Staff
President
480-921-3858 ext:650
Marlene Gonzales
Director of Sales
480-921-3858 ext:283
Jackie
Ochoa
Project Manager
Jackie Ochoa is Better Directs project manager. She began working with Better Direct in 2015 as a GSA buyer and then shifted into an outbound sales rep. In July of 2018, she started working directly with Mark on special accounts. She helps maintain close relationships with the VIP customers who have had a long-standing relationship with Better Direct. She also manages the solutions architect team, and she is hands on in the Better Direct computer lab to provide equipment to meet the specific needs of DOD customers. Jackie has supervised in testing and shipping over 2 million dollars’ worth of end of life IBM equipment and continues to successfully provide solutions to all VIP accounts accordingly to their specified needs. When she is not at Better Direct, she likes to spend time with her family, work out, and travel.
480-921-3858 ext:241
Diana zhong
Director of Operations and Finance
Diana Zhong joined Better Direct in 2018. As Director of Operations and Finance, she works directly with Better Direct’s owner, Mark Evans. In this position, she handles all personnel, accounts receivable, payables, and day to day operations. Diana leverages her excellent teamwork and leadership skills to ensure that objective is completed on the time for delivery to our client. Additionally, she holds daily and weekly employee meetings to give information and take feedback for future improvement. Diana holds a Master of Science in finance from Arizona State University. She is a SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9 and SAS Certified Advanced Programmer for SAS 9. Outside of work, she loves being a new mother and enjoys hitting new milestones every day.
480-921-3858 ext:275
Chase Cai
Operations Manager
480-921-3858 ext:320
Vera patterson
ADMC-3 Contract Manager
480-921-3858 ext:202
khatu nguyen
GSA and 2GIT Contract Manager
480-921-3858 ext:355
Scott kane
Outbound Sales Manager
Scott Kane is our Commercial/SLED Sales Manager/Facilities Manager and he gives everything 100 percent of his effort and wants to help everyone succeed, since it is all about team effort. To Scott it is always important to remember that the it is all a state of mind and we must always remain positive. If we think we can do something we set out to do, we can move mountains. Scott has been Married for 25 years to his Beautiful Wife, Monica who has supported his efforts and has been his rock. He also has over 30 years of sales experience varying from outside to inside sales. Industries include: Electronic component distribution and Computer / Server Distribution and Real Estate Sales. Scott held Presidents Club Status in 2004 from his previous employer. Scott loves to help people in need and also like to always leaves a positive lasting impression wherever he goes.
480-921-3858 ext:231
Lala lane
Sales Director Assistant
Lala Lane is our Sales Director Assistant at Better Direct. Since starting in 2018 Lala has held many positions starting as a Data Entry Clerk, Account Executive for both SEWP V & GSA and has moved to her current position. Lala is responsible for processing customer orders and monitoring shipments, making sure they arrive at the correct destination. Along with her purchasing position, Lala also trains new employees on two of our biggest contracts, GSA and SEWP V. She never hesitates to learn something new and her dedication is expressed through her hard work and commitment. Lala enjoys spending time on the Navajo reservation with her extended family as she resides in Tempe with her 6 siblings. Lala is excited to see where all her accomplishments will bring.
480-921-3858 ext:232
Maria Baltierra
Account Executive
Maria is currently employed here at Better Direct as an executive sales representative. She strives to provide an excellent customer service experience while providing you all the necessary information to ensure you are making the right purchase. Prior to Better Direct she has worked on multiple government contracts over the past 10 years, enjoying every fun and adventurous moment her career life has had to offer. On her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs Nina & Oreo, staying positive in every situation is what she lives by.
480-921-3858 ext:130
Shannon riley
Account Executive
480-921-3858 ext:132
Kato wong
Account Executive
KaTo Wong is one of our many amazing account executives. KaTo’s role is doing quotes for our customers. This is his first job and has been with Better Direct since 2018. His goal is to learn the American culture and to learn more about the global market. His top accomplishment would be that he graduated with his Bachelor and Master in Finance degrees at Arizona State University. Outside of the work he loves collecting rare shoes and clothes. The rare pieces makes him excited as they hold investment value.
480-921-3858 ext:119
Briana vazquez
Purchasing Agent
As a Purchasing Agent, Briana’s responsible for processing customer orders and monitoring shipments, making sure they arrive at the correct designation. We also make sure to update customers on their order status daily. She’s always seeking new opportunities with her existing clients and seeing how she can help future customers. Briana has been able to exceed her annual goals year over year, and this year she looks forward to topping the last. She’s the office clean freak and knows when even one pen is moved on her desk. So don’t touch her pens! In Briana’s free time she enjoys hanging out with her two kids and catching up on her sleep as they keep her very busy. Aside from spending time with her kids, she is always looking for something crafty and hands on to do to help pass time.
