Who We Are
MEET QUIRK
It's no surprise we do things a little differently at Quirk.
We are a woman-owned agency in an industry that is 99.9% not.
We believe that multiplicity of perspective and experience makes for better communication and stronger brands.
We believe that, done correctly, advertising can propel society forward.
We believe the ad industry has a long way to go, and we believe we have a hand in shaping it.
Meryl has spent time at iconic agencies and fast growing start-ups. She began her career in public relations at MSLGROUP, working with clients including Cisco and Blackboard before joining Ogilvy & Mather where she oversaw IBM's advertising campaigns across 25+ global markets. Prior to founding Quirk Creative, Meryl built ad tech, start-up 6sense's brand from the ground up, helping secure $32 million in funding.
She has been named in the Adweek Creative 100, The Drum 50 under 30, and has led Quirk to be recognized as Inc's Fastest Growing Companies (2019) and Adweek's Fastest Growing Agencies (2019). Meryl has been published in outlets including Forbes, Huffington Post and MediaPost.
Meryl Draper
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Gaelan directs video ad campaigns and oversees the creative team for our clients. He directed the international live-action film, "Blood, Sand and Gold" (2017 theatrical release). He has directed campaigns for Walmart, Western Union, Daily Harvest, WordPress and others. His work has received awards including REGGIE - National Consumer Campaign, IAC - Outstanding Online Video, and W3 - Integrated Campaign, to list a few.
Gaelan Draper
Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer
Born in Guadalajara, México, Miguel was raised in Mexico City. He has always been a fan of visual storytelling. Such love made him get his bachelor degree in film production with a specialization in audio post and music composition for media. Prior to Quirk, he worked as a sound designer for almost ten years designing and editing audio for film, TV, videogames and more; which helped a lot on his transition back into the video post world.
In his spare time Miguel loves watching sci-fi movies, spending time with his lovely twin sons and family and playing his guitar as loud and as distorted as possible.
In his spare time Miguel loves watching sci-fi movies, spending time with his lovely twin sons and family and playing his guitar as loud and as distorted as possible.
Miguel Aguirre
Editor
Born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Jorge began his career with a role on Video Editing at a content agency in Mexico City. When not immersed in the world of pixels and timelines, Jorge is a wanderer at heart. His love for travel has taken him to various corners of the globe, experiencing different cultures and landscapes. These adventures not only provide a break from the editing desk but also serve as a wellspring of inspiration, influencing his editing style and bringing a unique perspective to each project.
David Almendares
Editor
Hailing originally from the PNW but hoping to be considered a true NY'er by now, Nikki began her career in indie films & music videos and has spent the last 15 years honing her production skills on everything imaginable. She can even claim to have worked on the original first seasons of Chopped - which still thrills most people to learn about. With over 7 years experience at agencies and producing branded content, Nikki enjoys the creativity, fast pace and team collaboration of advertising. In her spare time, she loves being a fun Mom to her son, catching live shows and traveling.
Nikki Ahmed
Supervising Producer
Angela Campos is a Senior Art Director who's made a career of elevating products and brands. She's woven intrigue and playful narratives into work for Marc Jacobs Beauty, V Magazine, Bliss, & The Hollywood Reporter, etc. Her work has also been featured in AP30 and as part of a group show at the MFA in Boston. In 2019, she got certified in UX Design, exploring the interplay of creativity, human psychology and technology. Angela Campos- Cuban born. Florida raised. NYU educated. Resident of NYC.
Angela Campos
Senior Art Director
Chai is a passionate artist born in Puebla, Mexico. Intrigued by cartoons and videogames, he found his passion in the visual development of these productions. Formed as an animator, he is fascinated by trying all the possible tools as long as it gets an astonishing result. His motto is: If you want what few have, you gotta make what few are willing to do.
His spare time is mostly taking care of tons of plants, reading art books and petting Paca the tortoise.
