ERA Alumni

Janine Holmes is one of Toronto’s top makeup and hair artists. She has powdered down the noses of some pretty high profile celebrities like Lady Gaga, Adam Levine, and Elisha Cuthbert to name a few. Janine also manages a team of talented makeup and hair artists for her mobile beauty company I Do! Beauty Co (idobeautyco.com). Since Janine was younger she has always had a huge passion for games and puzzles. She was even a Tetris video game champion when she was just 11 years old. So naturally escape rooms are her favourite weekend activity to do with friends and family. Aside from escape rooms, Janine loves binge watching the latest Netflix show with her husband and having kitchen dance parties with her two kids.

Rochelle Perry grew up a nerd, playing games of all kinds – board games, video games, and a variety of physical games (or what we know as sports.) She works in the animation industry in Los Angeles, loves comic books and role-playing games, and loves storytelling and puzzles. She belongs to a theatre group where she is a producer, playwright, graphics artist, and photographer. After escaping her first room in February of 2015, she has been addicted to them! She joined ERA to meet like-minded “addicts” who can join her on her quest to escape them all. She is interested in creating her own room(s) because she wants to be able to blend story with art and create a fun, challenging, and immersive experience for each guest! She makes her own kombucha, jewelry, and other crafts, and also enjoys yoga, hiking, and party planning.

Beverly (Bev) Banez currently works full time in the Quality department for a medical device company in Orange County. When not solving escape room puzzles, she’s studying for her Master’s or solving puzzles/troubleshooting at work. Bev loves the team building and mental challenges that escape rooms provide and always manages to fit a room escape every month or so with friends that are new to room escapes. Her other passions include traveling, trying new foods and snowboarding. Bev’s dream would be a food themed escape room in a foreign country with a snowboarding trip right after…

Justin Rose works as a Video Editor in Los Angeles, and just like an alchemist, he creates something out of nothing. He enjoys all things nerdy from Graphic Novels, to Anime, to RPG’s. From an early age Justin obsessed over Mensa puzzle books and Indie games, never afraid to ask the difficult questions at school to unlock the mysteries of the Universe. During a friend’s birthday party he experienced his first Escape Room and the stars aligned to offer a place, nay a home, for like-minded people.

Dave Martin fell into escape rooms accidentally and then couldn’t stop – forcing himself into a ration system so he wouldn’t empty his bank account and run out of area rooms in one intense weekend. By day, he is a financial advisor. When not voluntarily getting locked into a room, he also spends time doing theatre and improv comedy or firing up a night of board games.

Valerie Martin had a childhood filled with logic problems, board games, jigsaw puzzles, Games Magazine, and murder mystery novels, so she comes by her love of Escape Rooms naturally. Once a month for several years, she and her friends have been slowly checking off every room in the KC area. Working a 9-5 desk job allows her to explore her passion for theatre, and she works consistently as a choreographer and dance teacher.

Jessica Franz never thought she’d be into “escape rooms” so it’s as much a surprise to her that she is now hooked, line and sinker. She works at a financial advising firm during the day, and does as much theatre as she is legally allowed to in the evenings. She enjoys life to the fullest with her four cats and also escape-room-obsessed boyfriend.

Meghann Bates is beyond excited to join the ERA team here in Kansas City. From her first experience of being trapped in a room with a zombie, she has been addicted to the puzzle-solving fun of escape rooms. Luckily, she became close friends with others who were also addicted and, thus, a monthly tradition was born. When not escaping, she enjoys performing on stage, playing any and all types of games, cuddling adorable animals, and watching her Royals at the K.

Michael Juncker has been infatuated with escape rooms since his first failed attempt three years ago. Since then, he has reveled in breaking records, flaunting his problem solving strengths and downplaying his many weaknesses. By day, Michael is a Performance Manager with CBRE on the Sprint Account. He spends his free time with his family, game nights with friends, and acting in shows around Kansas City.

Dan Heinz grew up as a video/computer gamer and athlete, enjoying a wide variety of competitions and challenges. Those experiences in problem-solving and collaboration led him to theatre, where teamwork in action is essential. Theatre led him to friends who love escape rooms, and the fun of banding together to achieve success made Dan love escaping as well. Dan is an attorney in the northeast Kansas area as well as an actor and director at area theatres.

Jennifer Kennes has been a board game enthusiast since she was a little kid. Ever since she escaped her first room in NYC she has fallen for escape rooms as well. Besides gaming, she loves to be creative in every way – including paper crafts, painting miniatures, carving rubber stamps, and sewing. Sewing is one of her biggest passions and through her degree in textile engineering this passion has continued to grow to the point where she is now inseparable from her sewing machine and she even opened her own shop the dressed bird.

Dante Kennes grew up in a city close to Cologne, Germany, enjoying a variety of board, video, and card games. Currently he is working at Columbia University in NYC as a research fellow in theoretical physics. Ever since he heard about escape rooms he has been eager to try them out, but it took a birthday present from his wife, Jennifer (who is also part of the ERA family) to finally spark his interest in the escape room hobby. Ever since, playing escape rooms has become an increasing part of his free time.

