Kevin Tuohy

Founding Partner, Sales/Marketing East Coast
kevin@ashineandco.com
Kevin founded this company in 1996 shining shoes with a portable chair at conventions and special events. Before he formed A Shine & Co, his charm and charisma made him an unforgettable character serving in such San Francisco hot spots as Postrio and Lulu.  If you walk down the street with him, it seems he knows everyone. Not only do people recognize "the man in the hat," but he remembers every single one of their names!  As a U.S. Army Veteran, after the tragedy of 9/11, he left the business in the hands of his partners and served a tour in the Middle East.  We're so glad he made it back, as we missed the bright spot in our lives that is Kevin- greeting all passersby with a bright smile, a friendly hello, and a sincere compliment.  Now you can find him in New York running our operations in the T5 terminal at JFK.  To keep up with Kevin's adventures, check out his blog at ashineandco.blogspot.com

Rachel Leamy

Chief Operations Partner Sales/Marketing West Coast
rachel@ashineandco.com
Rachel has been shining since the spring of 1997, helping to open the Crocker Galleria stand in April 1999, and joining Kevin as operations partner soon after. Her experience and talents have been focused to build a company that would employ sober alcoholics and bring out the best in everyone.  She has enjoyed bringing her many creative abilities to the shine venue, from serenading customers with her ukulele and improvised songs, to designing and building most of the portable chairs we use for special event services.  She is unbelievable with leather color restoration, and takes great pleasure in learning new tricks and methodology to ever improve our services from shine magic to customer relations.  She is a delighted mother ever multi-tasking her way through the day, juggling the demands of a growing business and active son.

Meghan Reynolds

Chief Financial Partner/Conventions-Events Coordinator
meghan@ashineandco.com
Meghan has been on the scene from the beginning. One of the first ladies of shine, she is an integral part of the creation of this business. After many years surviving the high life in the Malibu/Hollywood music scene, she had just the kind of strength and honesty that helped to forge the atmosphere we now enjoy. While we love to have fun, she has done much to establish the bedrock of respect and professionalism underlying all that we do. She joined as a partner in '02 and brought with her tremendous power and experience in business/management and vocational rehab. She has recently relocated to the East Coast where she heads up the special event services, while holding down the financial fort.   It is her level head and creative practicality that keeps the business grounded and growing.

Kealani Lada

General Manager West Coast
kealani8@comcast.net
Kealani joined the team in Nov of 2005.  A quick study, she became a customer favorite right away.  In early ’07 she had to return to her Portland home for personal reasons, and continued her paramedic career while there. Things were good, but the shoeshine bug had completely infected her, so she returned to us in September that year.  By December she was running the shoe repair operations and soon after added General Manager to her title.  She claims she never wants to work anywhere else, and she shows it.  She has taken such a personal interest in all things shoe that she now has a side business in our Embarcadero location and on ebay selling refurbished high end shoes.  Her standard of excellence in all that she does has pushed the whole company forward, increasing our knowledge base and improving customer service.  Her aptitude is complimented by a great sense of humor.  If you ask her nicely, she'll tell you why she got that "fools rush in" tattoo, and when the weather is nice, you just might see her riding her Harley Davidson around San Francisco.

For great tips on shoe shining and leather care, check out KeaLani's blog!

Kaila Morris

Repair Manager /1 Embarcadero Site Manager
kaila@ashineandco.com
Kaila started shining in summer '02 and managed the Russ Building location and shoe repair operation for us from '03- ‘07. After a brief hiatus to graduate with honors from Mill’s college, accepting Anthropology Student of the Year, she has rejoined us as our repair manager at our Embarcadero location. Perhaps her chemistry studies assist with her expert shoe repair diagnostics while her yo-yo and hackysack savvy enable her to expedite repairs to and from 4 shine stand locations. She loves working with other sober alkies and getting paid to have a blast. Not only does she know about tree planting, tile setting and political activism, I bet if you asked her she could tell you how to build a straw-bale house with genuine Canadian politeness!

Jason Doyle

555 California Site Manager
Jason@ashineandco.com
Jason moved to San Francisco from Portland, OR, in October, 2008.  He proved to be a natural born shoe shiner, picking up the craft swiftly.  When he's not shining, he is an accomplished artist, painting small scale tight renderings with oils in his home studio.  His attention to detail is mirrored not only in his shines, but he has become a lynch pin in our operations managing our 555 California location with great success.  He also serves the people in house at Conifer securities bi-monthly.  He’s quick with a joke or to light up your smoke, but there’s nowhere that he’d rather be.

Jes Middendorf

Bi-coastal Manager, Crocker Galleria SF/Jet Blue NY

jes@ashineandco.com
Jes began her shine career in December of 2005. She jumped in with vigor, being so glad to work in a business that employs fellow alcoholics, where she feels understood and encouraged.  Over the years she has developed a wonderful raport with our customers, especially at the Crocker Galleria stand where she has been the site manager since the fall of 2007. Along with providing stellar shines, she is enjoying doing some sales/marketing outreach, always working to increase business and improve operations. At work and off she is a real do-it-yourself gal, adding personal creative touches to all that she does.  A wonderful cook and expert baker; she is currently adding furniture making to her repertoire.

Ricardo Peredes

Repair Specialist
Ricardo took over our repair operation in 2003. Immediately, he improved our business by lowering costs and doing such expert work that our repair customer base increased by leaps and bounds. As we grew, so did he. In 2005, after working in many local repair shops, he opened his own shop in Alamo, CA. His skill is so amazing that instead of hiring a new repair person to run our machinery, we worked out a system to send our shoes to him. It has been well worth it. In 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle readers voted us “Best Shoe Repair in San Francisco,” thanks to Ricardo and the rest of the repair operations team. Growing up in Leon, Guanajuato Mexico, where shoe factories abound, he worked in many different places learning how to make all types of shoes. There, he participated in shoemaking conventions where he displayed his work in the late 1980s. His favorite part of what he does is finishing a really complicated job, knowing he did the job well. Ours too!

