TazWorks – Technology with Touch

Vision
Mission

Vision

We are passionate about being the background screening industry’s most forward-thinking and recognized thought leader. We strive to create a culture that our customers admire and people want to work for.

Mission

We are committed to providing background screening professionals with the most comprehensive and trusted technology platform, backed by essential business intelligence tools, and world-class customer support.

Meet the Management Team

BARTON TAYLOR

Founder & CEO

CEO Barton Taylor founded TazWorks in October of 2002 to provide a comprehensive software solution to background screeners and filling a void in the industry. Prior to TazWorks in 1989, Barton started Far West Credit services, a credit reporting agency. In an effort to diversify and grow his business, Barton expanded into background screening in 1997. During this transition, he had a lightbulb moment: most background screening companies struggle to afford to fund their own software, so why not build a simple, powerful solution that would meet and exceed their needs? Enter TazWorks. Barton’s experience as an entrepreneur, coupled with his insight into the background screening industry, has uniquely prepared him for the challenges of creating TazWorks. Each year brings new releases of features, functionality, and tools as he continues to push the boundaries of background screening software.

SCOTT KIMBALL

Chief Technology Officer

Scott Kimball, Chief Technology Officer and a founding partner at TazWorks, is a computer scientist by degree and a software engineer whisperer at heart. Scott takes pride in his even-keeled approach to working with stakeholders throughout the business. He has overseen the technological growth of TazWorks from a single engineer with a repurposed PC in the backroom to more than two dozen engineers in software development, quality assurance, support, research and development. Prior to the creation of TazWorks in 2002, Scott worked as a software engineer in the publishing and content management industry. In his downtime, Scott enjoys almost anything outdoors and away from screens, including road biking, mountain biking, hiking, skiing, and boating.

JOE OLSEN

Chief Operations Officer

As TazWorks’ Chief Operating Officer, Joe Olsen brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the TazWorks leadership team. Prior to joining TazWorks, Joe worked with many Fortune 100 companies in a variety of disciplines. As an Ernst & Young alum and former SaaS-based entrepreneur himself, he brings an understanding of large-scale operational strategy, while demonstrating grit in getting the job done. Joe understands the entrepreneurial spirit of TazWorks’ founders and brings a fresh perspective to the company's growth strategy, operational efficiency, risk management, and customer-centric focus. Outside of TazWorks, Joe can be found court-side cheering on his five children in their own athletic pursuits—all of whom hope to become as athletically accomplished as their father, an alumnus of Brigham Young University, three-time national champions men’s volleyball team.

DAVID TANNER

Chief Architect

As Chief Architect, David Tanner is responsible for the technology architecture at TazWorks with specific focus on design, development, and implementation best practices. With over 15 years of experience working with companies from start-ups to large multi-national organizations, David understands what it takes to scale a technology stack and lead a team. David graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in computer science. When David isn't busy doing his part to revolutionize the background screening industry, he can be found exploring the outdoors on bike, skiing or hiking with his wife and two daughters.

TOM PILKINGTON

VP of Client Success

Tom Pilkington, TazWorks' Vice President of Customer Success, has nearly 18 years of experience in the background screening industry, primarily with consumer reporting agencies. His previous stops include stints with LexisNexis Screening Solutions and several startup CRAs, as well as sales and marketing management within corporate training and financial sectors. Tom's love of classic rock concerts and University of Utah football is eclipsed only by his love of family and travel—and traveling with his family to classic rock concerts and U of U football games!

KRISTIN TAYLOR

Director of Asset Protection

Kristin has been indirectly involved with TazWorks since its inception, but officially joined the team as the Director of Asset Protection and part of executive management team in October 2018. Kristin has worked in the credit reporting industry for many years. Before returning to TazWorks she went back to school to receive a B.S. in Philosophy with an emphasis in Ethics in 2017 from the University of Utah. Kristin brings to her role as Director of Asset Protection a passion for running a business with integrity with a forward-facing vision and extraordinary culture. She is also currently being certified as a professional life coach. In her spare time, she continues to raise five kids, obsessively reads about philosophy, and is a professional life coach.

WANELL CHRISTIANSEN

Controller

Wanell is TazWorks’ Controller and manages accounting activities and employee operations. Wanell’s career started in the banking industry where she spent 11 years with the Federal Reserve Bank balancing checking transactions and processing transactions with the Federal Reserve Bank.  She was introduced to TazWorks CEO Barton Taylor back in 1996 when she was processing bank transactions for one of Barton’s previous companies. She officially joined Tazworks in 2005. Outside of work she enjoys being with her family, dirt biking, ATV riding, hiking, fishing and mountain activities. She also has a passion for quilting and runs a side business producing quilts to feed her quilting addiction.

