An image that evokes a memory of Melody at the Green River near Green River, Utah. The beginning of our why.
In memory of Melody
Her name. The heart behind my work.
Mophead was our nickname for my sister, Melody. What began as a hurtful comment became something we reclaimed with affection, humor, and love.
My siblings and I experienced foster care and abuse as children. That trauma cast a long shadow over our lives, including Melody’s. Yet our experiences have also taught me that hope, beauty, and possibility remain. Mophead Media is my tribute to her and my commitment to helping children and families find safety, dignity, and a brighter path forward.
That purpose shapes the work we choose and the way we approach it. Every form, every workflow, and every system serves people. We build with respect for family strengths, lived experience, and the responsive relationships that support healthy child development. The goal is to make more room for care and connection.
Read the story behind the name
My first memory of Melody is of her standing near the ice at the edge of the Green River. Small against that landscape, she seemed fearless. That memory has stayed with me.
When I was five, our mother’s mental illness led to her long-term care at Utah State Hospital. My siblings and I entered foster care. After several placements, we joined a household that offered some stability, but where we also experienced abuse.
A remark about Melody’s hair gave us the word “Mophead.” My brothers and I turned it into an affectionate nickname. She carried it for the rest of her life. She later died by suicide in Seattle.
Mophead Media carries her memory forward. If the tools we build help even one child experience less suffering, that work matters to me.
Richard Rayl · Founder, Mophead Media
Our team
Meet the people behind our purpose.
Human services experience, thoughtful design, and practical technology. Meet the people shaping our work for children, families, and the teams who support them.
Our advisory board
Different perspectives. A shared commitment.
Experience in public service, family programs, and technology helps guide the decisions behind our work.
Our people
Personal commitment. Practical experience.
Founder & CEO · Development · AI · Infrastructure
Richard Rayl
Deep experience on both sides of human services: the technology that delivers it, and the programs that depend on it.
My 17 years working for the Utah Department of Human Services (now part of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, DHHS) included 15 years embedded with the executive director’s office. That gave me an uncommon combination of hands-on IT infrastructure and software delivery experience, alongside a deep understanding of human services programs, initiatives, and the challenges facing their leaders and frontline teams.
I led a team overseeing more than 39 websites and applications, with work spanning child and family services, juvenile justice, Utah State Hospital, and substance abuse and mental health programs. My responsibilities spanned web and application development, database security, accessibility, and UX/UI.
My Department of Defense contracting work included server security for Hill AFB’s 309th Software Maintenance Group and enterprise IT support for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).
As a developer and founder of Mophead Media, I also put AI to practical use: identifying opportunities to automate repetitive work, streamline operations, and improve digital marketing. I bring that work together with infrastructure, UX/UI, and seven years partnering with Prevent Child Abuse Utah, connecting what technology can do with what a program truly needs.
17 yearsWorking with Utah’s Department of Human Services
15 yearsEmbedded with the executive director’s office
7 yearsPartnering with Prevent Child Abuse Utah
More about my IT & security experience
Human services software delivery. As a senior web developer with Utah’s Department of Technology Services, I supported DHS programs through application development, web-server administration, database security, accessible design, and the management of the department’s digital presence.
Department of Defense environments. At Hill Air Force Base, my work included Windows Server administration, application hosting, server security, DNS, Active Directory, and network infrastructure supporting the F-22, F-16, and A-10 programs. My earlier DISA contracting work included enterprise Active Directory support, file permissions, and network troubleshooting.
Applied AI and digital development. I evaluate and implement AI tools and workflows for automation, operational efficiency, and digital marketing. My broader development and marketing work includes WordPress websites, UX/UI, technical and local SEO, paid search, and social advertising. I focus on finding useful applications of new technology and integrating them into the work a team already does.
Ongoing work with human services organizations. Through Mophead Media, I have worked with the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition on its lethality screening system for law enforcement and with Prevent Child Abuse Utah on websites, marketing, and online training systems for child abuse awareness and reporting.
