Meet the X-BAR team

Brad Benner

Founder & Principal

Brad founded X-BAR in 2002 and brings over ten years of technology consulting experience and creative problem-solving to the company. In 2008, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Seattle District Office named Brad the Washington State & Region 10 (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska) Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Taking a direct hand in client and project management while serving as X-BAR’s lead solution architect, Brad simultaneously manages one of the Northwest’s most nimble, innovative, and “green” information technology agencies. His interest in technology dates back to high school, where he developed an application to manage membership records for his local chapter of the National Honor Society. After adapting it for a variety of membership tracking purposes, he successfully marketed the software to over 250 organizations throughout the country.

Brad, who graduated cum laude from the University of Washington with a BA in Spanish Language and Literature, sees technology as means to solving business problems by responding to peoples’ needs. “For me, the conversation always starts with the people and organization,” he says. “I then design technology solutions that are responsive to these needs.” He guides the rest of the X-BAR team in helping clients move into a space where they can make informed decisions and be active participants in the process.

An accomplished gluten-free baker, Brad also does yoga, runs, and swims on a regular basis. He’s considering getting a dog, but believes he may be more comfortable with his childhood pet: sea monkeys.

Amanda Rankin

Director of Professional Services

Amanda’s lab mix Buddy was once loose on the tarmac at SeaTac for over an hour. But we digress. This consultant and project manager puts her BA in Psychology from University of Washington to good use as she works to understand what her clients truly need. “Providing high-quality technology consulting is ultimately about relating to people,” she says. “I always strive to understand the business they live in and how to create solutions which will best support that particular business.” Amanda brings more than ten years of experience in the technology field—including technology consulting for clients across multiple industries—to every project. Away from work, she spends as much time as possible with her husband and two boys, and is trying to find the perfect Tuscan restaurant. As for Buddy, he was lured off the tarmac with a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

Peter Braitsch

System & Network Engineer

Peter is a system and network engineer who majored in electrical engineering with an art minor at University of Massachusetts. Kind of a Renaissance IT guy. Before joining X-BAR, he spent ten years working in IT for a Boston-based international non-profit public health company, a job that took him to Afghanistan, Rwanda, Haiti, and other interesting places. His personal mission: to “constantly fight the common IT-guy archetype and to talk about technical issues in plain, accessible language.” He prides himself on his readiness to be on-site at a moment’s notice to help when issues arise. Away from the office, Peter’s passions include good food, good beer, and travel. “My wife and I have both seen a lot of Europe and Africa,” he says—which helps explain his love of Ethiopian cuisine.

Benson Shavey

System & Network Engineer

Benson has an unusual trait for a system and network engineer: he likes to talk about technology in a way that people actually comprehend. “I always try to have conversations that anyone from a beginner to a more advanced user will understand the first time,” he says. He’s also not afraid to “let the customer know that I will need to look into something further to figure out the solution.” Refreshing! The UW grad, with a degree in English Literature, brings 9 years of IT experience to X-BAR. Away from work, his new daughter gives him plenty of opportunities to explain things in ways that are easily understood. His perfect day would include listening to U2 while munching on hot wings from WingDome, followed by a romp with his black lab mix, Bailey, and another viewing of The Empire Strikes Back.

Nathan Dufault

Support Technician

As an X-BAR support technician, Nathan is a member of our support team—the group responsible for working with our clients on a day-to-day basis to keep their technology running efficiently and reliably. He's also the guy that answers incoming calls to our helpdesk. It’s a job that his previous position with the Washington Assistive Technology Foundation—where he did everything IT related —prepared him for very well. He brings a more human approach to IT by “getting to know the people I help, rather than just their systems.” Nathan, who earned a BA in Business with an accounting concentration from the University of Washington, is a true Seattleite: he likes coffee strong enough that it “could almost be considered food.” Out of respect for his wife, he is currently working on developing a tolerance for cats.

Kim McNichol

Bookkeeper

Kim likes to point out that “bookkeeper” is one of only three words in the English language that contain three sets of consecutive double letters. Kim came to X-BAR with not only knowledge of this kind of arcane fact, but also 19 years of bookkeeping experience (there’s word #2). When she isn’t managing our books, she enjoys reading the other kind. Current favorite: the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. She’s also fond of Thai food, rock and big band music (now that’s a combination), and any movie with Matthew McConaughey. You’ll often find her on long walks with her husband and their rescued collie mix puppy. His name is Cooper. The puppy, not the husband.