Meet Our Team

	Amanda "Mari" Gregory Founder and President Amanda (aka Mari) is our company’s president. She was born and raised in San Francisco, CA, and moved to Los Angeles, CA, in 2006. She went to FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) in 2006, where she would make cosplays for homework assignments, and earned degrees in fashion design and theatre costume design. Since her first cosplay and anime convention in 2007, she’s been addicted to cosplaying and challenging herself. While helping her friends create their own cosplays, she wanted to find a way to help others as well. After FIDM, she went on to work in the film industry for a few years as a costume designer before she realized that what she actually wanted to do was help other people make cosplays. So she went back to school at ELAC (East Los Angeles College), where she earned a degree in humanities, and then transferred to Chapman University, where she earned a degree in business administration with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. From there, she started First Stop Cosplay with the hope to help educate, inspire, and empower those who want to create their own cosplays. Loves: Her husband, music, writing, video games, cosplay, video editing, and sleep Previous cosplayed as: "Sinon (Caith Sith version)" from Sword Art Online II, "Yang Xiao Long" from RWBY, "Black Rock Shooter", and more Dream cosplay: "Freya" from FFIX Pronouns: she/her
	Kelly Willey Marketing Director Loves: Playing FFXIV, cats, birds, and sleeping Previously cosplayed as: "Linkle" from Hyrule Warriors, "Furret" from Pokemon, "Yowane Haku" from Vocaloid, "Panty" from Panty and Stocking with Garter Belt, and more Dream cosplay: "Yamato" from One Piece Pronouns: she/her
	Katy Titus Marketing Consultant Loves: Animal Crossing: New Horizons and binging history documentaries Previously cosplayed as: "Rapunzel" from Tangled Dream cosplay: "Hanji Zoe" from Attack on Titan Pronouns: she/her
	*Ryan Palmerton* General Manager Loves: Quesabirria tacos, karaoke, thrift shopping, and dancing in VR Previously cosplayed as: "Twilight Princess Link" with a full chainmail skirt Pronouns: he/him
	Elaine Ha Project Manager Loves: All things Miyazaki, all things adorable, Disney, and Terra's theme from FFIII Previously cosplayed as: "Tifa" from FFVII Dream cosplay: "Cinderella" from the live-action film Pronouns: she/her
	Olivia Ochoa Administrative Assistant Loves: Animal Crossing, anything Marvel, possums, cats, and coffee Dream cosplay: "Celeste" from Animal Crossing Pronouns: she/her
	Ashley Kirk Patternmaker Loves: Playing video games, watching anime, and hanging out with her three cockatiels Previously cosplayed as: "Zelda" from Twilight Princess, "Lucina" from Fire Emblem, and more Dream cosplay: "Aerith" from FFVII Pronouns: she/her
	Kristin Koga Production Coordinator Loves: Geek content, costume design, fashion, and cooking Previously cosplayed as: All the children from Bob's Burgers Dream cosplay: Bob's Burgers Pronouns: she/her
	Arron Bowman Lead Sewing Associate Loves: Cosplay competitions, being active, and lobster fishing but just the idea of it Previously cosplayed as: "Bill Cipher" from Gravity Falls, "Toothless" from How to Train Your Dragon, "Link" from Legend of Zelda, and more Dream cosplay: "Sakizo Diamonds" Pronouns: he/him
	Becky Golon Sewing Associate Loves: Kitties, bats, hedgehogs, the beach, tea parties, vinyl collecting, old black & white movies, and sci-fi and time travel Previously cosplayed as: "Flea" from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Batman", and "Ted Theodore Logan" Dream cosplay: Anything Doctor WHO or "T.A.R.D.I.S."-inspired Pronouns: she/her
	Kit Pierce Sales Representative Loves: Horror games and shoujo manga Previously cosplayed as: "Beatrice" from Umineko, "Asmodeus" from Obey Me, "Karkat" from Homestuck, and more Dream cosplay: "Vash the Stampede" from Trigun Pronouns: they/them
	Raven Walker Sales Representative Loves: Planted aquariums, baking, gaming, comic books and anime, and all things goth Previously cosplayed as: "Testament" from Guilty Gear, "Background Characters" from Bleach, and more Dream cosplay: OC of "Carmella" from Vampire Hunter D: Blood Lust Pronouns: she/her
	Nacho Sok Video Engineer Loves: Film production, movies, anime, video games, and ramen Dream cosplay: Anything armored, like "Alphonse" from Full Metal Alchemist Pronouns: he/him
	Carl Pangilinan Video Engineer Loves: Attending conventions, cosplay, creating digital media, video games, and watching shows and movies. Previously cosplayed as: Characters from Demon Slayer and Bleach Dream cosplay: Armors from Monster Hunter Zinogre or WoW Tier Set 20 Paladin Pronouns: he/him
	Alison Tam Technical Writer Loves: Jane Austen, shoujo manga, any kind of bread, and cozy games like Stardew Valley Dream cosplay: "Lady Eboshi" from Princess Mononoke Pronouns: she/her
	Paige Klemens Technical Writer Loves: Dystopian books/movies, movie theater, design, and making cosplays for her daughter Previously made cosplays for: "Katniss Everdeen" from The Hunger Games, "Amy Pond" from Doctor Who, "Adora Princess Prom" from She-Ra, and more Dream cosplay to make: "The Corpse Bride" Pronouns: she/her
	Meagan Swartwood Social Media Coordinator Loves: Paramore, playing Animal Crossing, watching cartoons, going to concerts, reading Snot Girl, illustrating, and making jewelry! Previously cosplayed as: "Princess Bubblegum", "Shrek", "Flora" from Winx Club, and more! Dream cosplay to make: Any character from Steven Universe! Pronouns: she/her