Meet Our Team
We share a great company culture at MMI. Within our team, we also have the resources and tools to make the PR engine run. Meet our best assets.
Patty Briguglio
President
Patty Briguglio is President of MMI Public Relations. As a recognized expert in the public relations industry, Patty is a sought-after speaker and business spokesperson who often addresses the topics of public relations, economic, small business and women-owned business issues at local and national meetings and conferences.
Within a few short years, Patty has won a remarkable number of awards. She is listed in Who’s Who in Women Business Owners, and the Triangle Business Journal has named Patty one of the 25 most influential Women In Business. In Arizona, Patty was named the Arizona Business Alliance Businessperson of the Year, and in North Carolina, her firm has received numerous MarCom Creative Awards, Communicator Awards, the 2005 Videographer Award and Millennium Awards for 2005 and 2006.
Before moving to Cary to open MMI Public Relations, she sold her award-winning PR firm in Phoenix, where she was recognized as one of the top 10 PR firms in Arizona by Ranking Arizona, Arizona Business Magazine and BizAZ Magazine. The Triangle Business Journal’s Book of Lists has recognized MMI as a Top Public Relations Firm every year since 2004. No matter what PR task she undertakes, Patty Briguglio is known for getting results.
Ryal Curtis
Senior Account Executive
When new clients come on board, Ryal is responsible for developing strategic public relations campaigns and overseeing the execution of those campaigns. As a senior member of the MMI staff, Ryal also mentors other account executives and monitors work flow within the agency. His clients represent a variety of industries, including bio/pharma, architecture, government and education. His media outreach efforts have helped to establish clients as industry experts in their respective fields through secured placements in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Forbes and various national trade publications.
Ryal joined MMI in April 2006 and prior to that was an advertising/public relations assistant at a convergence marketing firm in Cary, N.C. He earned his bachelor of arts in English from Michigan State University and currently calls Raleigh his home. Outside our office walls, Ryal dedicates as much time as humanly possible to family, music, travel and all things downtown Raleigh (in that order).
Michelle Fowler
Senior Account Executive
Michelle Fowler is a senior account executive at MMI Public Relations, where she assists in targeting and securing new business opportunities for the firm. Michelle began her career at MMI in 2005, and today she manages and mentors a team of account executives, writers, project coordinators, a social media specialist and a traffic coordinator. She develops and implements public relations efforts for clients across a broad range of industries, organizes and manages client events, supervises and schedules work for staff and interns, pitches stories to local and international media, writes news releases and articles, coordinates media relations and schedules media interviews.
A Raleigh native, Michelle obtained her bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Peace College. She dedicates her personal time to many philanthropic organizations, including the American Heart Association and the N.C. Triangle Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. In 2009, she was named to the board of directors for Leadership Triangle, a nonprofit organization established to educate and promote regionalism across the separate communities of the Triangle.
Kerryn House
Operations Manager
The office manager at MMI Public Relations, Kerryn House has more than 25 years of professional experience in financial settings, with emphasis on personnel management, purchasing, auditing and bookkeeping, accounting, financial planning, construction management, property management and real estate. A self-starter with excellent organizational skills and unquestionable work ethic, Kerryn excels in team settings and enjoys working with people both internally and externally to successfully complete projects.
Prior to her position at MMI, Kerryn was managing partner at House Ridge Estates, a 33-unit single family home subdivision in Benson, Arizona. Kerryn created the company from the ground up, purchasing the subdivision and coordinating all aspects of the subdivision process, including financial planning and instrumentation in accordance with bank requirements, coordination with engineer and follow through with the entire plan and plat process. She created and developed the marketing materials for the subdivision, including brochures, Web site, flyers and coordination with the real estate company.
Away from the office, Kerryn spends her leisure time with her family. She is a citizen of Australia as well as the United States and enjoys visiting there as often as possible.
Kate Catlin
Account Executive
Kate Catlin loves PR because she is a born people person. Her work as an account executive allows her the opportunity to interact with plenty of people every day as she develops and implements public relations campaigns, writes news releases and press materials, plans and manages events, and builds relationships with both local and national media. Her clients represent a variety of industries including banking, bio/pharma, construction, energy, environmental consulting, human resources and legal.
