44° North
OUR TEAM
Diane Penzenstadler
Owner/CEO
Diane is an Oshkosh native, which gives her a solid historical and cultural understanding of the area. Paired with the objectivity of a marketer, Diane is able to bring a unique perspective to clients. Diane’s educational background is UW Oshkosh, School of Journalism with an Advertising & PR emphasis. Diane began her career in radio sales, helped start Creative Management & Marketing Services in 1988, took ownership of the company in 2000 and grew it into 44º North Advertising & Design. Throughout her career Diane has believed it is important to be engaged in the community. She has served on various boards including First 5 Fox Valley, Greater Oshkosh Economic Development Corporation, the Oshkosh Area United Way, Oshkosh Family, Inc. Aside from running a busy company, Diane is busy in the community, too. She is also a member and active in Fox Valley Tempo and Oshkosh Mid Morning Kiwanis. In 2018 she was one of 18 women recognized by the Wisconsin Women’s Council and Governor Scott Walker as a Trailblazer.
Monica Schulz
Monica is the business manager at 44º North keeping all the financial and HR balls in the air for the business. A native of Juneau (not Alaska) her education is in the medical field, but her true love is numbers. She joined Diane right from the beginning and has remained in this position throughout the life of the business. She is smart, practical and very saavy about what it takes to help make a business succeed. Throughout her career Monica has been very active in the Oshkosh Catholic School system as her children and now grand children were and are students within the system. Monica is now semi-retired, and spends much of her time with her family.
Kevin Johnson
Kevin joined our firm in 2017 as a graphic design intern. We liked him and his talents so much that we invited him to stay! Originally from the Milwaukee area, Kevin attended UW Oshkosh receiving his BA in Graphic Design. He is an extraordinary designer and his favorite thing to tackle is developing a new brand for our clients. During the recent pandemic, we learned how easy it was to work remotely, and now Kevin works part time in the office and part time from his home in Milwaukee. Kevin enjoys hiking, camping and playing soccer in his free time.
Brian Smith
Brian joined our team in the fall of 2018 as a digital media consultant. A gifted writer, Brian does the heavy lifting for our clients’ social media strategy. Brian has a wicked sense of humor and never misses a chance to give tease Kevin. The only drawback to Brian is his loyalty to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he received his Master of Science in Recreation, Sport and Tourism. A friendly rivalry exists between him and other team members who are Badger fans.
Matt Crowe
Matt is our resident web developer extraordinaire! Having joined our team in 2019 Matt has built countless websites since that time, and excels in walking customers through the process. In the world of web, one never stops learning, and Matt is exceptional at researching new options to make a site function and look good at the same time. In addition to his web work, Matt is also skilled in videography and production. Originally from Oshkosh, Matt has three children and family in the area, so in his free time (what little he has) he spends it with family.