His spare time is mostly taking care of tons of plants, reading art books and petting Paca the tortoise.
Jorge Chavez
Animator & VFX Artist
Born and raised on the Jersey Shore, Joanna began her advertising career in a hybrid role of Account Manager and Producer at a content agency, where she handled the planning and organization of dozens of shoots. Her favorite aspect of that role was developing client relationships / spending time with clients on set, which led her to join the Quirk team as a Senior Account Executive.
Joanna holds a BA in Advertising & PR from Penn State. When she's not on set, you can find her on the beach with a good book or watching live music with friends.
Joanna holds a BA in Advertising & PR from Penn State. When she's not on set, you can find her on the beach with a good book or watching live music with friends.
Joanna Costa
Account Supervisor
Emily is a Copywriter and New Jersey transplant. Emily began her career at mcgarrybowen New York where she worked on a range of clients like Audible, Burt's Bees, Subway, Northrop Grumman, and Crayola. In 2017, she even got the honor of retiring a crayon color (RIP Dandelion), which earned her a Reggie Award. When she's not dreaming up ads, Emily writes sketch comedy at the UCB Theater.
Emily Draper
Commercial Director
Hector is a writer, director, and editor born and raised in Mexico’s Not-So-Wild West. From a young age he found a passion for photography and storytelling which later developed into making short films and scripts. He attended New York Film Academy’s intensive 1-year film conservatory in Manhattan, NY, and later moved to Los Angeles to obtain his BFA at the Burbank Campus. During his formative years he honed his writing and directing skill set, specializing in directing actors.
Thanks to the pandemic he was able to learn and appreciate the nomadic lifestyle, thus working in creative projects like music videos, commercials, and TV-series in cities like Mexico City (Mexico), Brooklyn (USA), Jakarta (Indonesia), and Bahrain (UAE). A vinyl LP’s collector, film photography enthusiast, and Oxford comma user, Hector is a dog dad, an avid fan of art in all its forms, as well as a meditation and fitness aficionado.
Hector Magana
Editor
2D - Animator and storyboard artist
Multimedia designer with a former career as 2d character animator through Mexican animation studios working for international streaming and tv productions. He resolve math problems at morning, drinks cocoa and does bouldering the weekends.
Multimedia designer with a former career as 2d character animator through Mexican animation studios working for international streaming and tv productions. He resolve math problems at morning, drinks cocoa and does bouldering the weekends.
Víctor Pereyra
Animator & VFX Artist
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico (just like our sister agency), Chris currently lives in Brooklyn and has worked in the industry since graduating from Florida State University (capsule review: he majored in Marketing, Professional Sales, plus French, oh là là). Hot off the presses, Chris has been shortlisted for Campaign US, "Account Person of the Year"!
Chris combines keen attention to detail with genuine care for his clients. He started his career in B2B and managed the fully-integrated campaign for the debut of Spectrum Enterprise, upon the merger of Time Warner with Bright House Networks. After pivoting to consumer advertising, Chris has managed possibly every vertical. With his skills in the art of strategic and effective video advertising, he's increased engagement with Disney Princesses and converted users for Daily Harvest.
When he isn't at work, on set, or tending to his many house plants, you can probably find him at his local Bushwick bar fangirling over his favorite drag queen on stage (pre-COVID).
CHRIS QUESADA
Account Director
Born and raised in Guadalajara, México. Bernardo's passion for computers began in his childhood as he used to animated simple games at the age of ten. He studied Animation and Digital Art specialized in Audiovisual Production. After that he start working on Videns, Quirk's partner company. At Videns he has coordinated the team of VFX and Motion Graphics for 9 years, as he is the connection between the Post Production team.
When he is not animating, you can find him traveling, playing football, watching TV series or Movies and listening music.
When he is not animating, you can find him traveling, playing football, watching TV series or Movies and listening music.
