Meet our Team!
Our team lives out our mission and core values on a daily basis. We're here to change how weather forecasts are consumed, viewed and incorporated into people's lives across the world.
Michael Clark
CEO & Co-Founder
Michael is one of the co-founders and acting CEO of BAM Wx. Michael is responsible for seeing that the vision of BAM Wx is implemented successfully both now and planning for the years ahead as well. Michael lives in Indianapolis with his wife Christie, their 3 kids and 2 dogs. In Michael's free time he enjoys weight lifting, cigars, hunting, basketball and some bourbon.
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Amanda Kilgore
CFO & Co-Founder
Amanda is one of BAM's co-founders. At BAM, she handles all customer service and invoicing. She lives in Greenwood with her husband, Bryan. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and children.
Bryan Kilgore
Co-Founder
Bryan is one of BAM's co-founders. At BAM, he handles programming and the development and quality of BAM products. He lives in Greenwood with his wife, Amanda. In his free time he enjoys relaxing and smoking cigars.
Vince Bryan
COO
Vince was born and raised in Northeast Ohio where much of his childhood was spent watching or playing sports. After quickly learning that the Lake Erie snowbelt was not the place for him, he went to college at The Ohio State University where he majored in atmospheric sciences and minored in environmental engineering.
After graduation, Vince moved to Central Indiana and started with BAM in 2019 as an operational meteorologist. Vince's main focus & love has always been to better understand the "why" of weather, however his passion lies with trying to help people understand how weather can impact them and their operations. Weather is arguably one of the most misunderstood concepts that impacts everyone everyday, so one of Vince's main goals is to try and educate people as to how weather really "works".
Vince currently resides in Franklin, IN with his wife, Ashley. They are both very big Ohio sports fans, and enjoy just about any outdoor activity. Free time is usually spent checking out local state parks, watching college sports, or exploring different parts of the country!
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Bret Walts
CMO
Bret grew up in Southern Indiana and attended New Albany High School where he played Golf for the Bulldogs. He originally applied to Indiana University as a Direct Admit to the School of Journalism but transitioned to Atmospheric Science to follow his passion of passion of weather.
During his time at BAM he has served as the Director of Communications, Lead Ag/Energy Meteorologist and now Chief Marketing Officer where he can use his creativity and experience in both forecasting and media to manage BAM's marketing initiatives and internal/external communications.
He resides in Franklin, IN with his wife Callahan who also graduated from Indiana University and teaches Earth Space Science and Meteorology! He loves playing golf, traveling and cheering on his Indiana Hoosiers in his free time. His goal with BAM Weather is to help educate the public about weather, forecasts and help spread the word about how BAM can help people make smarter weather related decisions all over the United States.
Lauren Thomas
CRO
Lauren, encompassed by a phenomenal leadership team, and utilizing her competitive nature, strives to outperform. After majoring in criminal justice at Indiana University, Lauren launched herself into the legal field, quickly moving into the all encompassing world of safety and security.
Leaning into her passion to keep people safe, Lauren is able to apply her wide range of background and leadership experience to help drive and implement the company's vision. In her free time, Lauren enjoys spending time with her husband, kids and dogs, hiking and traveling.
Eric Kachelmeyer
CTO
Eric is BAM's Chief Technology Officer and his focus is on enhancing product offerings and growing technical teams for the next generation of BAM weather technology. He has a vast depth of tech experience including co-founding and architecting a revolutionary SaaS platform, Coactive. Coactive was nominated for various awards, including start-up of the year in the Indianapolis area. He joined BAM to combine his passion for technology and weather with the opportunity to create and architect BAM's next-generation weather service platform, Clarity.
In his spare time Eric enjoys playing pickleball, traveling, and hiking. Eric lives near Danville Indiana with his wife and children.
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Kirk Hinz
Relationship Executive
One word that describes Kirk is: passionate. Ever since he could remember, he’s had an extreme passion for all things weather and for helping people…a combination that brought him to BAM Weather in September 2016 as a full-time meteorologist, a few years after graduating from Ball State in 2012 with a degree in professional meteorology.
Kirk has played a vital roll in helping the company grow, eagerly filling rolls of not just forecasting the weather each day, but also consistently helping bring on new business for BAM, hitting the road traveling to speak at events, growing our social media platforms and growing public awareness of our mission of helping people with our service each day. Kirk also is very passionate about his faith and seeking to live that out each day, for his beautiful family of 4 and making new memories with them as often as possible, his health and working out, and just living life to the fullest in every opportunity.
John Kemper
Meteorologist | PM Shift Leader
John was born and raised in Indiana, and studied atmospheric science at Saint Louis University and Indiana University. He has always been intrigued by impactful storms, both in the winter and summer, and is passionate about keeping event/concert venues informed and safe from impeding weather. The more difficult the forecast environment, the better John likes it! Utah and Iowa remain John's favorite place to forecast for.
In his free time, John enjoys watching sports, playing poker / euchre with friends, and spending time on the lake. John hopes to one day travel to all 50 states, and retire in a lakehouse in the middle of nowhere 🙂
Patrick Van Horne
Director of Preparedness
Patrick brings a career of service to BAM Weather.
Beginning his career as an officer in the Marine Corps after 9/11, he has built a company providing online education to public safety professionals, served as an emergency manager in his community, volunteers with a veteran-led disaster response organization, and supports organizations disaster preparedness projects. In 2014 Patrick co-authored the book, Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps’ Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life, which has been added to the Marine Corps Commandant’s Reading List.
He lives outside of Boulder, CO with his wife Lisa and their three kids cheering on the Colorado Avalanche. In his free time, Patrick enjoys cooking, skiing, and playing hockey.