Alli brings firsthand experience as a home visitor, supervisor, and SafeCare coach to Mophead Media. She helps shape the Family Support Dashboard around the everyday needs of home visitors and the teams supporting them, with a focus on practical workflows and more time to build relationships with families.
More about Alli
During approximately three years with Prevent Child Abuse Utah, Alli worked across two grants. She began as a peer parent and home visitor supporting families involved with the Division of Child and Family Services and court-mandated parenting education. She later became a supervisor in a new home-visiting pilot, helping hire and build the parent educator team while continuing to serve families herself.
As a SafeCare coach, she reviewed recorded visits, offered supportive feedback, and helped home visitors work toward certification. That experience informs her attention to staff development, clear expectations, and tools that support the human side of the work.
At Mophead Media, Alli reviews home-visiting workflows, tests the dashboard, and helps translate field experience into product priorities. She also reviews website and marketing content for relevance to the professionals we serve.
Alli holds a bachelor’s degree in Family Studies from Brigham Young University.
Our team · Brand · Design · User experience
Eric Rounds
Director of Brand & User Experience
Eric brings more than 30 years of experience in digital media, design, and marketing, with deep expertise in brand strategy, visual design, and user experience. His role at Mophead Media is to help clients turn complex SaaS products and everyday workflows into beautiful, intuitive interfaces that are easy to use.
Eric also runs Eric Rounds Agency, where he develops agentic marketing systems for B2B organizations: connected AI agents that produce content, find and nurture leads, run campaigns, and report on results, supervised by a human team.
Eric helps clients understand how home visitors and other audiences move through their daily work: the tasks they need to complete, the decisions they face, and the information they need along the way. He translates those needs into clear user flows and usable interfaces, making complex software easier to navigate.
Eric’s work spans brand strategy, website design, search engine optimization (SEO), and generative engine optimization (GEO), helping organizations improve their visibility in AI search.
His approach starts with a clear brand foundation, then brings design, user experience, and human-supervised AI workflows together to support content, lead development, and campaign delivery.
Our team · Operations · Development · Training
Caleb Rayl
Operations Director
Caleb connects the people, projects, and day-to-day operations at Mophead Media. His role spans staff management, client account management, development, and staff training, helping keep our team coordinated and our client relationships supported.
More about Caleb
Working across both operations and development, Caleb helps translate client needs into practical next steps. He coordinates priorities, supports communication between clients and the team, and contributes directly to the websites and digital tools we build.
Through staff training, he helps team members understand the tools, workflows, and expectations behind their work. His focus is on making everyday processes clearer so people can work confidently, collaborate effectively, and deliver consistent support to our clients.
Our team · Writing · Research
Mike Davidson
Chief Content Writer
Mike is a writer and researcher focused on human services, child and family welfare, early childhood development, and behavioral health. He brings more than 15 years of content writing experience, turning complex topics into clear, useful information.
At Mophead Media, Mike works with subject-matter experts and the research team to develop content grounded in current research and the practical realities of human services work.
More about Mike
Mike’s writing spans legal, continuing education, and business topics for organizations including The Really Useful Information Company (TRUiC), Studies Weekly, and LinkedIn Learning.
His freelance clients include mental health organizations, substance use disorder clinics, attorneys handling child welfare cases, and family law attorneys pursuing justice against abusive residential treatment centers for youth.
He holds a BA in Communications from the University of Colorado.
Our team · Finance & operations
Kate Rayl
Chief Financial Officer
Kate oversees accounting and budget management at Mophead Media, supporting the financial operations behind every client engagement. Her work spans our human services and nonprofit partnerships, as well as our law firm and service-industry clients.
She keeps project budgets, billing, expenses, and financial reporting organized, helping our team plan responsibly and give clients a clear understanding of the financial side of their work with us.
More about Kate
Kate connects the day-to-day details of accounting with the broader needs of the business. From tracking project costs to coordinating invoices and reviewing budgets, she helps keep financial information accurate, accessible, and useful for planning.
