 2000, and soon after in 2002, he and his wife opened a franchise with IPI in Wisconsin. Ted and Lisa continued with Event Photography Group/Iconic Group. They continued to service local clients with their photography services until moving to Houston in 2019 to help grow VIP Recognition.
TED KAUFFMANN
IT, Logistics & Customer Service Director
tkauffmann@viprec.com
(281) 656- 6821
Lisa Considine
Accounting Director
lconsidine@viprec.com
(281) 616-8018
With over 30 years of photography and management experience and 10 years in the holiday photo industry, Richard’s knowledge and leadership skills fuel his drive in providing unrivaled customer experiences. As the Director of Holiday Operations, Richard’s primary function is creating a team dedicated to bringing the magic of the holidays to our clients and our guests. With a focus on supporting employees and providing a top-notch work environment, he strives to help keep VIP the premiere holiday photography provider in the US.
RICHARD WARD
Senior Regional Manager - East Coast
rward@viprec.com
(412) 303-1701
With over 30 years experience in the photography field and over a decade specifically in the area of newborn photography management, Jenn has spent her career making sure that customers have lifelong memories of their newborn. Jenn enjoys working with a diverse group of enormously talented photographers where she focuses on improving techniques and problem solving for the team.
Jenn Klyver
HR Manager
jklyver@viprec.com
(224) 203-5527
Jake graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Marketing in 2019 and has been with VIP Recognition since that time. He started as a Marketing Associate and then ventured into a Regional Manager role for VIP Holiday Photo. Jake is now working on the business development and marketing side of our holiday photo division, with the main focus being our 'Santa's Village' style Santa sets. He is someone who loves working on improving ideas and operations within a business and truly enjoys finding new business opportunities and establishing relationships with clients.
Jake Hardin
Business Development Manager
jhardin@viprec.com
(419) 764-9979
Jennifer Roberts has been a leading role model in this industry for many years, but what brought her to VIP was her desire to make a difference in the lives of those around her. Jenn's utter devotion to providing the most memorable moments possible is not only meritorious, but it is also profoundly admirable. Her path to success has been arduous but that has never stopped her from launching herself forward into the possibility of MORE. As a regional manager, she has been instrumental in helping create future leaders in this field. The compassion and understanding that she treats each of her team with set her apart not just in this field but in many! The drive she exudes is exceeded only by her devotion to providing excellence while educating the next generation of upcoming photographers and managers.
Jenn Roberts
Regional Manager
jroberts@viprec.com
(610) 390-0031
As Training Manager, Makayla works alongside our Regional Managers and focuses on training our photographers to the WelcomeNewborn ways, Makayla currently works in her local hospital making sure our parents get top-notch service and beautiful photos. Since Makayla is in the hospital first hand, she is able to help our well- crafted team of photographers on honing in their talents, expanding their abilities and providing exceptional photos to parents nation-wide.
MAKAYLA MORRIS
Newborn Photography Training Manager
mmorris@welcomenewborn.com
(940) 368-3703
Jennie Reitan
Midwest Regional Manager
jreitan@welcomenewborn.com
Jenny has been part of the WelcomeNewborn Family since early 2017 and has loved every minute of it! Jenny has been interested in photography as far back as she can remember, dipping in dark rooms and never developing disposables. One of her favorite sounds in the world is a newborn cry as she prides herself in being able to soothe nearly every baby that she has had the honor to photograph. She loves the rain and long walks on the beach and hates matching socks. She takes an embarrassing number of pictures of her kids and the moon. She is excited to be leading the team in the Southeast and looks forward to many years to come.
JENNY SCHAAF
Southeast Regional Manager
jschaaf@welcomenewborn.com
(703) 944-4581
Terri started as a Newborn Photographer in Fairfax, VA in 2019. She relocated to PA in 2022 as her husband transitioned out of the Military, and was able to step up to the Northeast Regional manager position. She has always had an interest in photography, but initially started with landscapes, and photos of her children before moving into newborns. She misses working in the hospital dearly, as it was one of the most rewarding positions to have. It is not often that you get to experience the joy of new life with people during some of the most intimate moments in their lives. She is excited to continue to work with photographers behind the scenes, in order to make them the best they can be. The experience of our patients is a top priority.
TERRI WOJCIECHOWSKI
Northeast Regional Manager
twojciechowski@welcomenewborn.com
(253) 820-5599
Ayana Robert
Recruitment Specialist
arobert@welcomenewborn.com
Joann is a graduate of the Ohio State University and had a 20 year career working with children with special needs. Joann has been a team member at VIP Recognition since 2020. As the Office Manager and Assistant to the CEO, she is committed to supporting both the CEO and the office to ensure business is running efficiently.
JOANN CAUTIN
Office Manager/ Executive Assistant
jcautin@viprec.com
(281) 676-5222
Lisa has over 20 years of experience in the Event Photography business, including golf and corporate events and special occasions, such as working closely with the Native American community in a variety of settings. Lisa has also been instrumental in training and managing individuals in the holiday division that includes providing Santa Claus and Easter Bunny photos for major developers. Lisa has a mastery of the software and hardware systems used in event imaging. Lisa is currently the Production Manager for the Event division and the Warehouse Manager for VIP Recognition.
lisa kauffmann
Warehouse & Production Manager
lkauffmann@viprec.com
(281) 656- 6716
Jody has over 25 years of experience in the Photography Industry, previously working for suppliers and labs. She is joining us from where she most recently worked at Charley’s Angels Photography. There is where her previous experience and drive for excellence was welcomed. Her love for her job and Newborn Photography lead her to VIP Recognition in October of 2021 where she started in the Customer Service Department. Her strive to continue learning and her organizational skills have brought her to her current position of Assistant to the Director of Newborn Division where she takes personal pride in making any task more efficient. In her free time she loves camping with her family and quilting.
Jody Mullinix
Assistant to the Director of Newborn Division
jmullinix@welcomenewborn.com
(281) 849-9614
Devin Romero
Customer Service Manager
dromero@viprec.com
(832) 932-4448