Bernardo Ramirez
Animator & VFX Artist
Queens native Annmarie Stec holds a BA in TV & Radio, and has worked hundreds of freelance production jobs across the country. She started her Quirk career as a Production Assistant, and steadily worked her way up to Producer thanks to her innate knack for making things run on time. An avid TV and movie watcher, she regularly beats the rest of the office at pop culture trivia. She speaks fluent Polish and is learning French.
ANNMARIE STEC
Producer
A native Floridian with a love for the sweltering heat, Kim received her BS in Advertising at the University of Florida. She's an avid Florida Gators fan and you can find her cheering them on every Saturday during football season.
As Managing Director, Kim brings to Quirk Creative a keen sensibility for brands who need to do much more than tell a story, but move products and create real customer relationships.
She has worked across account management and business development departments at agencies such as Badger & Winters, ROKKAN, Pereira & O'Dell, JWT, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
She has worked across account management and business development departments at agencies such as Badger & Winters, ROKKAN, Pereira & O'Dell, JWT, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
Kim Svarney
Managing Director
Isabella is a Los Angeles native turned Brooklyn tenant who loves bringing joy and color to everything she does. Starting her career in design, Isabella has worked on everything from creating social AR filters for a canned wine company to working on large scale commercials starring Keegan Michael-Key and Marie Kondo.
With a history of designing and art directing at agencies like RAPP, Omelet, and Refinery Creative, Isabella brings experience working on brands like Walmart, Google, Toyota, Asana, DrinkBev, and Princess Cruise Line. In her spare time, you can catch her exploring New York and learning new art hobbies, including her current obsession: crocheting a winter hat.
Isabella Teague
Art Director
Ariel has been editing TV and digital ads at Quirk since 2017. She works closely with all aspects of post production, from color correction to sound design and animation to ensure all of our video dreams come to life. Prior to that she was part of a filmmaking team at Google called YouTube Director where she worked hands-on with dozens of small businesses to help them stand out.
Her love for video advertising began in her youth when she found commercials on TV far more entertaining than kids shows. By age 11, she and her brother would create ads with their family camcorder about random items they found around the house in Madrid, Spain, where she grew up.
Her favorite part of editing is finding the magical details that evoke that emotional spark for the viewer. When she's not cutting away at her editing bay, Ariel enjoys riding her bike around Brooklyn, hiking in the Catskills, and being the proud mother of two cats and one tiny human.
ARIEL UTIN
Commercial Director | Senior Editor
Chris is a Copywriter who hails from the distant land of Idaho. In early 2021, he packed his bags and moved to Brooklyn. Back in Boise (that's in Idaho), Chris cut his teeth working with a local advertising agency on regional brands and a few national brands like Blue Diamond Almonds, PATH, Funko, and Boeing.
Chris is a pop culture-loving, rootin'-tootin' westerner who's not really into cowboy or outdoorsy stuff. He does, however, love to write. That writing sometimes turns into an ad for a client, and other times it becomes a short film script or a comic book idea. He also writes and hosts the New York-based, pop culture podcast, G-Splash.
Chris Watts
Commercial Director
Always curious about the anatomy of a show, Melique is a natural fit for the work of Producing. A proud Bronxite, Melique hails from the South Bronx and uses the rich cultural influences of his community to inform his approach. After graduating from City College studying Media and Communications, Melique has worked at startups and corporations in commercial/short-form promos most notably for Nickelodeon and more recently live stream shows and events across several modalities where one of the most incredible moments of his life happened when Robert Downey Jr. asked for a tour of his living room on a zoom production call! (C’mon!). Melique’s projects have taken him across the country and to Europe which aligns perfectly with his love for travel. When he isn’t on set you can find Melique with a Gin Martini, dining out with friends, enjoying a peaceful night of watching true crime documentaries when his husband falls asleep, or spending time with their dog Max who often goes uncredited as his office paw-duction assistant.
