Staff
President
480-921-3858 ext:650
Marlene
Gonzales
Director of Sales
480-921-3858 ext:283
Diana
zhong
Financial Quantitative Analyst
Diana Zhong joined Better Direct in 2018. As a Financial Quantitative Analyst, 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
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
Lucy
Rodriguez
Project Manager Assistant
Lucy Rodriguez started with Better Direct late April of 2021 and is the assistant to the Project Manager. She is responsible for providing quotes and customer service to our VIP customers, and she has been a hands-on team member in the Better Direct lab by helping them obtaining and sell end-of-life IBM equipment. Before coming to Better Direct, Lucy worked in banking for 13 years, starting as a teller and concluding her career with the bank as a Person Banker by helping customers meet their banking needs. As an Assistant Branch Manager, she managed her own staff and the daily procedures to ensure great audits each year. Here at Better Direct she has connected with some of our great clients to help provide successful solutions to their specific needs and wants. When Lucy isn’t working, she is out sight-seeing and traveling as much as she can.
480-921-3858 ext:135
Chase Cai
Operation & Financial Analyst Manager
480-921-3858 ext:320
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
kato wong
Sales Manager
KaTo Wong is one of our many amazing Sales Managers. 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
kimberly
lambert
Sales Manager
Kimberly Lambert is a Sales Manager with Better Direct. Her role here is to help customers find what they need and then prepare quotes for them. She works primarily on ADMC-3 and SEWP V government contracts. Kimberly takes pride in her ability to prioritize tasks and complete them in a timely manner. She also loves a good challenge and enjoys learning new skills. She studied Radio/TV/Film at Indiana State University and later moved to California where she became a Script Supervisor then eventually to Arizona to be near her family. In her free time, she takes adventure trips with her best friend all over the country. For the past year, she hosts a zoom chat once a week with several friends, each in a different country. She loves to play games and learn about their cultures.
480-921-3858 ext:133
Kirstyn Tisdale
Sales Account Executive
Kirstyn Tisdale is a Sales Account Executive for Better Direct. She specializes on the GSA, SEWP V and ADMC-3 contracts by doing research for clients, creating quotes, and assisting customers throughout their sales experience. She is always trying her best to be helpful and having a positive attitude is her priority! She transplanted from chilly Idaho to the sunny east valley of Arizona in April of 2021. After having worked in customer care for almost her entire career in Idaho, and, having enjoyed every second of that adventure, she was very excited to join the Better Direct team not long after moving. She enjoys baking and reading, prides herself on being a bit of a homebody, and especially enjoys any time she can spend with family.
480-921-3858 ext:137
VANESSA
BRUDER
Sales Account Executive
Vanessa Bruder is employed at Better Direct as a Sales Account Executive. She strives to provide excellent customer service and respond to all her customers in a timely manner. Vanessa has been in IT sales for 20 years and has worked specifically in the government vertical for almost 10 years. She views taking good care of her customers and having a positive attitude while doing so the most important thing she can bring to the job. In her free time she is busy raising teenagers.
480-921-3858 ext:134
christina wu
Purchasing & Financial Analyst
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
anthony
hernandez
Assistant Engineer Architect
Anthony Hernandez is our Assistant Engineer Architect. Anthony has held many positions starting at Data Entry and switching over to Purchasing Agent. His current role here at Better Direct is technical support. Anthony helps provide maintenance for Better Direct internal systems – including testing and replacing old hardware for new hardware in the server room, as well as employee computers. He is a very goal-oriented person who likes a challenge. He is currently attending ASU with an associate in Applied Science. Anthony’s main goal is to finish school with a bachelor’s in computer engineering. In Anthony’s spare time, he enjoys going to the gym and spending time with his family.
480-921-3858
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.
480-921-3858
Iris Guerrero
GSA Contract Admin
Iris Guerrero’s current position at Better Direct is as one of our GSA Contract Administrators. Her role is to input data and sales orders into our systems in a timely matter while also to assisting with invoicing, making sure that the payments are up to date. She continuously learns new information as she becomes accustomed to the different procedures
for all of our contracts; such as, learning to invoice during our busier season which was definitely a learning curve.
This has now taught her how to use our systems more efficiently and effectively. She has input an average of 134 sales orders and has invoiced 417 orders in the timeframe of a month from when she first started at Better Direct in 2021.
Iris’s goal is to become a better version of herself everyday and to achieve a higher sense of self by providing support to
friends and family. When Iris is not at Better Direct, she likes to spend time with her family, drawing, and playing (mostly raging at) different games at home.
480-921-3858
fran suarez
GSA Contract Admin
Fran Suarez is one of the few GSA Contract Admins that works in the operations side of GSA & 2GIT here at Better Direct. They provide data entry support for our GSA team, and serves as a first point of contact for many of our customers.
Here at the office, Fran sends out the sales orders to our customers, as well as inputs billing, shipping, and line item information on Better Direct purchases. In their free time, Fran enjoys dancing, drawing, and discovering old animation. A social hermit at heart, Fran focuses on growing their personal craft while providing love and support to the people around them. Fran has worked as an in-demand high school paraeducator, fastest certified Oil Stop lube technician, and has processed over 30 orders in a day here at Better Direct.
Here to humbly serve.
480-921-3858
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