KARY BURNS

VP of Marketing & Communications

Kary Burns, TazWorks’ VP of Marketing and Brand, brings over 20 years of experience working with technology companies developing marketing, brand and product strategies. Coming from an entrepreneur background with a broad set of skills and a diverse background in information technologies, modern marketing methodologies, brand strategies, communications, and creative development. Prior to coming to TazWorks, Kary owned his own marketing services agency and co-founded a charter school development company. Kary and his partner successfully developed new public charter school in multiple states, providing an impressive return to his investment partners. He sold his interest in the company in 2008, and the company, as well as all the schools he started, are thriving today. Kary resides in South Jordan, Utah with his wife of 29 years and five children.

KEVIN GONZALEZ

Director of Operations

Kevin Gonzalez, TazWorks' Director of Operations has over 6 years of customer-centric, operational efficiency-focused experience in the technology industry. Time is a limited commodity and making the most of the time drives Kevin in everything he does, both professionally and personally.  When Kevin is not busy empowering TazWorks customers and improving operational processes, he is spending quality time with his wife and 3 crazy kids, strength training in his garage, or writing songs with his life-long friend and collaborator.

KENSIE KIRK

Director of Sales

Kensie Kirk is currently serving as Director of Sales at TazWorks and has fulfilled many roles within the organization since joining the team in 2008. Kensie started in the industry in 2000 and comes from mortgage credit reporting and working with several CRA's in the background screening industry. She is a processor at heart, but her industry knowledge and platform mastery has made her an expert in her field. Kensie graduated from the University of Utah, loves all sports and describes her happy place as anywhere with sun and sand!

JORDAN BLASDELL

Director of Strategic Alliances

Jordan Blasdell, Director of Strategic Alliances for TazWorks, has an entrepreneurial mindset and passion for business development which drives him to seek out new areas of growth and opportunity for TazWorks. After receiving his Business Management degree, he joined the TazWorks team and has played a number of key roles since 2011. From Sales and Business Development to managing the Integrations team and building key partnerships in the industry, Jordan has become the Resident Screening and Integrations Guru. With his SaaS-based focus and expertise, he enjoys helping clients be successful in an ever-evolving technological landscape. In his personal time, Jordan loves being with his growing family, hiking and biking outdoors, boating, and doing DIY projects around the house.

NATALIE MIRANDO

Director of Risk Management

Director of Risk Management, Natalie Mirando is responsible for overall compliance at TazWorks with specific focus on making certain policies and procedures that meet SOC 2, PCI DSS and other required standards are met.  She has over 10 years of industry experience with an in-depth understanding of the FCRA and current interpretations.  She is also an active NAPBS volunteer on the Industry Practices and Litigation Avoidance committees plus several task force projects.  Natalie also manages TazWorks vendor relations and related integration requests.  You can most likely see her on her days off in a Chicago Bears Jersey hoping for a repeat of their 1985 season or out hitting the trails with her 2 dogs.

MARICELA CAZARES

Product Manager

Maricela Cazares, TazWorks’ Product Manager, joined the team in 2018. She worked for Imperative Information Group, a Consumer Reporting Agency, for a total of 16 years. The company was founded in 1999 and she started in Spring of 2000 as one of the first employees. Mari left in 2005 and returned in 2007 as the VP of Operations. As the VP of Operations, Mari was responsible for delivering legally compliant background investigations. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Computer Information Systems from The University of North Texas. Mari also held various positions for a large non-profit hospital system for 8 years and held various positions in human resources and IT project management. In her free time, Mari loves to spend time with her husband and three daughters and enjoys gardening and being outdoors.

ROBYN PULSIPHER

Executive Assistants Manager

Robyn Pulsipher, TazWorks’ Executive Assistant is responsible for the coordination and organization of the executive team as well as managing the Administration team. She is known around the office for her strong work ethic and ability to get things done. She is the proud owner of an Art History degree from Brigham Young University, the most employment-worthy degree they offer. When she is not busy ordering around the executive team, she enjoys ordering around her four children, surviving Spartan races, and running just for fun.

JONATHAN JARVIS

Technical Support Manager

Jonathan Jarvis, TazWork’s Technical Support Manager, his responsibilities include keeping InstaScreen running smoothly for all our customers. As TazWork’s first employee, he helped build InstaScreen and has worked closely with our customers for 15 years. Before coming to TazWorks, he spent 9 years consulting and training for an electronic publishing company. He has a degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Information Systems from Brigham Young University. When Jonathan is not working, he likes to work some more. Sometimes he makes time for OrangeTheory Fitness and he anxiously waits for his children to provide him with grandchildren.