Melique Williams-Rodríguez
Producer
Meryl has spent time at iconic agencies and fast growing start-ups. She began her career in public relations at MSLGROUP, working with clients including Cisco and Blackboard before joining Ogilvy & Mather where she oversaw IBM's advertising campaigns across 25+ global markets. Prior to founding Quirk Creative, Meryl built ad tech, start-up 6sense's brand from the ground up, helping secure $32 million in funding.
She has been named in the Adweek Creative 100, The Drum 50 under 30, and has led Quirk to be recognized as Inc's Fastest Growing Companies (2019) and Adweek's Fastest Growing Agencies (2019). Meryl has been published in outlets including Forbes, Huffington Post and MediaPost.
Meryl Draper
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Gaelan directs video ad campaigns and oversees the creative team for our clients. He directed the international live-action film, "Blood, Sand and Gold" (2017 theatrical release). He has directed campaigns for Walmart, Western Union, Daily Harvest, WordPress and others. His work has received awards including REGGIE - National Consumer Campaign, IAC - Outstanding Online Video, and W3 - Integrated Campaign, to list a few.
Gaelan Draper
Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer
Hailing originally from the PNW but hoping to be considered a true NY'er by now, Nikki began her career in indie films & music videos and has spent the last 15 years honing her production skills on everything imaginable. She can even claim to have worked on the original first seasons of Chopped - which still thrills most people to learn about. With over 7 years experience at agencies and producing branded content, Nikki enjoys the creativity, fast pace and team collaboration of advertising. In her spare time, she loves being a fun Mom to her son, catching live shows and traveling.
Nikki Ahmed
Supervising Producer
Angela Campos is a Senior Art Director who's made a career of elevating products and brands. She's woven intrigue and playful narratives into work for Marc Jacobs Beauty, V Magazine, Bliss, & The Hollywood Reporter, etc. Her work has also been featured in AP30 and as part of a group show at the MFA in Boston. In 2019, she got certified in UX Design, exploring the interplay of creativity, human psychology and technology. Angela Campos- Cuban born. Florida raised. NYU educated. Resident of NYC.
Angela Campos
Senior Art Director
Born and raised on the Jersey Shore, Joanna began her advertising career in a hybrid role of Account Manager and Producer at a content agency, where she handled the planning and organization of dozens of shoots. Her favorite aspect of that role was developing client relationships / spending time with clients on set, which led her to join the Quirk team as a Senior Account Executive.
Joanna holds a BA in Advertising & PR from Penn State. When she's not on set, you can find her on the beach with a good book or watching live music with friends.
Joanna holds a BA in Advertising & PR from Penn State. When she's not on set, you can find her on the beach with a good book or watching live music with friends.
Joanna Costa
Account Supervisor
Emily is a Copywriter and New Jersey transplant. Emily began her career at mcgarrybowen New York where she worked on a range of clients like Audible, Burt's Bees, Subway, Northrop Grumman, and Crayola. In 2017, she even got the honor of retiring a crayon color (RIP Dandelion), which earned her a Reggie Award. When she's not dreaming up ads, Emily writes sketch comedy at the UCB Theater.
Emily Draper
Commercial Director
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico (just like our sister agency), Chris currently lives in Brooklyn and has worked in the industry since graduating from Florida State University (capsule review: he majored in Marketing, Professional Sales, plus French, oh là là). Hot off the presses, Chris has been shortlisted for Campaign US, "Account Person of the Year"!
Chris combines keen attention to detail with genuine care for his clients. He started his career in B2B and managed the fully-integrated campaign for the debut of Spectrum Enterprise, upon the merger of Time Warner with Bright House Networks. After pivoting to consumer advertising, Chris has managed possibly every vertical. With his skills in the art of strategic and effective video advertising, he's increased engagement with Disney Princesses and converted users for Daily Harvest.
When he isn't at work, on set, or tending to his many house plants, you can probably find him at his local Bushwick bar fangirling over his favorite drag queen on stage (pre-COVID).