She is active in the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), an organization that empowers students to be leaders as they teach other students about alternatives to violence. Because of her efforts with SAVE, Kate received the U.S. President’s Student Service Award and was nominated and selected to be a Torchbearer for the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay to Salt Lake City.
A die-hard Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots fan, Kate is originally from Massachusetts and graduated from Elon University with a degree in corporate communications. She was a finalist for the 2007 Young Adult Leadership Award sponsored by The Women’s Forum of North Carolina. In 2008 she received the Triangle Business Journal 40 Under 40 Leadership Award.
Jennifer Fair
Account Executive
As an account executive at MMI Public Relations, Jennifer Fair has succeeded in developing and implementing public relations campaigns to increase public visibility of her clients. Through the use of media outreach, events and social media tactics, Jen has helped establish her clients as experts in a wide range of industries, including technology, automation, healthcare, economic development and design.
Prior to joining MMI in 2007, Jen interned with the Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill and the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic. Active in the community, Jen serves on the marketing committees of both ME3, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing volunteerism in Wake County, as well as Second Chance Pet Adoptions. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she minored in French and studied abroad at Université Paris Sorbonne.
Jill Mastrangelo
Account Executive
Jill Mastrangelo is an account executive at MMI, where she manages PR efforts for clients in such industries as nonprofit, business advisory services, architecture, engineering, government, lifestyle and education. Jill helps establish her clients as experts in their field by conducting media outreach through news releases, media alerts, podcasts, blogs and bylined articles in consumer and industry trade publications. She plans and manages events ranging from conferences and ribbon cuttings to black tie affairs and political fundraisers.
Jill is on the board of advisors of Me Fine Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to parents and caregivers sacrificing their livelihoods in order to provide their children with state-of-the-art or even last-chance medical treatment at Duke and UNC Children’s Hospitals. She served as the PR chair for Me Fine’s 3rd annual Purse Gala, as well as a member of the steering committee for the 2009 N.C. Education Ball and of the planning committee for the 7th annual Big Bad Ball, a black tie affair benefiting Hospice of Wake County.
Jill joined MMI in January 2007. A native of Cary, N.C., she is a graduate of East Carolina University, where she majored in Journalism and Public Relations.
Jake Potter
Assistant Account Executive
As assistant account executive at MMI, Jake provides strategic support to a number of clients on everything from media relations to social media applications, in addition to overseeing several client accounts. He uses his reporting background to connect with reporters and provide top-notch content. Jake has helped clients reach outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, The News & Observer and Triangle Business Journal.
Jake joined MMI after earning a bachelor of arts in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (He claims to have earned a minor in watching Tar Heel basketball as well.) He has served internship stints with The Motley Fool and The Whiteville (N.C.) News Reporter, and when he is not hard at work, you can find him at a Carolina Hurricanes game or channeling Jimi Hendrix through his Gibson Les Paul guitar.
Bobby McDonald
New Media Specialist
Bobby McDonald is new media specialist at MMI Public Relations, where he enjoys scouring the Internet looking for the best online and social media applications for our clients. A Facebook junkie and a “tweetaholic” on Twitter, Bobby helps clients find, grow and connect with their audience or community online. In addition to his other social media duties, Bobby heads up MMI’s video and podcasting activities, and he is more often than not seen with a video bag and tripod over his shoulder when heading to a client meeting.
Bobby attended N.C. State, receiving his B.A. in Psychology in 2006. After graduating he continued his education at ECU’s College of Business. While at ECU he worked with a Charlotte-based real estate broker to increase online leads and sales by approximately 30 percent.
With a background in SEO and SEM, Bobby is well equipped to find the best ways to promote MMI’s clients online. After 5 p.m. and on the weekends, Bobby enjoys traveling, playing guitar, snowboarding and meeting new people. Bobby also maintains MMI’s Twitter account - you can follow us @MMIPR.
Wesley Hyatt
Senior Writer
With a professional writing career spanning nearly two decades from weekly newspapers to reference books, Wesley is also the author of six books, the most recent being Kicking Off the Week: A History of Monday Night Football on ABC Television, 1970-2005, published in 2007. He also operates a Web site on TV history, http://www.tvhistorian.com/.