480-921-3858 ext:225
christina wu
Purchasing Agent
Christina Wu is a Purchasing Agent. At Better Direct, Christina assists her customers by helping with any of their IT needs. Before joining Better Direct, Christina completed her Master program with a Finance Major from W.P. Carey School of Business. Christina has also created new relationships with many manufacturers for Better Direct. In her spare time Christina enjoys cooking and exploring new recipes to try with her friends and family.
480-921-3858 ext:123
Joe Holt
Solutions Architect and IT Services
As our Lead Solutions Architect and IT Services, Joe Holt is responsible for technical support for Better Direct Sales opportunities. He also provides billable design, configuration, installation and consulting services for Better Direct Customers. Joe is a primary source for support and maintenance for Better Direct internal systems. He enjoys solving engineering problems and anything that requires lots of thinking. Joe has over 38 years of computer industry experience including 25 years in sales at Fortune 100 companies and a successful transition to becoming a technical specialist while at IBM. Some of Joe’s accomplishments include numerous awards and trips as a sales representative and numerous past and current technical certifications from many manufacturers including IBM, HPE, Cisco, VMware and Lenovo. In Joe’s free time he enjoys spending time with his family.
480-921-3858 ext:325
patrick xu
Services Administrator
Patrick Xu is a Service Administrator at Better Direct. Patrick is mainly in charge of associating with the engineer side of works including hardware testing, packaging, and personal system repair. When necessary, Patrick also helps with handling SEWP quotes submission and CLINs. His goal is to gain more experience in this field to understand not only more about hardware testing and repairing, but also increase customer satisfaction as a service technician. One of his great accomplishments was graduating with an approved practical design. Patrick finished his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering at Arizona State University. He was selected to work with Phoenix Children Hospital to design a pressure redistribution bed for brain trauma patients. This project helped Patrick to build up his confidence in his capacity of problem solving and design. After he joined Better Direct, he has gained a lot of knowledge of personal system repairing and became a certified service technician. In Patrick’s personal life, he likes to drive out to try different kinds of food and duplicate them again. He loves cooking for his family and friends whenever he has interesting cooking ideas.
480-921-3858 ext:124
Prestina yazzie
Deputy SEWP Program Manager
Prestina Yazzie is a dedicated member of Better Direct as the Deputy SEWP Program Manager. She began with the company in 2015 as an Administrator and was appointed Deputy SEWP Program Manager in 2018. She is responsible for monitoring the SEWP program by preparing and submitting our products onto our SEWP V contract. Prestina is the administer liaison for the NASA SEWP program by submitting all reports. She assures a timely and accurate dispatch of all program activities, sensitive issues, and successes. In providing this information and documentation, it helps to predetermine objectives and meet future requirements. Prestina grew up on the Navajo reservation, but currently resides in Tempe, AZ with her husband and their seven children. Between balancing family, life and her position here, she likes to attend social events such as concerts, museums, and writing engagements.
480-921-3858 ext:205
robert warnicke
Contracts Consultant
Robert has been practicing law since 1993, and primarily focuses on debtor/creditor relations and commercial litigation. In 2013 he opened his own firm, and has expanded his practice to include assisting Better Direct on business matters, particularly with respect to obtaining and complying with GWACs (Government Wide Acquisition Contracts). Over the years he has worked a number of appeals, including reported decisions: Hullett v. Cousin, 204 Ariz. 292 (2003) (involving the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act); Stauffer v. US Bank N.A., 233 Ariz. 22 (App. 2013) (Protecting homeowners with A.R.S. § 33-420). An Arizona native, he left to Tennessee for an undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University, cum laude in Honors History, and returned to Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law for a J.D., also cum laude. He is interested in historic preservation, infrequently is involved in land use matters on behalf of existing neighborhoods, is President of Phoenix Historic Districts, and is Vice President of Phoenix Historic Neighborhood Coalition.
480-921-3858 ext:122
shuhan jai
GSA Contract Admin
Shuhan’s position is a GSA Administrator in which she deals with data such as manufacturer product listings and pricing. She prepares information, for two of our contracts to ensure that our customers are always obtaining the best possible price. Shuhan graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor in Science Accountancy and a Master degree in Accountancy. Outside of work, she likes playing basketball, and also likes watching different types of television shows. She also likes
480-921-3858
Zixu lee li
GSA Contract Admin
Zixu (Lee) Li is the GSA Administrator at Better Direct. He is responsible for inputting updated information on our GSA Advantage company profile, including our contract policy and the existing products’ latest pricing. In addition to updating our product listings, Lee also researches the added products to to ensure our customer’s have the best pricing available. Lee studied at Arizona State University, and graduated in 2019 with a Masters of Science in Global Logistics. As his master’s program’s final project, he led his team with an analysis project for Knight Transportation and presented in front of their senior management team, who were very satisfied with their analysis. Before starting at Better Direct, he had an internship with Hormel Foods and OTS Forwarding. Kindness is what Lee values the most. Many people in his life have showed their kindness and it truly changes the way he sees the world. Kindness makes him feel very confident, positive, and useful. When Lee isn’t in the office, you can find him playing soccer or building custom PC and keyboards.
480-921-3858