CHRIS QUESADA
Account Director
Queens native Annmarie Stec holds a BA in TV & Radio, and has worked hundreds of freelance production jobs across the country. She started her Quirk career as a Production Assistant, and steadily worked her way up to Producer thanks to her innate knack for making things run on time. An avid TV and movie watcher, she regularly beats the rest of the office at pop culture trivia. She speaks fluent Polish and is learning French.
ANNMARIE STEC
Producer
A native Floridian with a love for the sweltering heat, Kim received her BS in Advertising at the University of Florida. She's an avid Florida Gators fan and you can find her cheering them on every Saturday during football season.
As Managing Director, Kim brings to Quirk Creative a keen sensibility for brands who need to do much more than tell a story, but move products and create real customer relationships.
She has worked across account management and business development departments at agencies such as Badger & Winters, ROKKAN, Pereira & O'Dell, JWT, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
She has worked across account management and business development departments at agencies such as Badger & Winters, ROKKAN, Pereira & O'Dell, JWT, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
Kim Svarney
Managing Director
Isabella is a Los Angeles native turned Brooklyn tenant who loves bringing joy and color to everything she does. Starting her career in design, Isabella has worked on everything from creating social AR filters for a canned wine company to working on large scale commercials starring Keegan Michael-Key and Marie Kondo.
With a history of designing and art directing at agencies like RAPP, Omelet, and Refinery Creative, Isabella brings experience working on brands like Walmart, Google, Toyota, Asana, DrinkBev, and Princess Cruise Line. In her spare time, you can catch her exploring New York and learning new art hobbies, including her current obsession: crocheting a winter hat.
Isabella Teague
Art Director
Ariel has been editing TV and digital ads at Quirk since 2017. She works closely with all aspects of post production, from color correction to sound design and animation to ensure all of our video dreams come to life. Prior to that she was part of a filmmaking team at Google called YouTube Director where she worked hands-on with dozens of small businesses to help them stand out.
Her love for video advertising began in her youth when she found commercials on TV far more entertaining than kids shows. By age 11, she and her brother would create ads with their family camcorder about random items they found around the house in Madrid, Spain, where she grew up.
Her favorite part of editing is finding the magical details that evoke that emotional spark for the viewer. When she's not cutting away at her editing bay, Ariel enjoys riding her bike around Brooklyn, hiking in the Catskills, and being the proud mother of two cats and one tiny human.
ARIEL UTIN
Commercial Director | Senior Editor
Chris is a Copywriter who hails from the distant land of Idaho. In early 2021, he packed his bags and moved to Brooklyn. Back in Boise (that's in Idaho), Chris cut his teeth working with a local advertising agency on regional brands and a few national brands like Blue Diamond Almonds, PATH, Funko, and Boeing.
Chris is a pop culture-loving, rootin'-tootin' westerner who's not really into cowboy or outdoorsy stuff. He does, however, love to write. That writing sometimes turns into an ad for a client, and other times it becomes a short film script or a comic book idea. He also writes and hosts the New York-based, pop culture podcast, G-Splash.
Chris Watts
Commercial Director
Always curious about the anatomy of a show, Melique is a natural fit for the work of Producing. A proud Bronxite, Melique hails from the South Bronx and uses the rich cultural influences of his community to inform his approach. After graduating from City College studying Media and Communications, Melique has worked at startups and corporations in commercial/short-form promos most notably for Nickelodeon and more recently live stream shows and events across several modalities where one of the most incredible moments of his life happened when Robert Downey Jr. asked for a tour of his living room on a zoom production call! (C’mon!). Melique’s projects have taken him across the country and to Europe which aligns perfectly with his love for travel. When he isn’t on set you can find Melique with a Gin Martini, dining out with friends, enjoying a peaceful night of watching true crime documentaries when his husband falls asleep, or spending time with their dog Max who often goes uncredited as his office paw-duction assistant.
