Meet Morpheus Media

Hugh Prysten

Representing Melbourne, Australia, Hugh joined Morpheus as a Senior Paid Search Strategist coming from Search Consulting for large print media organizations. With roots in marketing, foreign language, ceramic art and math, early on he decided that Search was a good creative and analytical combination and a suitable match for his career. Hugh is fluent in Japanese, a ceramic/pottery artist, an accomplished bedroom dj, and loves to travel and scuba dive. His biggest travel adventure was backpacking for 10 months straight throughout Asia. Important Stuff: Mets, Colts, Flyers, and the Australian Cricket Team!

Shenan Reed

Dubbed the ''Morpheus Mom'', Shenan is often consulted for treatment advice regarding fevers, strange looking moles, minor non-lethal injuries as well as any other syndromes, diseases, maladies or conditions which may arise from time to time. Having two small children at home offers her a great deal of practice and clinical experience in playing Dr. Mom. Calvin (4.5 Years) and Charlotte (1 year) are her greatest accomplishments in life, followed closely by having the guts to start an online ad agency in the middle of the dotcom bust with Jamie and Alex. When not attending to her triage duties, Shenan is turned to for tips and tricks in Excel, DoubleClick, PowerPoint, Keynote and other applications. She greatly enjoys problem solving whether it's for a fever or a pivot table. She is proud to say that her iTunes music collection is the most varied in the office, though most of the team would say she should be embarrassed by the general lack of contemporary artists. Although she can tell you exactly what that 9 in the Excel subtotal formula does, don't ask her to name a hot band, you're likely to get Glenn Miller as an answer.

Kate Godlewska

Kate Godlewska hails from Connecticut and is a UConn alumna with a B.S. in Business Administration and a concentration in Marketing. She began her career at IPSOS working on marketing research for P&G. She gained publisher-side experience as a Partnership Coordinator at 24/7 Real Media. Since discovering her passion for Digital Media Planning, Kate has worked on CPG, hospitality and financial services brands at mcgarrybowen and Digitas.

In her free time, Kate enjoys kayaking, finding new cheap eats around the city, concerts and traveling.

Brie Mitchell

Originally from Connecticut, Brie Mitchell attended SUNY New Paltz where she graduated with a degree in Digital Media Management. After school, Brie worked on various clients at both MediaCom and Starcom MediaVest group where she honed her skills as a digital planner and gained experience in traditional media strategy. After 5 years in the digital industry, Brie joined Morpheus Media as a Manager of Client & Media Strategy in June 2010 and is very happy to be working on Luxury Fashion, Jewelry, Watch, and Retail accounts. When not working, Brie enjoys live music, making "to do" lists and dreaming of where to open her future ice cream shop. She also loves Cape Cod, has an identical twin sister, is the queen of useless knowledge and believes that everything is better in cheddar. She doesn't like losing money to slot machines or having to eventually give up her CT license for a NY one.

Paige Ferrante

For Paige, home will always be at the beach. A graduate from Rutgers University, she has always possessed an escalating interest in Marketing. The middle child of a bustling household, no task is too daunting for Paige as she is often found comfortably handling multiple situations at any given time. Wearing several hats at the agency, Paige is the go-to person for any random question/request. A Jersey girl at heart, Paige's list of must-haves include classic rock, seafood, the beach (Manasquan), arnold palmers, and passionate discussions/arguments with her Italian family. At the end of the day, Paige looks forward to kicking back with her friends and family and is always down for a good episode of any cop drama (her guilty pleasure).

Stephanie Walker

Stephanie graduated from Iona College where she received BA in Mass Communications with a concentration in Advertising. She grew up in a small town in Connecticut and couldn't wait to travel to New York for school and finally find some excitement! Shortly after graduation she moved to the big city and couldn't be happier. Stephanie has always had a passion for advertising and absolutely loves working at Morpheus Media. Outside of work her dream is to tour the world playing her music. Since she was young Stephanie has always had a love for music and performing. When she was 13 years old she learned to play guitar and wrote her first song. Since then she has been playing her guitar and singing wherever she goes. She loves going to concerts, relaxing in CT with her parents and sister, collaborating with different artists, exploring new venues and you're bound to find her playing at various open mic nights throughout the city. Although she hates this habit, its not uncommon to find Stephanie twirling her hair in any given situation. And, if she ever catches you singing out loud, she'll be more than happy to jump in with some harmonized back-up vocals (especially if its a Taylor Swift song).

Matt Tingley

Born and raised in Bridgewater, New Jersey, Matt got his first exposure to Search Marketing while pursuing his marketing degree at West Virginia University. After college, Matt got his start working as the Marketing Coordinator at a small mortgage company in New Jersey before packing up and moving to Brooklyn to begin his career in Search Engine Optimization. After a few SEO freelance gigs and a full time position as the SEO Link Building Manager at ShopWiki.com, Matt decided it was time to make the move to the agency side and has found a perfect fit with Morpheus.

In his free time, Matt enjoys playing his guitar, watching and playing all sports (especially baseball/softball and golf) and is an avid Yankees, Giants, and WVU Mountaineers fan. His latest hobby is getting out and exploring the city on his recently purchased bicycle.