Working across clients with different services, priorities, and budgets, she brings a consistent focus on financial clarity and careful resource management so the team can stay focused on delivering the work.
Our advisory board
Different perspectives. A shared commitment.
Through regular advisory board meetings, we draw on decades of leadership and practical experience in human services, child and family programs, public policy, and digital technology.
Experience that informs the work
A continuing conversation. A stronger foundation.
These meetings give us space to examine challenges, question assumptions, and connect technology decisions with the realities of the field. Family voice, program quality, and the practical needs of prevention and early childhood services help guide those conversations. Our advisors bring perspectives from executive leadership, frontline services, program operations, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and AI.
That ongoing guidance is a key part of how Mophead Media brings human services and the digital world together. It helps us understand what organizations need, where technology can help, and how to keep children, families, and the professionals serving them at the center of our work.
Advisory board · Public service & advocacy
Lisa-Michele Church
Attorney, historian, and community advocate with more than 30 years of public and private service. A former executive director of Utah’s Department of Human Services and juvenile court administrator, Lisa-Michele brings extensive experience advocating for youth and families.
Lisa-Michele served in the executive cabinets of two Utah governors. Her work addressed child protection, juvenile justice, mental health, substance use, disability services, elder abuse, and child support.
As a Fortune 500 company’s vice president and general counsel, she helped negotiate venue agreements for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. She later continued her advocacy for youth and families as administrator of Utah’s juvenile court system.
She served on Utah’s State Board of Higher Education, formerly the Board of Regents, from 2019 to 2023, chairing it during 2022–2023. She is also a published historian whose work explores Utah’s buildings, roadside businesses, and vintage signs.
Advisory board · Human services & public policy
Marie Christman
With nearly 14 years as deputy director of the Utah Department of Human Services, Marie brings experience spanning frontline family services, executive leadership, and public policy. Her work connects program operations, community partnerships, and opportunities for people facing barriers.
Marie served as deputy director in the Utah Department of Human Services executive director’s office from 2001 to 2013. Her responsibilities included program policy, legislative coordination, and oversight across aging, mental health, substance abuse, disability, and public guardian services.
Her earlier leadership roles at the Utah Department of Workforce Services and Office of Family Support covered workforce development, education, public assistance, child care, and service delivery. Her career also includes direct work in child welfare and adult protective services.
As an independent consultant, she has advised on public policy, leadership, organizational change, and coordination across government and nonprofit organizations. She also administered the Olene S. Walker Transition to Adult Living Scholarship, supporting higher education opportunities for former foster youth.
Advisory board · Human services IT · Cybersecurity · AI
Tyson Park
Tyson and I met working in Utah’s Department of Human Services, where he was a developer on my team. Today, we draw on his deep IT and cybersecurity experience, alongside advanced work in AI and machine learning, from cloud architecture and system security to MLOps and agentic workflows.
A shared foundation in human services. Tyson worked as a developer on Richard’s team at Utah’s Department of Human Services. That shared experience grounds his advisory role in the realities of delivering software for human services programs.
Deep IT and cybersecurity experience. His background includes serving as director of IT and cybersecurity and principal cybersecurity engineer at Enveda Biosciences, cybersecurity engineering and architecture consulting for Recursion, and his own practice, Dream IT Consultants. We lean on that experience for perspective on infrastructure, cloud architecture, and protecting systems.
Advanced AI and machine learning. His machine learning engineering work at Enveda includes MLOps (the practices that support operating and maintaining machine learning systems) and agentic workflows, which coordinate AI-driven tasks. He brings a valuable understanding of how AI capabilities connect with the engineering and infrastructure needed to put them to work.
For Mophead Media, that combination helps inform how we evaluate new possibilities in AI alongside the security and operational needs of the organizations we serve.
Our why continues through the work
You show up for families. We show up for you.
Tell us about the people you serve and the work you want to make easier.
