Staff Directory
Kate Morgan
PRINCIPAL
Kate Morgan, hailing originally from the UK, has a proven track record of developing and executing creative, considered yearly press strategies supporting brands, seasonal product launches and key calendar events.
Kate has created solid relationships in the fashion, beauty, wellness and lifestyle arena, managing a large book of contacts with Press, PRs, key social influencers, celebrities, and vast industry professionals on a global scale.
Kate and her team develop and organize the content and special features required to support brand and clients needs, ensuring completion to budget, time and quality. As the founder/owner of Morgan Publicity, Kate has helped break brands, such as Peace Out Skincare (#1 at Sephora) while working on legacy brands, such as Kendo/LVMH, DECIEM, Dr. Pimple Popper, and many many more.
Kate’s early career as a journalist included writing for titles New Woman, Dazed & Confused, Grazia, More! and NO magazine
Kate is based in Los Angeles, with outposts in Los Angeles, New York and London.
Ottilia Alexe
DIRECTOR OF INFLUENCER RELATIONS
Ottilia kicked off her career working for Entertainment PR agency, PMK*BNC, specifically focusing on their major mobile client. From there, she went on to follow her passion and persued the beauty, lifestyle and fashion industry. At Morgan Publicity, she brings incredible brand awareness in the digital space by matching influential individuals with brands that are cohesive to their aesthetic. She works closely with her ever-growing influencer contact base to ensure that she is consistently garnering coverage for her clients across various social platforms. Some of her past clients include [BLANKNYC], Chinese Laundry, Karuna, The Giving Keys and Stila Cosmetics.
Agustín Cruz
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Agustin is a creative director, destination marketing professional and photographer who has worked with destinations like Pasadena, West Hollywood, and Los Cabos, Mexico. He has produced activations at Sunset Strip Music Festival, Arroyo Seco Weekend and the Tournament of Roses; and served as a delegate on missions to Mexico and Canada with Visit California. His career began with hotel brands Hilton, SLS, Andaz and Mondrian and went on to work with beauty brands Peace Out Skincare (now a number 1 at Sephora), SkinEscens and Dr. Iris Orbuch.
Alexis Patterson
PRESS OFFICER
Alexis is the backbone support to your account here at Morgan Publicity! From curating bespoke media pitches, to throwing a ‘sharp dart’ with her media outreach - Alexis has fostered strong relationships in the editorial field.
A ‘one and done’ approach is not Alexis's style! Alexis' press wins come from thoughtful outreach methods, which are respected by the media she is in dialogue with day to day. If an editor is working on a story; they often think of Alexis as a go-to resource!
Alexis has a strong Entertainment PR background, with a roster of talent and celebrity contacts within her little black book!
Ashley Proud
BROADCAST SPECIALIST
With a background in both film production and broadcast journalism, Ashley Proud has honed a niche specialty in the TV lane. Spending the formative years of her career on the agency side, Ashley developed and lead a team that focused solely on procuring expert-based interviews and key product placement segments on programs including Access Hollywood, E! News, ELLEN, Entertainment Tonight, The View and the TODAY Show. Over the past 8 years, Ashley has had the unique opportunity to work across both beauty and lifestyle brands, affording her the ability to forge solid relationships with a wide net of producers and on-air experts, as demonstrated in her results for BluePrintCleanse, Blushington, Fred Segal, Ken Paves, Ole Henriksen Spa, Redfin, This Works, and Total Beauty.
Jackson Morgan
JUNIOR PUBLICIST
Jack wears many hats at Morgan Publicity, he specializes in making the senior staff swoon with his impressive bubble blowing skills and impeccable knack for storytelling. While he is studying American English, British English and Spanish, he is fluent in gibberish, you'll usually find him around the water cooler recounting headlines from the previous day. Jack began his PR career in utero, upon completion of his first year at the agency, Mr. Morgan will take on his first account without supervision, as well as potty training. In his spare time he enjoys napping, playing with his dog Maggie, and growing his Instagram following (@jackson_in_la).
Barbie Simpson
U.K. DIRECTOR
Barbie Simpson is a seasoned PR Professional based in London, heading up our UK operations. Prior to Morgan Publicity, Barbie oversaw PR efforts for The Body Shop and later Selfridges Department Store (voted the World's Number 1 Department Store) Lifestyle and Beauty divisions.
Toni Ferrara
AGENCY PARTNER
Respected industry powerhouse, Toni Ferrara brings 15+ years of experience in Brand Strategy, Public Relations, and Creative Direction specializing in luxury & lifestyle brands, with a heavy focus on Fashion, Beauty, and Fitness. Her background as a top Celebrity Fashion Stylist garnered her relationships with high profile celebrity clientele, including Kim Kardashian, Matthew McConaughey, Kate Beckinsale, Yara Shahidi, and many others. Her work can be seen in Harper's Bazaar, Oprah, Marie Claire, Instill, GQ, to name a few. She's built brands including ShoeDazzle, SeeItFit, and Fashion Metrics. She's worked on events for Coachella, StageCoach, NYFW and believes the key to success is a combination of curated storytelling, influencer seeding, and events.
Denise Valdez
AGENCY PARTNER
Denise's passion lies in launching, building and strengthening diverse brands by leveraging deep seeded Hollywood relationships and exercising expertise in the editorial, celebrity and digital influencer landscapes.
Denise is an expert in working with the utmost valued luxury & contemporary brands in the Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle categories, building each with specifically tailored strategies while achieving optimal results.