Tina Knutson, President & CEO

Tina Knutson started with Design Laboratory in 2007, rolling out DLI's systems, processes, and infrastructure. She is skilled at translating requirements into business solutions, and in addition to managing daily operations at DLI, she serves as a senior consultant to Microsoft’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA). Before joining DLI, Tina was a Senior Program Manager in the Windows Privacy Group at Microsoft, where she drove the first public release of Microsoft’s Privacy Guidelines for Building Privacy into Software Products and Services. Earlier at Microsoft, Tina was a Program Manager and Systems Analyst responsible for Microsoft's commercial marketing database. Prior to Microsoft, Tina was a Senior Consultant at Arthur Andersen, in the Strategy, Finance and Economics division, where she focused on customizing analytical database solutions in Access and SQL. Tina is a member of IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals) and a Certified International Privacy Professional (CIPP/US). She earned a BA in history and economics at Claremont McKenna College and completed executive education coursework at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dawn Gilmore, Director of Operations

Dawn Gilmore is a veteran operations professional who serves as Design Laboratory’s Director of Operations. Before joining DLI in February 2008, Dawn worked for a local healthcare company where she was responsible for supporting the Director of Provider Contracts, Contract Managers and Contract Specialists. Prior to that, Dawn was an Office Manager and Executive Administrator for a Bellevue-based insurance company. Dawn has a reputation for forward thinking and questioning the status quo. She is an expert at resolving process issues and developing and implementing documents and systems for all day-to-day operations. Dawn’s strong organization skills and ability to drive process change and optimization enable her to ensure the physical and human resources of an organization are able to efficiently produce results and meet customer expectations and requirements.

Lyndsy Jorden, Director of Human Resources

Lyndsy Jorden started with Design Laboratory in January 2010 and serves as their Director of Human Resources. Her self-motivation, drive and strong organizational skills support her ability to execute on an array of daily operational tasks, while also managing the DLI hiring process and building ongoing relationships with new employees and consultants. Lyndsy’s compassion and commitment to excellence allow her to manage the priorities of the business, while also ensuring the needs of DLI’s consultants and employees are met. Prior to joining DLI, Lyndsy worked for Starbucks as a retail store manager where she ran a successful high volume store with upwards of 40 employees. She earned a BS in Business Marketing at Montana State University, while working as the Assistant Marketing Director of the Gallatin Valley Mall.

Brian Ruffo, Director of Business Development

Brian Ruffo is a veteran CRM diagnostician and implementation leader with particular expertise in business process modeling. Before joining Design Laboratory in 2007 he served as a Microsoft Project Manager, implemented Microsoft CRM at Boeing and Getty Images, and worked worldwide for Philips Oral Healthcare, where he implemented an Onyx sales force automation solution across three continents. Brian is a former Senior Consultant at Onyx Software, where he worked on major CRM implementations in health care, financial services, telecommunications and the chemical industry. Brian is a Microsoft Certified Professional in Windows Server Workstation and SQL Server. He graduated from Central Washington University with a BS in computer science.

Nina Hawley, Director of Employee Development

Nina Hawley started with Design Laboratory in 2014 as a veteran Program Manager serving Microsoft. Prior to owning a franchise business, Nina was the Lead Program Manager for the Microsoft Windows Tablet Team shipping V1 of Microsoft Tablet, the Tablet SDK, and Transcriber shipped on the Pocket PC. Nina currently holds two patent awards for work on that project: Handwriting Input in a Computer System and Network Download Regulation Method and System. For 25 Years Nina has brought out the best in individuals and created close knit high performing teams, using her leadership skills and experience to coach leaders, teams, and individual contributors helping them make consistent incremental improvements toward achieving their goals. Nina is a member of the IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals) and the ICF (International Coaching Federation) holding certifications from Seattle Coach and The Executive Function Academy. Nina earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona and interned at the Juilliard School in New York.