Our Team
We know you demand extraordinary results. Fishladder Inc. is committed to providing you with a quality team of people who deliver the customer service you deserve and expect.
Our team is made up of action-focused consultants experienced in best practices as they relate to improvisation in the workplace – beginning with our founder…
Mary Jane Pories
Mary Jane Pories (Master of Arts in Education, Actor’s Equity Association) is the president of Fishladder Inc. and an award-winning actor/improviser, writer and alumnus of the mainstage at The Second City. Mary Jane founded Fishladder in 1999 in direct response to particular needs within the business community. Fishladder designs develops, and facilitates corporate training programs for a wide range of clients, from Fortune 500 corporations to non-profit organizations. Mary Jane’s unique skills as an improviser coupled with her Master of Arts in Education creates training that is unique, experiential, and fun.
Liz Appold
Liz Appold (BA, Education) is our Administrative Assistant and has shared her skills with Fishladder since 2005. Her excellent organizational and people skills make her an invaluable member of our team. She often is first to make contact with our clients and provide the kind of efficient, intelligent, and personal response that is so integral to our providing the outstanding customer service that you expect.
Amy McFadden
Amy McFadden is a veteran (of the stage) and has been performing everything from ballet to improv to Shakespeare for 37 years. She has a degree in Theater from Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame, which she mostly uses to get football tickets in the fall. Amy is a founding member of Dog Story Theater in Grand Rapids, MI.
Jennie Sutherland
Jennie (Mudrey) Sutherland (BA, University of Michigan) is a marketing consultant for Fishladder Inc. and an improv graduate of the Heroes of Comedy program at The Hideout Theatre in Austin, Texas. Jennie’s experience in strategic marketing has spanned from retail to automotive, military to high tech. Since 2008 she has been working with Dell & Microsoft in the consumer and corporate divisions.
Stephanie Sandberg
Stephanie Sandberg (Ph.D. – California – Santa Barbara) is a professor at Calvin College who teaches Theatre History and Communication and is a director for the Calvin Theatre Company. While in University, Stephanie began working with the Lit Moon Theatre Company, an experimental company focused on the use of the human body to convey complex text and emotion using non-traditional training. She is especially noted for her work in using improvisation as a means for impacting social justice issues with a focus on managing boundaries and diversity in the workplace.
Joe Anderson
Joe Anderson won an MTV stand-up comedy competition and performed with the famed The Second City touring company. He is the writer, producer, and director of the feature film Living with the Fosters. Joe travels nationwide performing his own stand up comedy as well as directing and performing in the game show, Make Me Laugh. He has been presenting corporate workshops as well as performing and writing with Fishladder Inc. since 1999.
Kirsten Kelly
Kirsten is a theatre and film director who resides in New York City. Her theatre productions have been seen off-Broadway, in Chicago and regionally across the country. Kirsten and her film partner, Anne de Mare, created Spargel Productions which focuses on documentary film projects celebrating the human spirit. Film credits include “Asparagus! (Stalking the American Life)” (an award-winning feature documentary; PBS broadcast 2009) and productions for New York University, Strike TV and the Lincoln Center. Kirsten is a graduate of Julliard’s Master Directing program and has trained in clown along with Improv Olympic and The Second City.