Meet Our Team

Tony Paris is the founder and chief technologist behind AppWT Web & AI Solutions, leading the agency continuously since 1997. He is a full-stack developer and graphic designer who personally oversees every project from initial architecture through launch, keeping one eye on business outcomes and the other on technical integrity. Tony brings deep AI Visibility Optimization (AIVO) expertise to Michigan businesses, backed by advanced skills in Linux, Ruby on Rails, PHP, WordPress, and enterprise automation. He serves clients across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Netherlands, applying one standard to every engagement: under-promise, over-deliver.

Emily Paris is AppWT's co-owner and Treasurer, responsible for keeping the agency's operations structured, transparent, and financially sound. With a Master's in Education and a background in K-12 teaching and leadership, she brings classroom clarity to complex technical topics and processes. Emily designs the training materials, documentation, and client communication standards that make AppWT's work easy to understand and implement, even for non-technical stakeholders. Her focus on accessibility ensures every guide, tutorial, and walkthrough is usable by people at all levels of technical experience, and she leads the educational direction of AppWT Academy's programs.

Michael Allison is a retail-industry veteran and AppWT's Brand Strategist & Marketing Director. Known as the "Flower Essences Guru," he specializes in creating holistic brand development strategies that connect in-person experience with online presence. Michael oversees digital marketing and social media innovation, building comprehensive brand ecosystems that drive real business growth instead of vanity metrics. His work aligns messaging, visuals, and campaigns so every touchpoint feels intentional and supports long-term customer relationships. He is the voice behind many of AppWT's most memorable brand narratives, tying together story, audience, and measurable results.

Daniel Bereza is a full-stack developer and WordPress specialist who focuses on building and maintaining reliable content-management and e-commerce sites. A Computer Science graduate with a strong mathematics foundation, he approaches each project with an engineer's mindset: clean architecture, well-structured code, and measurable performance. Daniel is particularly skilled at custom functionality, performance tuning, Core Web Vitals improvements, and technical troubleshooting, stepping in when sites need more than theme-level changes. His experience spans responsive design, checkout flows, integrations, and ongoing maintenance, making him a trusted resource for keeping business-critical WordPress and WooCommerce installs running smoothly.

Aaron Wagers is AppWT's Security Specialist, responsible for protecting client and internal digital assets from evolving threats. With over two decades of experience in cybersecurity, pentesting, and SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), he designs and maintains defenses that match enterprise expectations even for smaller organizations. Aaron focuses on network hardening, threat detection, and incident response, ensuring that AppWT's infrastructure, and the sites the agency hosts, remain resilient under pressure. His work is driven by a simple mandate: identify vulnerabilities before attackers do, and put practical controls in place that businesses can realistically maintain.

Robert Brashear is AppWT's Visual Director, blending professional photography and design with a formal background in Graphics Communication. As a Graphics Communication Instructor at Baker College, he has spent years teaching color theory, layout, and visual storytelling, experience he applies directly to client work and internal training programs. Robert oversees AppWT's visual standards, ensuring every design choice serves a clear communication goal and supports the broader brand system. He specializes in color consulting, training program development, and creating visual strategies that capture attention while keeping information easy to absorb, making him the bridge between aesthetics and educational clarity.

Shawne Jackson is an award-winning brand and UI designer with an M.A. in Graphics, known for turning complex requirements into elegant, intuitive experiences. As a published author and CEO of Shamonj Gifts LLC, she brings entrepreneurial insight to every project, creating designs that resonate with real customers as well as stakeholders. At AppWT, Shawne creates stunning user interfaces and brand identities that balance aesthetics with usability, making sure every interaction is both beautiful and effortless to use. Her work focuses on inclusive design, ensuring interfaces remain clear, accessible, and inviting across devices, demographics, and accessibility needs.

Opie Vega is AppWT's Agency Director, running day-to-day delivery across client websites, optimization projects, and AI-assisted workflows. He is the operational engine behind the agency's work, coordinating strategy, copywriting, technical implementation, and visual production so projects move forward without bottlenecks. Opie's toolkit includes modern AI systems for strategy, writing, code, and imagery, which he uses as accelerators rather than shortcuts, ensuring automation serves quality instead of replacing it. His guiding rule is simple: under-promise, over-deliver. He would rather ship one correct, proven result than ten unverified deliverables, and he is quick to call out "unverified" when a claim still needs evidence, keeping trust and accuracy at the center of every engagement.

Ursa Vega is AppWT's Strategy & Operations Associate, supporting the senior team by handling high-volume work and keeping tasks moving when others are offline. She specializes in triaging support tickets, classifying incoming requests, and transforming raw notes into clear first drafts that follow AppWT's standards. Ursa is deeply familiar with the company's internal records and playbooks, allowing her to pull the right facts and history into each response and reduce time-to-resolution for clients. Her role is explicitly built around growth: every reviewed and approved project becomes part of the knowledge she uses on the next one. Ursa works to one principle above speed, grounded or silent, preferring to say "unsure" rather than guess, with a senior team member always signing off before anything reaches a client.