DANICA DIFRANCESCO-MITCHELL

Software Support Manager

Danica has been with TazWorks since 2014 and as such, has had the pleasure of working in multiple roles with our wonderful clients in both support and compliance roles.  As the Software Support Manager, she works to implement programs to further support our clients in growing their business while using our platform through training and individualized assessments of our clients to identify how we can best support them in utilizing our system’s many functionalities. When not at TazWorks, she can be found chasing her toddler and dog or spending time with her husband.

TYLER SMITH

Reporting & B.I. Product Manager

Tyler J. Smith, reporting and business intelligence Product Manager at TazWorks, has over 14 years of experience in development and the role that data analysis can play in effectively steering it. He believes that great leaders see in data the opportunities that others can only imagine and, empowered with it, they wield the capability to define teams, companies, industries, and the world. Educated at Brigham Young University in linguistics and computation, Tyler loves to explore communication methods, word choice, and the impact of seeing things in different ways.  When not working, Tyler’s time is split between his three loves: service in his church, relaxing with the high school sweet heart that became his wife, and playfully tormenting his four kids (mostly girls).

Our History

TazWorks is the largest independent technology platform provider for Consumer Reporting Agencies. TazWorks was founded October 1, 2002 by Barton Taylor and Scott Kimball. Taylor was a successful CRA and together they had a vision to provide a robust platform for CRAs to grow their business and ease the process of running background checks. The following year, InstaScreen 1.0 arrived, and that same year, Barton Taylor became a founding member of NAPBS.

In 2005, TazWorks had hit 1 million searches, and a year later InstaScreen 2.0 was launched. TazWorks has created a comprehensive suite of tools and leads the industry in delivering extraordinary service and products. In 2015 TazWorks migrated to a cloud-based platform and by 2018 hit 175 million searches. Currently, TazWorks offers its powerful suite of CRA applications through TazCloud™, a state-of-the-art cloud-based technology infrastructure. TazWorks will continue to provide the most innovative solutions in the industry, combined with preeminent customer service.

2002 - TazWorks Founded

2003 - Launched InstaScreen 1.0

2003 - Founding member of NAPBS

2005 - One million searches

2006 - Launched InstaScreen 2.0

2015 - Migration to total cloud-based platform

2018 - TazCloud 175 million searches & counting

We create the technologies that help employers, volunteer organizations, and property managers make better, more informed decisions about the people they choose to do business with. We want to know more about how we can help you grow your business.”

Barton Taylor
TazWorks CEO

Voted “Utah’s Best Companies to Work For”

We are creators, innovators, engineers, advocates, and specialists
but above all else, we are family. Come join the TazWorks family!

TazWorks Employment Opportunities

TazWorks – Technology with Touch

Vision

Mission

Vision

We are passionate about being the background screening industry’s most forward-thinking and recognized thought leader. We strive to create a culture that our customers admire and people want to work for.

Mission

We are committed to providing background screening professionals with the most comprehensive and trusted technology platform, backed by essential business intelligence tools, and world-class customer support.

Meet the Management Team

Our History

2002 - TazWorks Founded

2003 - Launched InstaScreen 1.0

2003 - Founding member of NAPBS

2005 - One million searches

2006 - Launched InstaScreen 2.0

2015 - Migration to total cloud-based platform

2018 - TazCloud 175 million searches & counting

We create the technologies that help employers, volunteer organizations, and property managers make better, more informed decisions about the people they choose to do business with. We want to know more about how we can help you grow your business.”

Voted “Utah’s Best Companies to Work For”

We are creators, innovators, engineers, advocates, and specialists
but above all else, we are family. Come join the TazWorks family!

Want to learn more?

Recent Posts

Find us on Social Media

TazWorks – Technology with Touch

Vision

Mission

Vision

We are passionate about being the background screening industry’s most forward-thinking and recognized thought leader. We strive to create a culture that our customers admire and people want to work for.

Mission

We are committed to providing background screening professionals with the most comprehensive and trusted technology platform, backed by essential business intelligence tools, and world-class customer support.

Meet the Management Team

Our History

2002 - TazWorks Founded

2003 - Launched InstaScreen 1.0

2003 - Founding member of NAPBS

2005 - One million searches

2006 - Launched InstaScreen 2.0

2015 - Migration to total cloud-based platform

2018 - TazCloud 175 million searches & counting

We create the technologies that help employers, volunteer organizations, and property managers make better, more informed decisions about the people they choose to do business with. We want to know more about how we can help you grow your business.”

Voted “Utah’s Best Companies to Work For”

We are creators, innovators, engineers, advocates, and specialists but above all else, we are family. Come join the TazWorks family!

Want to learn more?

Recent Posts

Find us on Social Media

We are creators, innovators, engineers, advocates, and specialists
but above all else, we are family. Come join the TazWorks family!