Melique Williams-Rodríguez
Producer
Born in Guadalajara, México, Miguel was raised in Mexico City. He has always been a fan of visual storytelling. Such love made him get his bachelor degree in film production with a specialization in audio post and music composition for media. Prior to Quirk, he worked as a sound designer for almost ten years designing and editing audio for film, TV, videogames and more; which helped a lot on his transition back into the video post world.
In his spare time Miguel loves watching sci-fi movies, spending time with his lovely twin sons and family and playing his guitar as loud and as distorted as possible.
In his spare time Miguel loves watching sci-fi movies, spending time with his lovely twin sons and family and playing his guitar as loud and as distorted as possible.
Miguel Aguirre
Editor
Born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Jorge began his career with a role on Video Editing at a content agency in Mexico City. When not immersed in the world of pixels and timelines, Jorge is a wanderer at heart. His love for travel has taken him to various corners of the globe, experiencing different cultures and landscapes. These adventures not only provide a break from the editing desk but also serve as a wellspring of inspiration, influencing his editing style and bringing a unique perspective to each project.
David Almendares
Editor
Chai is a passionate artist born in Puebla, Mexico. Intrigued by cartoons and videogames, he found his passion in the visual development of these productions. Formed as an animator, he is fascinated by trying all the possible tools as long as it gets an astonishing result. His motto is: If you want what few have, you gotta make what few are willing to do.
His spare time is mostly taking care of tons of plants, reading art books and petting Paca the tortoise.
His spare time is mostly taking care of tons of plants, reading art books and petting Paca the tortoise.
Jorge Chavez
Animator & VFX Artist
Hector is a writer, director, and editor born and raised in Mexico’s Not-So-Wild West. From a young age he found a passion for photography and storytelling which later developed into making short films and scripts. He attended New York Film Academy’s intensive 1-year film conservatory in Manhattan, NY, and later moved to Los Angeles to obtain his BFA at the Burbank Campus. During his formative years he honed his writing and directing skill set, specializing in directing actors.
Thanks to the pandemic he was able to learn and appreciate the nomadic lifestyle, thus working in creative projects like music videos, commercials, and TV-series in cities like Mexico City (Mexico), Brooklyn (USA), Jakarta (Indonesia), and Bahrain (UAE). A vinyl LP’s collector, film photography enthusiast, and Oxford comma user, Hector is a dog dad, an avid fan of art in all its forms, as well as a meditation and fitness aficionado.
Hector Magana
Editor
2D - Animator and storyboard artist
Multimedia designer with a former career as 2d character animator through Mexican animation studios working for international streaming and tv productions. He resolve math problems at morning, drinks cocoa and does bouldering the weekends.
Multimedia designer with a former career as 2d character animator through Mexican animation studios working for international streaming and tv productions. He resolve math problems at morning, drinks cocoa and does bouldering the weekends.
Víctor Pereyra
Animator & VFX Artist
Born and raised in Guadalajara, México. Bernardo's passion for computers began in his childhood as he used to animated simple games at the age of ten. He studied Animation and Digital Art specialized in Audiovisual Production. After that he start working on Videns, Quirk's partner company. At Videns he has coordinated the team of VFX and Motion Graphics for 9 years, as he is the connection between the Post Production team.
When he is not animating, you can find him traveling, playing football, watching TV series or Movies and listening music.
When he is not animating, you can find him traveling, playing football, watching TV series or Movies and listening music.
Bernardo Ramirez
Animator & VFX Artist
As a proud woman-owned and run agency (part of the .1%), we understand the importance of diversity and inclusion. Embracing and advocating for diverse talent on and off-screen is a part of our DNA, because we understand that multiplicity of perspective makes for stronger creative. We know there's no overnight fix to a decades-old issue that has left marginalized groups out of our industry. Our commitment is to continue learning, growing and leading through programming, practices, partnerships and policies to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.