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Matt Griffin
Director of Meteorologist Development
Matt has a bachelor’s degree from Ball State University in operational meteorology and a master’s degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of North Dakota. Matt has been with BAMWX since 2019. He lives in Franklin, IN with his wife, Diana, daughter, Elizabeth, and dog, Arty. Matt loves trying new whiskies/ beers and is a self-proclaimed whiskey snob. He also loves spicy food, metal music, Notre Dame Football, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Indiana Pacers.
Matt’s mission is to continue to elevate the customer – meteorologist interaction to new levels which is already a separator for BAMWX. He will continue to focus on the training and development of fellow meteorologists with one of BAMWX’s core values in mind: Good is not enough, excellence is essential.
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Makaela Rader
Administrative Assistant
Makaela was born and raised in Indiana and currently resides in Greenwood, IN. She attended IU Indianapolis and earned her bachelor's degree in journalism with concentrations in public relations, event management and hospitality. In her free time; Makaela enjoys reading novels, watching movies, and spending time with friends & family.
Makaela has been with BAM since February 2023. She takes great pride in assisting our clients and staff members so that they can focus on what they do best. Her passion is simply helping others.
Luke Kachelemeyer
Full Stack Developer
Luke is a devoted web developer. He makes online experiences that merge functionality with aesthetics. With a solid foundation in both front-end and back-end technologies. Luke's goal is to bridge the gap between functionality and aesthetics to create websites that captivate users. Committed to continuous growth, Luke thrives on staying updated with the latest industry trends and applying innovative solutions to real-world problems.
Beyond the world of coding, Luke enjoys exploring various pursuits, from working on cars to yard work. When not immersed in the digital realm, Luke can be found out hiking with friends. With a strong blend of creativity and technical expertise, Luke brings a unique flair to web development that leaves a lasting impact.
Alyssa Elliott
Meteorologist | Client Account Specialist
I have always had a love for the sky and curiosity for the why behind the storms. Now I get to do what I love each day while also keeping clients informed and safe. When I’m not at work, I enjoy being outdoors in the sunshine or worshiping at the church, all while spending time with my husband and family. I also find a lot of joy in exercising, often times lifting weights or running, eager to find the strongest version of myself.
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Jonathan Kipper
Operational Meteorologist
Jonathan has lived in Indiana his whole life, graduating from Jennings County High School in 2019 and Purdue University in 2023. While earning his degree in Atmospheric Science at Purdue, he was a part of the Reamer Club, the caretakers of Purdue's official mascot in the Boilermaker Special. During this time, he got to experience trips with the football team such as Syracuse and Orlando, fitting in two of his interests in traveling and Purdue sports.
One of the big draws of working at BAM Weather is combining two of his passions of weather and keeping others safe, along with working with some of the biggest companies around the world. When not at work, his interests include motorsports and cheering on his favorite teams, being involved in his local BSA council (Hoosier Trails Council), and, as mentioned before, traveling.
Tyler Riggles
Operational Meteorologist
Tyler was born and raised in Indiana, and studied atmospheric science at Purdue University. Ever since a tornado went through his backyard in the second grade, he has been fascinated by severe weather. This fascination and passion for severe weather has led him to head research projects on the subject and develop code for forensic weather analysis. His mission is to leave a positive impact on others through weather forecasting and excellent customer service.
Tyler is a self proclaimed nerd. In his free time he enjoys pursuing writing and art, as well as playing video games and trading card games, especially Yu-Gi-Oh!. He also grew up playing in his school's orchestra and has performed at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.
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Xander Lowry
Operational Meteorologist
Xander is from Mooresville Indiana with a degree in atmospheric science and computer science from Indiana University. Ever since he was young he has always had a fascination with the ocean and weather. These passions led to a focus on hurricane forecasting. He has research experience using machine learning to work to improve the prediction of rapid intensification in tropical cyclones with collaboration with the Office of Naval Research, along with other applications of machine learning in a other meteorological settings.
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Hope Kleitsch
Digital Content Meteorologist
Hope is from Eureka, Missouri a suburban town 45-minutes west of St. Louis. She recently graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Meteorology and Climatology. Her passion for weather started young. While growing up, she loved watching The Weather Channel and watching tornado documentaries. During her time at Ball State, she did a two-week storm chasing course out in the Great Plains and she knew then and there that meteorology was the right career choice for her. Outside of work, Hope loves the outdoors. Anything from golf, hiking, skiing, traveling, she is always searching for her next adventure.
Adam Feick
Operational Meteorologist
Adam was born and raised just north of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. From as early as Kindergarten, people around him could tell he had a strong burning passion for the weather, helping people, and serving his community. Shows like Discovery Channel's “Storm Chasers” and tornado coverage on live TV, got young Adam wondering, “How can I stop tornadoes” and “What can I do to help others stay safe”.
Throughout K-12 school Adam would go and read every book on weather in any library he could. Only building his passion stronger. In middle school Adam would email weather forecasts to neighbors and family friends. Taking any opportunity to do presentations in school on weather. Later Adam attended Ball State University where he got his bachelors of Science in Meteorology and Climatology. Over the last 6 years Adam has been researching QLCS tornadoes and has been keeping the Ohio Valley safe from Winter Storms to Severe Weather Outbreaks on Facebook Youtube to eventually local TV. In his free time Adam loves to go walking, hiking, golfing, fishing, and camping. He will take any opportunity to be out in nature when he can. Especially watching sunrises from his porch with a book and cup of coffee. Game nights are also a necessity for him and his soon to be wife.
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