At MMI Public Relations, Wesley writes blogs; news releases; brochures; case studies; white papers; media alerts; video scripts; articles for a variety of newspapers, magazines and trade publications; and other documents as needed by the staff and clients. He works jointly with all account executives at MMI on major projects to craft written content that is compelling and complete for the needs of any client.
Wesley joined MMI in August 2006. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a double major in English and communications, graduating cum laude. The North Carolina native resides in Chapel Hill and enjoys reading, exercising, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Gloria Lesher
Senior Writer
Gloria Lesher, M.A., excels at helping clients win publicity, awards and public goodwill through well-crafted speeches, award nominations and published articles. She has contributed to chapters for nonfiction books and has written hundreds of articles for national and regional magazines, newspapers, and trade publications. At MMI, Gloria writes speeches, talking points, award nominations, newsletters, news releases, annual reports, public relations features, white papers, marketing/sales collateral, brochures, blogs and Web sites.
Through MMI, Gloria was honored with an International Davey award in 2008 for a brochure she wrote for FirstFloor’s Dragonfly, a sustainable building design for K-12 educational facilities. Other recent awards are a 2007 Communicator Award for the Crescent State Bank Annual Report and the 2005 Golden Pen Award. She is listed in Marquis Who’s Who in America.
Gloria earned a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism, followed by a master’s degree in English from the University of Northern Colorado (U.N.C.). Active in her community, Gloria is the past president and current secretary/treasurer of Clayton Area Toastmasters, and is on the board of the Triangle Yale Club. She supports the Alpha-1 Foundation, which is dedicated to finding a cure for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a hereditary condition which may result in serious lung or liver disease in infants, children and adults.
Brittney Storm
Assistant Account Executive
As an assistant account executive at MMI Public Relations, Brittney provides account support and oversees several client accounts. She gets to work with a wide variety of clients—something she enjoys because no day is ever the same.
Brittney graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in communication studies. Prior to joining MMI in 2009, she interned at the Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill and the Hendersonville Times-News.
Outside of work, Brittney loves spending time with family and friends, cheering for the Tar Heels, reading, trying out Paula Deen’s recipes and traveling, especially to Savannah, St. Thomas and Key West. From the mountains of Western North Carolina, Brittney now lives in the Triangle.
Michael Castro
Video Specialist
A video specialist at MMI Public Relations, Michael Castro also attends the School of Communication Arts, a two-year private vocational school located in Raleigh, N.C. After he was offered an internship at MMI, Michael joined the firm in May 2009.
As a high school student, Michael won first place in the statewide 2007 Pennsylvania High School Computer Fair for his digital movie “Two Sides.” He also won the 2008 silver plate award for outstanding film work. Michael credits his unusual early success to a high school teacher, Richard Flacco, who mentored him and gave him an overview of everything from the basics of the world of film to its more advanced technologies. Inspired to choose his career by the special effects in today’s movies, Michael is up for the challenge of helping to create the next generation of digital wonders.
Michael’s interests extend beyond filming and editing video to working with equipment and computers, and he frequently volunteers his time to help others in his community with their PC or Mac problems. Outside the virtual world of digital filmmaking, Michael holds a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and black belts in two other martial arts.
Kathleen Mongero
Assistant Account Executive
Kathleen joined MMI as an assistant account executive in January 2010 after interning with the firm for eight months. In addition to providing support to fellow team members’ accounts, she provides PR services for several of her own MMI clients and makes it a personal goal to keep current with the latest communication and social media trends as a way of building her industry skills.
Kathleen received a Bachelor of Arts in communications with a concentration in public relations and a minor in Spanish from N.C. State University. During her academic career, she performed freelance social media management and contributed to the campus community through her involvement in the Everyone Welcome Here diversity campaign. She also served as a peer mentor to incoming multicultural students in the university’s Peer Mentor Association.
Outside of MMI, Kathleen enjoys indulging in her love of fitness, reading, rooting for the N.Y. Yankees and trying to explain Facebook and Twitter to her parents. She looks forward to continuing to feed her creativity through the ever-changing world of public relations.
