Team

THOMAS RYAN REDCORN

Chief Creative, Director

Ryan RedCorn (Osage) was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma into a family of preachers, politicians and salesmen, which are all the same occupation. He is the ilonpa of Raymond and Elizabeth RedCorn, and the object of jealousy from his three younger brothers Jon, Alex and Studebaker, who between them have three masters degrees and two Phd's. Ryan, however, took six and half years to get an art degree in visual communications from the University of Kansas. To the surprise of many, Ryan has been able to translate his education, his ilonpa entitlement, and his family lineage into something some people think is valuable. He co-founded the Indigenous comedy troupe, the 1491s, and started a full services ad agency in the middle of nowhere Pawhuska, Oklahoma called Buffalo Nickel Creative. Sometimes people laugh at him. But he's ok with all of that. He recently woke one morning and realized he was married and had three daughters. He remarked, "I live a crazy life" and promptly enrolled in an MFA in screenwriting program to test his capacity for stress. He graduated in the Spring of 2020 and is presently alive, vaccinated and a staff writer on the second season of FX's tv show, Reservation Dogs.

JOSEPH BROWN THUNDER

Chief Executive, Producer

Joseph Brown Thunder, is a member of the Wisconsin Ho-chunk and Lakota Oglala of Pine Ridge in South Dakota. After finishing school at the University of Minnesota in Theater and History. Joseph went to work behind the camera working his way from a PA to Producer but left the industry after starting a family. Joseph became a contractor for media development for the Department of Defense which led to working in application development with the Intel Corporation. In 2001, Joseph established his own technology firm “Nativeres Interactive” that provided technology solutions for various groups federal groups throughout the country. They have provided services for the Department of Health and Human Services, Lockheed Martin, EPA, HUD, private and non-profits groups on various IT projects throughout the United States.

In 2007, he Co-founded Buffalo Nickel Creative with Ryan Red Corn which has gone on to win numerous awards for design and media. Joe is the numbers and Ryan is the pictures. Joseph produces everything that comes out of the Nickel.

Joseph is a fundraiser for the NCAI's “Embassy of Tribal Nations” in Washington, DC and a Former Council member for the City of Falcon Heights . Joseph currently resides in Orange County and is married to Simone and has three daughters Emma, Taylor, Brooke and a family dog Tucker.

BEN BROWN

Sr. Graphic Designer / Sound Engineer

Benton Brown is a graphic designer with Buffalo Nickel Creative. Ben was born in Bartlesville Oklahoma and spent a majority of his life in Osage Territory in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. With a deep admiration of artwork from a young age, Ben started illustrating in his spare time. Ben is an accomplished musician and audio engineer that wandered through the doors of Buffalo Nickel in early 2009 looking for a place to print t shirts locally for his band. After submitting a design for a shirt he caught the eye of Ryan Red Corn. Ryan offered Ben a job with Buffalo Nickel as a printer. Given an opportunity to better himself and prove to the world that he had latent talents hiding within, Ben quickly set the Buffalo Nickel Press on fire twice before lunch time on his first day. Ben quickly became adjusted and developed skills in design, photography, video, audio engineering, music composition, voiceover work, illustration, painting, animation, and storytelling. Ben’s most valuable asset is his ability to adapt quickly. Ben continues to develop new skills on a daily basis. He has been referred to by some clients as the glue that binds the Pawhuska Office together.

JASON MICHAEL FONG

Project Manager

Jason graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Communications and a double-minor in Studio Art and Political Science. He began work as an Account Rep at a music distributor where he handled the company’s largest accounts, CDNow and Music Boulevard. After two years, he transitioned into the I.T. field spending six years at Intel as a Web Developer and Project Lead for the company’s highest profile projects including the flagship website Intel.com and the consumer-based website, Intel Personal Computing. He is currently the Project Manager at BNC and has overseen numerous web and design projects for high-profile clients in the non-profit sector, activist circles, law, politics, gaming, and entertainment.

Jason has acted in film, television, new media, radio, and theater. You've seen him play a variety of comedy roles in the hit web series, SMOSH, with Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla. He also had the honor of sharing scenes with Alex O' Loughlin and Daniel Dae Kim on the hit CBS show Hawaii Five-0 filmed on the beautiful island of Oahu. Jason has appeared in several commercials, print ads, and new media for clients in the following industries: Athletics/Sports, Banking/Finance, Information Technology, and Travel/Leisure to name a few. Other work includes voiceovers for major ad campaigns. As a filmmaker, Jason has written, produced and starred in the short films Bite Me, Office Romance, and The Rescue, and a webseries called Area 49. His films have screened at various Asian American film festivals as well as Comic Cons.

Jason is a 1st Degree Black Belt in Mapag Tapat Shi, a blended system of martial arts that includes American Kenpo, Jeet Kune Do, Escrima, and Israeli Combatives. In his spare time he likes to stay fit, paint, read, and be the best cat dad possible. He is repped by J.E. Talent, San Francisco, CA, and Niche Models & Talent, Honolulu, HI and is a member of SAG-AFTRA.

Jay Kaulay

Sr Graphic Designer

Jay’s story began at 11:16pm at the Indian Health Service hospital in Lawton Oklahoma. His knack for adventure and self development came at the age of five when he stuck his head in between a hand rail and realized his fear of heights while looking down a two story apartment building. He continued to make progress though, eventually hitting a personal milestone and finding balance on his first bike with no training wheels.

Mr. Kaulay’s enjoyment for the fine arts started in his adolescence after he was placed in ten weeks worth of music class instead of the usual hybrid schedule with the art class next door. It was in this moment he wanted to be an artist and spent the next decade taking art classes until eventually graduating with his BFA at Cameron University in 2012.

During his time away from the canvas he focused his skills on digital software platforms and even stepped outside of his box to learn how to measure streams from watersheds in various regions of the southwest United States.

Jay In his spare time you will find him playing guitar, painting, writing, running half marathons, and working on his tennis serve.

taylor brown thunder

Communications Coordinator

Taylor Brown Thunder is a recent graduate from the University of Redlands with a B.A. inpolitical science and English literature, summa cum laude. She was the 2021 recipient of the Frederick John Wiley Memorial Award for International Relations.

At the U of R, Taylor served as the Panhellenic president for greek life at the college for two years. In this role, she oversaw all meetings with the panhellenic council and the executive board.

In addition, Taylor is a lifelong member of three honor societies: Mortar Board, Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa.

Currently, Taylor serves as the communications coordinator for Buffalo Nickel Creative, where she primarily focuses on managing the brand’s visibility on social media platforms. She also works as the in-house creative copywriter.

Taylor is an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation; and of Lakota and Karuk descent. Taylor resides in Orange County, California.

todd vetter

Office Manager and Production Coordinator

Coming soon.

EVAN fong

Filmmaker

Coming soon.