Who Is Rootstock?

A team of consultants rooted in the convergence of strategic storytelling and business acumen, we connect with innovative organizations on their most human level in an ever more automated world. Together, we develop and deploy thought leadership and brand growth campaigns that scale our clients’ reach and reputations beyond existing practice and networks.

With learned understanding, we tap into the potential of our client’s best thinking to hone their stories, expand their target audiences, and drive new business.

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Our Clients

At Rootstock, we’re excited to be engaged with morally-minded organizations willing to trust our process and our collective expertise, utilizing high-touch leadership thinking strategies rather than spray-and-pray tactics.

In general, we work with young (but not brand-new) organizations who have developed their identity enough to have confidence in their stance, but want to think deeply about expanding beyond their existing network and carefully consider where they’re going next. Our clients are willing to take new risks and listen to our strategic guidance regarding how to do so.

We engage only with companies and individuals who practice reciprocal respect and kindness — no exceptions.

Equally important, while we’re happy to craft a mutually beneficial scope of work that suits your actual needs, we don’t haggle over the value of our thinking and work.

Are we each other’s people?

Let’s find out.

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Our Team

Ryan Klee

Partner and Lead Strategist at Rootstock, Ryan is a true believer in the powers of authentic connections, strategic storytelling, curiosity, and mutually beneficial collaborations. After graduating from the University of Florida with a BS in Telecommunications, Ryan honed his PR, marketing, and business strategy and development skills over nearly 15 years at some of Atlanta’s best marketing agencies and the world’s leading online boating marketplace.

Turns out, this constantly curious, challenge-seeking, lifelong lover of learning, words, and stories was also an entrepreneur at heart. His extroverted nature, communications skills, natural inclination for collaboration, and desire to impact others meld into the perfect combination to help entrepreneurs and smart, ambitious organizations build and tell their stories in order to grow their businesses. Ryan lives in Decatur, GA.

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Ryan's Creative Type

Terra Elan McVoy

Rootstock’s Editor-in-Chief, Terra is a creative, problem-solving, process-oriented people-person who also has a knack for great storytelling and wordsmithing. She uses her combined experience in the fields of project and team management, event programming, customer service, teaching, and professional writing and editing to develop strong teams and systems, create exceptional meetings and events, humanely troubleshoot challenges of all kinds, and both write and shape great content. (She is also the award-winning author of eight novels for young adults.)

The former manager of Little Shop of Stories, and former Assistant Program Director (and then Program Director) of the AJC Decatur Book Festival, Terra has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Florida State University, and an Honors BA in Creative Writing from St. Andrews University. She lives in Decatur, GA with her sweetheart, Rob.

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Terra's Creative Type

Lindsey Duvall

As Rootstock’s Strategic Coordinator, Lindsey is the person who will reliably get whatever needs doing done, and done well. She has a passion for getting to know people, which is imperative when it comes to effective and efficient project management, quality meeting notes, spectacular event coordinating, and all the other high-touch tasks that Lindsey handles for us and our clients. By truly getting to know the needs of others, and the way that they run their businesses, she’s empowered to anticipate things that they may not have even thought of themselves. Understanding people and what motivates them is inherent to Lindsey’s ability to also help them solve problems with efficiency, excellence, and an exceptional sense of humor.

Having navigated a successful career in hospitality and financial services makes Lindsey adept at ensuring multiple cross-functional teams meet strategic planning-related timelines and deliverables effectively and efficiently. Lindsey has an Associate Degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management with a specialization certification as an Event Specialist. She lives in her little home town of Greensboro, GA located in the beautiful Lake Oconee area.

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Lindsey's Creative Type

Gwendolyn Kuhlmann

Our Creative Strategist and Storyteller, Gwendolyn Kuhlmann’s first life was in opera, the most epic form of storytelling there is. When she left the stage, she discovered an even more valuable gift – the gift of drawing out other people’s voices: Helping them understand the connecting threads of their stories, and helping them see the power of what they have been through and who they have become.

Her skill quickly went from copywriting for six-figure launches to creative directing major innovative projects like a gamified app for sound healing and a high-tech modern music concert that guides the listener through the process of spiritual awakening.

Gwendolyn has developed a story-based method of brand development that not only reveals the core truth of your business, but helps you create a through-line to all of the possibilities of what you are creating. By using story, she makes the process of developing your brand feel intuitive and authentic – a feeling that ultimately translates to how your audience experiences your brand.

Because you don’t have to whittle your ideas down to fit into templates, and you shouldn’t have to feel weird or icky or like anyone other than yourself while you’re talking about your business and making sales.

Gwendolyn is here to empower you to speak your truth by reflecting it back to you, asking questions, and pointing out cohesion and possibilities where you may not see them – all through helping you understand and appreciate the story you’re telling.

Gwendolyn's Creative Type

Meredith Gertz

Our Digital Marketing Strategist Meredith is a marketing professional with 25+ years of experience in the digital field. She brings a unique balance of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity to all her projects and is passionate about how email marketing can increase revenue while creating meaningful relationships with customers.

Years of working with data-security conscious companies like WebMD and Amazon have drilled home the sanctity of personal information. She believes that every email – each electronic touchpoint with the customer – should have a specific purpose and a measurable end goal. In other words – SPAM is her nemesis.

When she’s not digging through analytics, she’s a multimedia artist who has had work shown in galleries in Atlanta, New Orleans and San Francisco. On weekends she’s can usually be found prowling estate sales for things she can incorporate into her next piece of artwork.

Meredith's Creative Type

Jessica LaRusso

Lead Content Writer Jessica joined Rootstock as a longtime writer with a lifelong passion for putting words on the page. After graduating Montclair State University with a BA in English, she kicked off her writing career as a freelance journalist for her hometown newspaper. While covering the local beat, Jessica also began crafting content for clients in healthcare and tech, among other industries. From blog posts to whitepapers, web copy to press releases, she continued to expand her portfolio while transforming clients’ visions into meaningful messages that inspire and connect with their audiences.

For more than a decade, Jessica has refined her craft, collaborating with agencies, in-house marketing teams, and business owners to shape ideas into compelling narratives. In the several years she’s worked for Rootstock, she’s evolved from writing blogs to conducting interviews and creating lifestyle features that capture the authentic heart of a brand’s story. Jessica lives in Volusia County, FL with her family.

Jessica's Creative Type

George Partington

Rootstock’s staff writer is a curious seeker and promoter of good stories. George believes well-chosen words have the power to inspire, enlighten, and connect. He first used his passion for storytelling to promote community understanding through local newspaper journalism and subsequently applied his skills to trade magazine writing and editing.

Eventually, George’s training and experience led him to marketing communications positions for Fortune 50 companies such as Verizon and Siemens, where he specialized in producing high-level collateral in support of sales teams. For a time, he was known as the “case study guru” of the Verizon marketing team. He is also experienced in internal company communications such as newsletters, executive missives, and intranet management.

George lives with his wife Leigh in Stone Mountain, GA. Some might call his home an“empty nest” since his two daughters have embarked on their own independent adventures, but George and Leigh keep a lively house with two cats, a beagle named “Snickers,” and get-togethers whenever possible.

George's Creative Type

Our Identity