About Us

Our Name

We're often asked about our name, Maraizon International. It's derived from the town of Marazion, Cornwall, on England's west coast. The town overlooks the historic settlement of St. Michael's Mount. For images of the site that inspired our name visit http://www.marazion.net/

Our Staff

John Francis Leo, Principal and Creative Director John is Swedish but grew up in different parts of the US and Europe. He holds a B. Architecture degree from the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Canterbury, England. John has worked in architectural practices in Sweden, England and the United States. From 1991-96 he produced computer graphics for publishing and design houses in London, England. His architectural background, IT experience and knowledge of print and reprographics give him the edge in producing quality presentations. John also has a background in training. He has conducted courses in AutoCAD for AEC Technologies in San Rafael, CA, and taught individuals and small groups in various methods of 3D visualization. John has published articles and an in-house manual outlining 3D computer graphic techniques. See, for example, his article From cardboard to computer in Cadalyst (January 2000): http://www.cadalyst.com/features/0100cardboard/0100cardboard.htm John relocated to California in 1997, with his wife, Leigh Thorsen. After working as Designer/3D Artist at Forrest Architects, Sonoma, CA, John established Maraizon International in 1998.
Leigh Thorsen, Principal and Director of Marketing Leigh Thorsen is from Cape Town, South Africa. Her professional background is in publishing, and community development. Leigh graduated with a BA in Political Science and English from the University of Port Elizabeth in 1980, and a Diploma in Translation from the University of South Africa in 1983. In Johannesburg she edited a community newspaper before relocating to the UK in 1988. Leigh worked as an editor in London, both for the Guide Association, and the International Institute of Strategic Studies. She left publishing to commence graduate studies in 1992. In 1993 she was awarded an M.Sc. in Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She specialized in Social Policy and Education, and Social Policy and Urbanization in Developing Countries. Thereafter she worked as Africa Projects Officer for Y Care International, London, fundraising for and monitoring community development projects, refugee and emergency programs. In 1996 Leigh and John started a computer graphics/IT business in London, until they moved to the US in 1997. Leigh now oversees the marketing, strategic planning and administration for Maraizon International.
Brad Blanchard, Senior Programmer/Modeller Brad Blanchard joined Maraizon in 2002. His skills in 3D modeling and programming have been key to Maraizon's successful devlopment of game engine technology for design and planning. Brad won a Doyle Scholarship to Santa Rosa Junior College, and a Dean's Honors for Applied Technology (3D Animation). Outside office hours he persues his inerests in cutting-edge graphics technology, robotics and technical problem-solving.
Jorge Tellez, Modeller/Animator Jorge Tellez is a digital media artist and programmer, who brings several years' experience in network administration and telecommunications to our team. His work includes the design and development of telecommunications networks, software analysis, and artificial intellegence.

Our Associates