Freddy Cook Jr.

freddy@ashineandco.com
Freddy has been a shoeshine family favorite since November of 2006.  He is a fun loving artisan who paints and plays guitar.  He has a beautiful singing voice, always ready to get a rousing chorus going amongst friends.  In the fall of 2007, Freddy took over operations at the Olympic Club shop.  He has been a rock who’s on a roll!

Caila L.

Caila moved to SF in October, 2007, to join this brilliant crew. She's run the gamut as a performance artist in Chicago, New York and SF. Keep a lookout for her on your visits to San Francisco's comedy clubs, where she hones her stand-up skills on her way to HBOs "One Night Stand." Currently learning the art of video production, she has also worked as a well-liked clown/face painter/balloon artist for childrens' parties in NYC and SF. She would love to do more of it in the future.

Carlos G.

In October of 2009, after a long time career in the food service industry, Carlos wanted to try his hand at something new.  Being well trained in the art of customer service, he has fast become a 5 star shiner.  He loves the instant gratification that he gets from performing a total work of art in 10 minutes.  When he’s not shining shoes, he is still working in his first field tending bar at Pucini & Pinetti.  He also plays drums and bass with a sweet spot for funk and soul.  You can usually find him at our Embarcadero location where his engaging wit is a welcome addition to the crew and customers alike.

Gabriel B.

Gabriel Faith Branbury is a native of northern California who has been living in San Francisco for over thirteen years. "I've been all over the world, and I'll take San Francisco over any city I've seen," says Gabe. He started shining shoes the first of 2009, and brings his meditation practice to his shine art. Daily meditation and making consistent effort to be kind and considerate are central in his life. He teaches yoga, meditation, and Buddhist studies at The San Francisco Buddhist Center. Rock climbing, gardening, and photography are some of his other preferred interests. Gabriel also works as a freelance photographer and photoshop retoucher. He occasionally exhibits his portraiture in cafes and other venues around the city.

Isaac H.

A Bay Area native, Isaac flew into A Shine & Co in May of 2009.  He had been studying for his pilot’s license, putting in over 100 flight hours before he found us.  He has taken quite a shine to shoes, working to become an expert in leather dyeing.  He takes customer service very seriously, ever honing the delicate art of when to engage in a great conversation and when to provide a peaceful respite for those needing a break in their busy day.  One day, he may be telling you to sit back and enjoy your flight; for now, you’ll have to sit back and enjoy your shine.

Jake L.

Crocker Galleria Site Manager
Since May of 2000, Jake has been grateful for the sober workplace where he feels most understood by his fellows. He’s left us many times to try his hand at other trades, but he can’t resist the easy conversations and expert shines that his customers have come to expect from him. He has done tree trimming (from oak to Bonsai), all types of landscaping and gardening, yellow jacket and honeybee removal, beekeeping, locksmithing, small engine repair, auto dismantling, construction, and irrigation installment, earning him the moniker, "Jake of all Trades." That must be why he always has something to talk about with customers, no matter what their interests are!

John M.

Joining us in December of 2009, John helped to streamline our repair services by implementing a new position as the pick-up/drop-off and delivery person.  As we have 4 locations all going to one repair shop, we needed someone with the kind of responsible accountability that John brought to his position.  He is always willing to go the extra mile to help his fellows, personally and at work.  He loves driving, taking in the scenery and spending time contemplating his first loves, landscaping and golf.  John is an actual “tree doctor,” he can diagnose sicknesses, root problems etc. with ease.  He learned about landscaping when he tended the grounds at high end golf courses here in San Francisco.  He was a professional caddy for years, carrying clubs for President Richard Nixon among others.  After becoming a tree expert, he started his own landscaping company, A Tree service, in 1989.  He has had much success in business, but at the end of the day he is happiest being able to help people. At A Shine & Co. his natural impulses are put to good use, blessing one and all.

Karen C.

karenlee@ashineandco.com
Karen finally gave in to the shoeshine bug in Sept of '03. After getting bored with the tedium of practicing law, she wanted a job that was more fun and fulfilling.  “Anyone with a law degree can be a lawyer, but who, on the other hand, has what it takes to be one of the very best shoe shiners on planet earth?” says Karen. This girl would prove to any judge that her shoeshine is guilty of perfection. When she’s not shining, she practices family law.  She has been an anchor in this company shining with great care and an almost imperceptible sarcasm. When we need a solid guitar player and a harmonious voice for our entertainment crew we can count on Karen. She's performed in rock bands and traveled coast-to-coast singing the blues to finally join us to shine your shoes.

Kerry M.

Kerry came to us in the fall of 2005 with a B.A. in education from The Cathoic University of America.  After two years of teaching, she came to San Francisco to visit and fell in love with our group.  She loves working with her friends, and soon took over as operations partner with our sister business at Moscone Center.  One of her favorite aspects of the job is the satisfaction of getting immediate results from her craft; what she calls “the nowness of shoe shining.”  This attitde is reflective of her yoga practice which she is deeply interested in and is a certified teacher in many styles.

Vince L.

Vincent, an East Coast transplant, joined the crew at the end of 2009. He is a self professed chronic creative. He was able to leverage his art education while becoming an accomplished graphic designer for the better part of a decade. He loves using the numerous colors of polish in his kit to help your shoes and leather goods keep their character. His artistry doesn’t stop there - he can be found cutting, coloring, and styling hair at Galleria Hair Design around the corner from our Crocker Galleria stand. With Vince, you’ll be groomed and polished from head to toe.