Meet Our People

Grindstone Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer (CXO) Greg Lynn is a Texas native and Midwestern transplant with a degree in Journalism. He is an industry-leading authority on WordPress Design and Development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and User Experience (UX) Design. As a UX Design Instructor at Bradley University, Greg developed two Advanced Web Design courses and teaches smart UX to the next generation of web designers and developers.

Greg also founded and leads a non-profit and has forged many community-focused partnerships with local businesses and social service organizations. He is a growing influential voice in shaping the future civic life in Peoria, Illinois.

With specialized expertise in higher education, faith-based organizations and not-for-profits, he has helped national and international non-profits by focusing their overall communications strategies and delivering effective, attractive digital solutions. He is committed to leadership development and has trained leaders from Illinois to the West Coast.

Greg lives in Peoria with his wife, a Caterpillar recruiter, and his three children, all of whom attend Peoria Public Schools and make him proud. He has a highly developed palate for quality BBQ, a passion for live music and a talent for electric guitar.

Grindstone Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nathan Monroe is a Peoria native and graduate of Roosevelt Magnet School and Manual High School. After years of experience writing business plans, leading sales teams and mastering the science of business growth through strategic financial strategy and inventory management, he moved on to co-found several successful businesses where he led the finance departments, construction and marketing budgets and much more.

Nathan is head of finance, investment and startup strategy, financial strategy and operations for Grindstone and some of our most successful clients, including several local businesses valued at millions. Some of these brands include Grindstone, Pour Bros. Craft Taproom in Peoria Heights, Pour Bros. Craft Taproom in Champaign, Pour Bros. Craft Taproom in the Quad Cities, Slow Hand Craft BBQ and more on the way.

Since opening multiple successful businesses in the Heights, he has co-coordinated hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fundraising efforts through community-driven initiatives and events while supporting the local music community and enhancing the culture and walkability of the Village of Peoria Heights.

Nathan lives in Bartonville, Illinois, with his two daughters, who attend Monroe School District 70, and his wife, a paraprofessional aide in the same district.

Lead UI/UX Designer Kirsten Forester is a Midwestern native, Florida transplant and world traveler who has returned to her roots in Peoria, Illinois. She is driven by every opportunity to help client businesses share their great work, talents and passions with the world through their digital presence.

Kirsten's care and talents in the industry have been shaped through her experience in teaching both Design and Spanish at the university level and leading the web team for a luxury real estate firm in Naples, Florida. Teaching and building professional connections with others in another language and culture seamlessly transformed into her passion to connect with business owners in their own language and to amplify their culture through the digital platform.

Additionally, working with clients in the real estate market to help them find their perfect living space through web-based communications has fine-tuned her expert approach to design and development for Grindstone clients and their users, resulting in a thoughtful, effective and beautifully designed web presence.

Kirsten is fueled by beautifying her home through woodwork and gardening, as well as getting to spend time with her loved ones enjoying great food, great wine and great music.

Grindstone’s Client Success Director Jill Goett is a Peoria native and graduate of Woodruff High School. After studying urban geography at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jill returned to Peoria with a dream to help her hometown thrive.

Jill has served her community through various professional and volunteer positions, as a Regional Planner at the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, as Director of Federal Programs at the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District, and as volunteer Junior Achievement teacher at Trewyn Primary School.

After several years in urban planning, Jill shifted her focus towards serving her community (locally and online) through communications, and she quickly discovered she had an affinity for writing and project management. As Grindstone’s Client Success Director, Jill enjoys applying these talents in serving purpose-driven businesses and organizations, including many in her beloved hometown.

Jill lives in Metamora, Illinois, with her stand-up comedian husband and boy-girl twins. She enjoys sipping matcha lattes at local coffee shops, discovering hidden gems in the cities she visits, and practicing yoga and Pilates.

Senior Designer Heather Ford has a Master’s of Fine Arts degree from Bradley University and a BFA from the Illinois Institute of Art both in Graphic and Interactive Design. She teaches and coordinates the User Experience Program for the Department of Interactive Media within the Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts at Bradley University and has been a professional in the industry for over twenty years through fine art, digital creative, and UI/UX experience in the commercial and academic sectors.

Heather brings extensive experience in applying methodologies of user experience design and research to website, mobile, branding, and product design to Grindstone, having designed for several Fortune 500 clients, including companies and organizations such as Apple, Disney, Maui Jim, United Way, NASA, The Museum of Science and Industry, Nike, and Home Depot, utilizing a User-Centered Design (UCD) approach. Her art and design research and personal works merge the areas of fine art and technology-driven interactive experiences with a scientific process.

Heather enjoys creating innovative and exciting user-centered design experiences, methods, and strategies that involve user interface, user experience, and fine art. These create processes and strategies that elevate the user's participation in both the fine art and digital environments.

Grindstone UI/UX Design Specialist Saige Heelein is a rural Wisconsin native who came to Peoria to earn degrees in both User Experience Design and Psychology (with a minor in Fine Arts) at Bradley University.

Saige is avid learner and creator, always bringing unique ideas to life through sewing, pottery, digital design and many more art forms.

She is happiest hanging out with her family, exploring creative projects and discovering new places.

Margaret J. Wheatley