Meet the Team...
Chris Johnson is the CEO and Founder of Ascend Associates Inc. Chris graduated from Western Oregon University with a Bachelors in Organizational Psychology and immediately became an Executive Recruiter. He has dedicated the last 25 years to becoming the most trusted partner to the people in Electrical Distribution as well as a respected leader among his team. He is considered an Electrical and Industrial Wholesale expert and enjoys most the profound influence that his team and firm have on the great people that they serve.
Chris Johnson
CEO and Founder
Shelby is our multi-talented Office Mom. She handles Operations, Marketing, IT Support, Client Relations, Training, and Recruiting. Any challenge presented to her, she solves with speed and grace. Her favorite part of recruiting is communicating with the clients and ensuring their experience is as easy and smooth as possible. Every weekend during the winter, if there is snow in the mountains, Shelby is there with her two pups, husband, and best friends snowboarding.
Shelby Wilkins
Director of Operations
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Alex Garwood is the Director of Client Development at Ascend Associates and seeks to create lasting partnerships with our clients in industrial distribution. Alex graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2015 with his Bachelor’s in Business Management. He started working for the university as a recruiter while pursuing his Master of Business Administration degree. He coaches lacrosse at a local high school and enjoys hiking and adventuring with his wife Megan.
Alex Garwood
VP of Sales
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Jenna began her career as a U.S Navy Veteran. Now, at Ascend, she is a huge asset to everyone on the team. If Jenna is on it, you know it will be done perfectly and in a timely manner. She gives the same care and attention to her five beautiful children and husband. When she's not spending time with her family and dogs, she loves traveling the world!
Jenna Zertuche
Office Assistant and Administrator
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Peter is a dynamic professional with strong success in sales and recruiting. With expertise in identifying top talent and driving sales growth, he is skilled in building strong relationships and delivering results. A passionate team player, Peter is dedicated to driving success and contributing to organizational excellence. On his off days, he enjoys the outdoors and visiting new restaurants and bars and trying new foods.
Peter Ramirez
Executive Recruiter
Eric is one of the few Arizona natives who continues to live and thrive here. His strong communication and interpersonal skills developed from the mortgage loan industry has enabled him to flourish as a recruiter. Eric's success in life is fueled by his drive to support his five amazing children. His free time is spent with those wonderful kids, reading, or playing poker.
Eric Amado
Executive Recruiter
Nate joins the Ascend team all the way from Kansas. He received his Bachelor's Degree from Lafayette College where he also excelled on the football field. Following his playing career, Nate received his M.B.A. and then spent the next 8 years as a college basketball coach. His favorite parts of coaching were training his athletes and recruiting some of the top talent in the country. In his free time, Nate enjoys spending time with his Dog (Raja), his cat (Bella), and his girlfriend (Amanda).
Nate Padia
Executive Recruiter
Originally from Indiana, Maggie has called Arizona home for 13 years now. She received her B.A. from the University of Evansville where she also played on the women’s Division I golf team. She later moved to Arizona and received her J.D. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU. Maggie’s passion is being of service to others, and she thrives when connecting with people. She and her husband spend their free time trying to keep up with their two rambunctious boys.
Maggie Wood
Director of Client Development
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Tyler moved here from New York after spending the last seven years starting and managing multiple coffee shops. Through this experience, he has become an expert in customer service and has a genuine desire to help others, so much, in fact, that Tyler operated as his local Chamber of Commerce's President in support of local small business owners. He now puts the same care into connecting candidates with the right opportunbity here at Ascend. Outside of Tyler's professional career, he enjoys playing hockey and staying active.
Tyler Sloboda
Executive Recruiter
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Before joining Ascend, Dave established and managed teams with upward of 100 employees ranging from restaurants to gyms. His ability to build relationships, direct operations, and lead and develop employees has led him to Executive Recruiting. As a former athlete, Dave thrives in competitive environments which has allowed him to be immediately successful here at Ascend. In his free time, you can catch Dave spending time with his wife and two daughters, exploring the outdoors, and working out.
Dave Johnson
Executive Recruiter
Libby is a native Oregonian who relocated to Phoenix to start a career in Recruitment after graduating from Western Oregon University with a BS in Psychology. She has spent her entire career working to provide exceptional and attentive service to her clients and has used this experience and strong interpersonal skills to grow her career as a successful Recruiter. Libby finds passion in helping talented people find opportunities. Outside of her professional career she loves making art, being "the fun aunt" and finding spots in nature to swim.
Libby Anderson
Executive Recruiter
Nathan originally grew up in Indiana, then moved to the desert in 2011 and has called it home since. He has been in the hospitality business for over two decades but is excited to have joined Ascend to assist people in finding promising careers. Due to his diverse background, he is quite skilled in communication, building relationships, and delivering results. One of Nathan's many talents is placing the right people in the right places. In his off time, he enjoys hiking and rolling blading with his two canine companions.
Nathan Alis
Executive Recruiter
