Courage in the face of convention.

Steve is advertising’s version of a Swiss Army knife. He went through the creative sequence at UT Austin and initially tried his hand at copywriting. He then had careers of over a decade each as both an account guy and a strategic planner. Since joining Firehouse in 2006, Steve has built and shepherded the growth of Firehouse's media and strategy disciplines to be one of the most awarded in Dallas. In fact, his idea to combine our planning, media, PR and social media disciplines into a single strategic team was not only ahead of its time, it helped Firehouse earn AdAge’s Southwest Small Agency of the Year in 2010. Today he draws on all of these diverse skillsets to effectively run Firehouse as Chief Executive Officer. Steve also serves as the agency's unofficial bartender and resident foodie.

Prior to becoming Firehouse’s Executive Creative Director in 2007, Tripp’s award-winning career included stops at The Martin Agency, Riney & Partners, Fallon NYC and GSD&M, working on celebrated brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Wrangler Jeans, United Airlines, Time Magazine and Land Rover, to name a few. Over the years, Tripp has collected Cannes Lions, D&AD Pencils, EFFIE Awards and produced one of USA Today’s Top 100 Super Bowl Commercials of all time. Under his creative leadership, Firehouse has been recognized by The One Show, The Webbie Awards, Communication Arts, The OBIES and was named AdAge’s Southwest Small Agency of the Year in 2010. Tripp also spends some of his spare time restoring old Land Rovers, and then paying someone else to do it correctly.

Since beginning her career in the audit department of a Big 4 public accounting firm, Marla has gone on to become a CPA and held a number of positions as both financial controller and consultant. And while she insists that “being boring is an amazing trait” for her position, it’s hard to reconcile that with her participating multiple times as a cyclist in the “Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred” bike race. Every summer. In Texas. Somehow also being a “cat and crossword puzzle lover” doesn’t seem to balance that one out.

When we say that Erica is a driven, motivated and organized person, we’re not just blowing smoke. She’s the kind of person who makes normally driven and organized people feel like sofa-surfing slackers. From running multi-unit brands like Texas Dairy Queen, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Baxter Auto to translating brand strategies across national, local and promotional levels, she does it all with the style, grace, flexibility and work ethic you’d expect from a former professional ballet dancer. In fact, she may be the only person at Firehouse who can, quite literally, bend over backwards for our clients.

Megan has 14 years experience and a wealth of knowledge and expertise in production for print, OOH, digital and broadcast. Megan also led the charge in developing and implementing a new agency process for Firehouse that allows for efficiencies to better manage client projects. But on top of being the most organized person in the agency, Megan is also the keeper of the Firehouse culture, helping to meticulously plan every major event we’ve had since the day she arrived. Megan is also very good at foosball, which she’d be happy to tell you about, while destroying you at foosball. 

When you can draw upon 20+ years of advertising and marketing experience like Emily can, there’s virtually no challenge she hasn’t faced. Whether it’s her extensive CPG, retail or B2B experience on both the agency and brand side, or her passion for understanding consumer attitudes and behaviors, Emily’s ability to navigate her clients to great success is a hallmark of her impressive career. Less impressive, however, is her musical ability. This is plainly evidenced by her acoustically talented husband and two children relegating her to tambourine duty during family jam sessions.

Big, inspiring ideas are something Wade knows a thing or two about. His creativity has fueled some of the most admired campaigns in recent memory and some of the most respected agencies in the country, including The Martin Agency, TBW/Chiat Day NYC, and GSD&M. Whether it’s his numerous GEICO campaigns, work for the JFK Presidential Library or his classic “Life Comes At You Fast” campaign for Nationwide Insurance, Wade’s work has been a staple of both award shows and pop culture. Garnering some 57 Cannes Lions, 38 One Show pencils, Webby’s, two EMMY nominations and one EMMY win, it’s understandable that he’s been named one of Creativity Magazine's Top 10 most awarded writers and Business Insider’s 25 most creative people in advertising. Despite all of his successes, however, his hat still fits comfortably on his impressively humble head.

Tara believes every project can be improved with a well-formatted spreadsheet and color-coding system—that love of organization probably has something to do with being an Air Force brat. Given her impressive amount of agency- and client-side experience, she brings a much-welcomed balanced perspective to whatever you put in front of her. Brands like Nike, Lennox, The United Methodist Church and AmeriSourceBergen have benefited greatly from a steady dose of Tara. Outside of the ad world, Tara is prone to fits of adventurous travel (again, Air Force brat) and selflessly donating her time to cancer patients in need of a supportive sounding board.