Jared Duncan is a restaurant professional in Orlando. He has a wife and three pets (two dogs and a cat). When he is not working he loves sports (playing and watching), going to the Disney Parks, and doing escape rooms. His love of escape rooms comes from a love of puzzle solving and competition.

Iana Kushchenko is an animator in Los Angeles. She loves the ‘art’ of puzzle solving, and tried her first room escape in 2015. Since then, she has became an addict. The real life experience cannot be replaced by the computer world, which is what she loves about room escapes.

Wayne Stam grew up with an addiction to the Chicago Cubs and to board games. He is excited that a resurgence in the board game market has coincided with a Cubs’ championship and a worldwide surge in his newest addiction: escape rooms.

Kevin Kim is probably the go-to guy during a zombie apocalypse, or at least an escape room. He has a US patent under his name, a music performance degree, and a black belt in taekwondo.

Danielle Height has an extensive background as an entrepreneur, having opened three businesses in the last decade. Quick on her feet, she loves challenges, puzzles, and scavenging. Her passions range from paragliding, geo-caching, murder mysteries, board games, and trivia to theories and philosophy, awesome science-y stuff, and of course escape rooms.

Lyndsie Scoggin’s background as a theatrical performer led her to the world of immersive entertainment in 2010 when she began performing in haunted houses. After deciding that she too wanted to help create extraordinary experiences for people, in January of 2016 Lyndsie launched her website and dedicated herself to exploring the development and design of all kinds of immersive entertainment. This includes haunts, immersive theater, and of course escape rooms!

Jessey Rice is currently a PhD. student at the University of Waterloo studying Geology. When not in the field he is trying to plan escape rooms, usually cramming 5+ into single week sessions! His love for escaping is rivalled by his love of hockey, soccer, and playing many other sports!

Kyle Bruce spends his days facilitating community programs for all ages, and spends his free time playing dodgeball, shooting arrows, and escaping from rooms (of course!). He loves to introduce people to the innovative and exciting world of escape rooms, and has a history of attempting rooms with less people than the suggested minimum. Armed to the teeth with frivolous facts, as well as a propensity for puzzles, Kyle is always ready to step into the unknown.

James Ishiguro is a high school physics teacher who loves logic puzzles, math, and sharing his interest of escape rooms with his friends, colleagues and students. Outside of escape rooms, he enjoys playing softball and his new-found hobby of rock climbing, a sport that he sees as a series of physical puzzles that require a lot more thinking than he expected. He also loves movies of every genre, often finding himself trapped in a theatre escaping the real world.

Lisa Krych is a culinary assistant for a celebrity chef in Chicago. She has a very high pressure job, where she problem solves on a daily basis. When she isn’t putting out fires in the kitchen (sometimes literally) she enjoys being locked up in an escape room. When she isn’t escaping rooms she is playing board games, going to the Renaissance Faires or crafting pretty much anything. “Part of the thrill of being in an escape room for me, is FINALLY figuring out a puzzle that others may have overlooked.”

J Cangialosi is a therapist. While her job is more relaxed, room escapes help her to exercise a different side of her brain. She is a very logical and analytical thinker who loves to find hidden meanings in things (hence her job). By nature, she is an introvert but room escapes help bring her out of her shell. In her free time, she loves reading mystery novels, working on logic puzzles, playing games and fixing bikes.

Nicole Menolascino is a school psychologist at a high school in the northern suburbs of Chicago. She considers herself to be a lifelong learner and currently owns two graduate degrees. In her free time, Nicole loves to play various board games, puzzle games, and role-playing games with her family and friends. In addition, Nicole has a kitten that she loves to spend time with. Nicole and Justin met J and Lisa while in their first escape room and were instantly hooked! In only a few months they had been to over 50 escape rooms. Joining ERA allows Nicole to use her passion for writing and constructive feedback to educate escapers and help companies to grow and thrive.

Justin Sponholz is a technology specialist at one of the largest high schools in the United States, problem solving any technological issue that arises throughout the school. On top of a passion for technology, he also holds Flight Instructor and Commercial pilot licenses and pilots small aircrafts as a hobby. Justin frequently plays board, role-playing, and puzzle games and recently got into escape rooms.  After he played his first room with Nicole, J, and Lisa, he and the team set off doing as many escape rooms as possible. Joining ERA helps him give back to the escape room community by providing constructive feedback and earned publicity to escape room companies to help grow the industry

Dan Kaplan is the former coordinator for ERA New York before moving to Colorado in mid-2017. Dan is the creative director for an online grocery coupon website and also the co-founder of a craft beef jerky company. A former chef, woodworker and wine label designer with experience in engineering and math, he brings both sides of his brain into the escape room. Dan has done a lot of traveling across six continents and he hopes to pass on that traveling spirit to his new twin sons.