TEAM
the
ASHLEY HICKSON
ART
COO/CO-FOUNDER Born and raised in New Jersey, Ashley Hickson has enjoyed living in sunny Southern California since she was 17. After graduating from Chapman University in Old Town Orange, Ashley joined forces with Erik to create LOCALE Magazine. Known as Erik’s right and left arm, Ashley is THE go-to girl for everything LOCALE. She enjoys being an intricate piece to LOCALE’s puzzle and is proud of the down-to-earth, innovative magazine.
REILLY KAVANAUGH ART DIRECTOR + DESIGNER With a bachelor’s degree in graphic design under her belt, this Redlands native has produced creative for major fashion labels, institutions and ad firms. Reilly Kavanaugh is a tiny artist, at 4 feet 11 inches, who is much tougher than she looks. As the most artistic member of LOCALE, she exhibits a youthful energy and fierce, current designs.
SALES & MARKETING
KARLY MATSON GRAPHIC DESIGNER Originally from Chicago, Karly has lived in a number of places before calling SoCal her home, including Miami, New York City and even a brief stint in Paris. She began her design career in NYC, working in both the packaging and publishing industries with some of the city’s leading creatives. When she’s not designing she loves taking photos and painting.
MIKE TODD SMITH
“For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." —T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding This is our year. We have doubled in size, adding employees and valued partners. This is the year we make our mark and the year we reinvent ourselves. This is the year we become great. How will we do this? How will be different? I told my team to tear down the walls. That nothing was sacred. To think differently. Think bigger. We discussed the idea that what we have accomplished in our first six years could not be the pillow that we rest comfortably on. I told them that the voice you hear coming from these pages will be a choir this year, not a soloist. It will be OUR voice. I encouraged them to make this voice unique. To make it stand out in a landscape where every phone can broadcast a signal and every person can weigh in with opinions at the push of a button. So, we have agreed that: We will continue to shine a light on everything that is amazing in your community. We will be unique in our content, offerings and perspective. We will seek out the unusual, peculiar and special. We will be innovative in story angles and design. We will lead on the digital front and compete with all publications for web attention. We will create distinct social content that is targeted yet viral. We will continue to lead in this arena of hashtags and likes. Why am I sharing this with you? Because we need a witness.
ERIK HALE PUBLISHER
P.S. When you read this we will be occupying a brand new office space, designing and proofing our first issue of LOCALE Greater Palm Springs for its May 1st debut. 6 | LOCALE MAGAZINE
MARKET MANAGER Mike was born in Los Angeles, raised in Laguna Beach and has created a home in San Diego. After graduating from the University of Arizona, Mike helped build ECCO Restaurant and then later a custom golf car company, LUXE. Mike found his true passion within LOCALE and now wakes up inspired everyday.
EDITORIAL
JASON KOSKY
KILEY COLEMAN
MARKET MANAGER Jason was born and raised in South County with the Dana Point Harbor as his backyard. He is proud to call such a beautiful place home. Family has always been most important to him, and now he is a father to two beautiful girls and a husband to a wonderful wife. Jason says, “As long as I have my family and my health, I am a rich man.”
MANAGING EDITOR Born and raised a Cali native, this Los Angeles local has worked the last four years as a freelance production manager for editorial magazines, fashion companies and a top record company. Now living in Newport Beach, this girl has made LOCALE Magazine her home.
NICK CIMARUSTI
ANDRE MATAELE
EDITOR After living in New York City for a year, Nick now calls Southern California home again. He completed his bachelor's degree in English and Spanish at USC and a master's degree in journalism at Columbia University.
MARKET MANAGER Born and raised in Hawaii, Andre has made Southern California his home for the past five years. His position at LOCALE allows him to continue building relationships with people who he values greatly.
GINA MAGNUSON
KELLY ZALDO
EDITOR Having contributed fashion, lifestyle and entertainment editorial from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Gina is happy to return to her Orange County roots. While earning a degree in English at Pitzer College in Claremont, CA, Gina adopted a passion for cinema, literature, music subculture and beer. She enjoys perusing IKEA, going to shows and writing about all of the above.
MARKET MANAGER Although born a Texan, from a young age Kelly has called SoCal her home. Now she lives in Huntington Beach with her daughter. After attending Loyola Marymount University she has held various marketing positions with several print mediums and is excited about the opportunity to work with LOCALE.
BRIANNA ROMANO
NICK PACHELLI
PARTNERSHIPS + MARKETING DIRECTOR Brianna is a California native with an eclectic taste in fashion, music and activities. After graduating with a degree in fashion and textiles, she became a jack-of-all-trades, juggling multiple jobs from fashion stylist and makeup artist to professional organizer. She loves traveling, making dinner for friends, a good beer and taking Instagram photos of her dog, George.
ALYSSA KLOPFER
EDITOR A New Mexico native, Nick moved to Southern California to attend college at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating with a degree in English and marketing, he held positions at various publishing and digital media companies in Los Angeles. When he’s not editing stories for LOCALE, you can find him wandering around foreign cities and chatting up local chefs.
DISTRIBUTION
MARKETING + EVENTS COORDINATOR Born and raised in the Irvine bubble, Alyssa has a passion for art and travel. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in art history from Westmont College in Santa Barbara and a summer European adventure, Alyssa discovered LOCALE. In her spare time you will find her with a cafe au lait blogging at her favorite coffee shop, sitting in a museum or searching for any reason to plan a weekend getaway to San Francisco.
RICK RAMIREZ DISTRIBUTION Rick is a California native and has lived in Orange County all of his life. A lover of nature, Rick is an avid camper, with an extensive knowledge of Southern California's beautiful mountain and forest regions. He further expresses his connection with nature artistically, through his unique watercolor paintings. Among his many other interests are cooking, history and music.
APRIL GARLEJO INTERNAL SALES MANAGER April is a California native and is new to the Orange County area. After graduating from San Francisco State University with a bachelor’s degree in business management, April took on education management until she eventually found LOCALE Magazine. She is excited to work and grow with the company.
FINANCE VALERIE KERR ACCOUNTANT Valerie is a California native and cannot imagine living anywhere else. She graduated from CSUF with a degree in business and fell into the world of accounting. When she is not crunching numbers for LOCALE, Valerie loves spending time with her two beautiful daughters.