MEET THE TEAM

  • TIFFANIE DEBARTOLO

    Chief Executive Super Goddess (she/her)

    The philosopher and visionary of the label, Tiffanie is also an author. Her most recent novel is Sorrow. Her previous novels include God Shaped Hole, How To Kill a Rock Star, and the graphic novel Grace: Based on the Jeff Buckley Story. She also wrote and directed the film Dream for an Insomniac. Tiffanie is also the cofounder of the ShineMaker Foundation, a charity organization dedicated to supporting human rights, women's rights, education, animal welfare, and the environment. In her spare time, she is a runner, hiker, yogi, world-traveler, cook, poet, and artist.

  • A man with long hair and a light beard, smiling, wearing a white cowboy hat, a layered casual shirt, and sitting in front of a desert canyon background.

    SCOTT SCHUMAKER

    Managing Partner, Chief Operating Officer, Resident Jedi Knight (he/him)

    Scott can ride a mountain bike downhill faster than anyone else at Bright Antenna. He is also a human GPS; seriously, he has gotten lost once in his whole life. He pops his elbow like other people crack their knuckles, he has eaten a worm, a grasshopper, and a scorpion, and rumor has it he’s carrying on a torrid affair with the Chief Executive Super Goddess. He is also a member of the XTERRA Off-Road Triathlon Hall of Fame, as well as the author of a children's book, Henry's Big Star Adventure.

  • Close-up portrait of a man with curly hair, glasses, and a beard, wearing a black coat and polka dot shirt, standing against a tiled wall.

    BRADEN MERRICK

    Partner, President, and A&R (he/him)

    Braden produced and managed The Killers and worked with just about every major label that’s left. Braden states, “When I met the CESG and found out she could almost beat me at Rock ‘n’ Roll Jeopardy, I knew I had to make BA my home.” Braden grows his own kefir, has a penchant for red-eye flights, vintage YSL ties, and the state of Maine. He makes a mean margarita, but his best skill is arguably his ability to spot a hit single from seven hundred and fifty thousand miles away.

  • A man with short hair and a beard resting his face on his hand in a casual indoor setting, with a potted plant and a window in the background, in black and white.

    MATTHEW AURE

    General Manager (he/him)

    Matt's mom claims that at two years-old he used to walk around singing the Michael Jackson lyrics, "I'm bad, I'm bad, I know it," and that's when she knew he was going to end up in the music business. An avid sports fan and talented athlete as well, Matt was close to playing Major League Baseball until a shoulder injury sent him following his other passion, music. After starting out in management, he moved on to tour marketing and then quickly rose up the ranks to become a Product Manager at Fearless Records. Bright Antenna stalked him until he agreed to be their VP of Marketing and Product Management, and in 2016 he became an integral part of the BA team.

  • A smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a white lace top, standing outdoors against a green hedge background.

    NATALIE YOUNG

    Senior Director of Digital Strategy & Marketing (she/her)

    Natalie comes from a broad musical background that spans from playing the flute in Seattle, to music business internships during college in NYC, to working her way up at an LA based hip-hop label, before finally finding her home in SF at Bright Antenna Records. She drinks cold brew coffee, ran her first half-marathon in 2018, and loves to travel. She has been photographed in a banana costume in more countries than most people have ever visited. 🍌

  • A woman with wavy brown hair and tattoos on her arms is smiling outdoors in a garden or park setting with trees and plants in the background.

    CIELLE TAAFFE

    Director of Team Morale | Executive Assistant (she/her)

    Cielle's parents gifted her with a vintage Fisher Price phonograph record player + a collection of 45s when she was in preschool, and she wound up marrying a professional drummer with over 3000 vinyl records...it's no surprise she's found her professional home in the music industry. She likes bikes, beaches, and bourbon, though Matt Aure's influence has made her a tequila drinker. She returns to the rivers of her home state of Montana whenever she can, and will forever insist Maclean was right when he said: “The world is full of bastards, the number increasing rapidly the further one gets from Missoula, Montana.” But that's not where the music is.

  • A man wearing an Italian sports jacket is DJing with a Denon DJ setup. There is a colorful landscape painting on the wall behind him.

    TY CASSUTT

    Product Manager(he/him)

    Born and raised in rural Iowa, Ty grew up performing in show choir, blasting music from his 1998 red Ford Ranger, and rocking late into the night in a La-Z-Boy listening to the sounds of Two Door Cinema Club, The Cure, Cut Copy, and anything on Toro y Moi's Pandora Radio Station. That early obsession with music followed him to college, where he studied advertising and discovered a passion for a world where music, video, photography, and marketing come together. After graduating, Ty moved to San Francisco and spent nearly four years at Bright Antenna. A stint in New York City with the team at Captured Tracks followed, before he returned to Bright Antenna in 2026 as Product Manager. Outside of work, Ty makes his own music, DJs, and travels with his wife, Stacie, and their dog, Roman.

  • A young woman with long dark hair, wearing a black sleeveless top, sitting at a wooden table outdoors by the water with a cityscape in the background, during sunset.

    KARINA KRISTENSEN

    Graphic Designer & Creative Coordinator (she/her)

    Karina was born and raised in the Bay Area, yet is from a culturally diverse background. Growing up, she spent summers in Lebanon, and was educated in French. She is a big coffee drinker and avid rock & roll listener, which led her to join an all female rock band in high school. She finds happiness in design, fresh snow to ski on, learning new skills, and actively seeking new adventures. And challenge her to a 400 meter sprint, if you dare. She holds her high school's record in the event!

  • A young person with dark, curly hair and light skin, wearing a black leather jacket and a necklace with a crescent moon charm, standing against a plain background.

    MOLLY PHELAN

    Digital Marketing & A&R Coordinator (she/her)

    Molly picked up her first pair of drumsticks at five years old, playing along with her Dad to the The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop.” Raised in a household of musicians in Marin, jam sessions often included the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, and Violent Femmes, which fostered her love of eccentric sound. After her stint in college radio at UW-Madison, she yearned to be back in the creative community that first cultivated her obsession with sonic discovery, leading her right to the doorsteps of Bright Antenna! In her free time, you can find her drumming in SF shoegaze band ‘bed bug guru’, or reading anything written by Anthony Bourdain.

  • A woman with black hair and earrings standing near a marina with boats and buildings in the background during dusk.

    GABRIELLA MENDEZ

    Social Media & Digital Marketing Associate (she/her)

    Some of Gabriella’s earliest memories are listening to No Doubt and The Sundays on car rides to school. A Bay Area girl through and through, she spent her adolescence rifling through CDs at Rasputin and memorizing as many rap lyrics as she could. In college she bounced between Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz, frequenting house shows and festivals. Having traversed journalism, writing, and fashion, she knew that she wanted to return to music and bring ideas she cared about to life! Outside of music she enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing Animal Crossing, and crafting ornate and chaotic nail sets to show off to everyone (and brag that she did them herself).