Megan Smuckler

An Ohio native, Megan somehow made it out of the Midwest and to New York. She began at Morpheus as an intern, and is now an Associate Display Strategist working with brands such as Net-a-Porter, Mr. Porter, Juicy Couture, and The Outnet. Megan loves her team and is so happy to be a Morphite. When she is out of the office, Megan loves checking into restaurants on Foursquare, tweeting about her favorite new online purchase, and connecting with new and old friends over Facebook. She loves to plan extravagant trips, that hopefully she will one day take. Even though she enjoys going back to Ohio every now and again, she has definitely found her groove in New York.

Tara Kalmanson

Tara joined Morpheus as an intern after graduating from Northwestern University in 2010 with a background in magazine journalism and international studies. Sheâ€™s now a social strategist who thinks sheâ€™s good at boxing and downhill skiing, but is really just a nerd with passions for email grammar and the now-defunct FBML. After spending her childhood in Wisconsin, sheâ€™s glad to be in New York City where the food is considerably more varied than a Friday fish fry and gas station cheese curds.

David Hahn

After working his way through school with jobs at an amusement park and a toy store, David decided to continue the fun by pursuing a career in digital media. He spent time at Mindshare and iMarketing where he gained valuable experience working on accounts such as Sprint, TV Guide Magazine, and Legal Seafoods before joining Morpheus Media in July of 2011.

Is his free time David enjoys listening to music, especially when he can experience it live surrounded by 3,000 of his closest friends. Heâ€™s also an avid sports fan, but as a supporter of West Ham United, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Oklahoma Sooners, David has had his share of ups and downs over the years. Well, mostly downs. Despite the disappointment, he enters each new season with the feeling that this could finally be the year. Seriously. Up the Irons!

Tom Hebert

Tom is originally a native of New Jersey who has taken a long and varied journey only to end up close to where he started, right across the river in Brooklyn, NY. He began his education at a boys pre-prep school in a suburb of London and finished with a degree in Computer Science from the University of Virginia in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Shortly after graduating he made his way back north to the greatest city in the world (with a vacant bank account and an overstuffed U-Haul) to see if he could make it there. Six years later, he finds himself at Morpheus Media on the SEO team and he couldnâ€™t be happier about where his odyssey has led him.
During his free time Tom enjoys watching as much football and baseball as he can, with a strong focus on the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies. He also spends as much time as possible visiting beautiful Lake George in the Adirondacks with friends and family.

Lev Halibey

I like to employ a Magic School Bus Ms. Frizzle philosophy concerning life: "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" Whether it is through trying new foods, learning new things, or doing something reckless I like to employ an adventurous attitude. If you need a guinea pig to try something you're afraid of doing yourself, I'm probably the person you're looking for.

I was born and raised in New Jersey, graduated from Quinnipiac University with a degree in marketing, and look forward to beginning and continuing my career in SEO and online marketing with Morpheus Media. My hobbies include biking, skiing, building models and scuba diving and I strive to some day be considered as a true NJ tech diver.

Tom Conte

Tom joined the ranks of Morpheus Media after working as an SEO Specialist at LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, where he ran local and national campaigns for small and large law firms. His hobbies include spending too much time on the internet - an asset in the SEO industry - attending shows whenever possible, snowboarding, and cooking up a storm.

A New Jersey native, Tom left the bridge & tunnel life behind him to move to New York City. His heart, however, resides in New England, where he attended Providence, Rhode Island's Johnson & Wales University and obtained his B.A. in New Media and Web Management. Eternally optimistic and perpetually curious, his somewhat morbid sense of humor leaves him laughing at horror movies, zombies, and his own misfortunes. He takes his sweet time when it is his turn in Scrabble and likes to think he has a dashing smile.

Stephanie Finkelstein

Stephanie Finkelstein is better defined by a smile than words. She is most often found playing Ultimate Frisbee, planning for her next tattoo, or laughing at herself.

After graduating from Ramapo College, in New Jersey, she found herself fascinated by the mystical world of SEO and the endless wonders of Social Media. Previous to coming to Morpheus Media, she worked for LexisNexis on Lawyers.com, but she always dreamt of handling SEO accounts for fashion, beauty and media brandsÃ¢ï¿½ï¿½so we told her to join fun!

A perfect night for Stephanie would be jumping on a plane to Chicago to see her bro, or just staying home and secretly watching the Jersey Shore. She drinks imported beers, celebrates almost every holiday considering her mother is Mexican and her father is Jewish, and dislikes endless texting!

If you would like to know more about Stephanie, you might catch her underwater. Her secret talent, is the fact that she can hold her breath for long amounts of time. We are not exactly sure if this is good for her big brain, but we are willing to take the risk if she can dive for pearls!

Lauren Land

Lauren officially joined the Morpheus team in April of 2010, after learning the ins and out of Paid Search through working as an intern on amazing accounts like A&E and The History Channel. After years of working in very corporate cultures, the relaxed Morpheus environment was an extremely refreshing and welcome surprise.

With a Political Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Law degree from Cardozo, Lauren is thoughtful, analytical, secretly creative, and most importantly thrilled to be able to use all of these attributes in her role in Business Development.

Lauren brings a diverse and full background to Morpheus, having worked in civil litigation for a boutique law firm, corporate communications for a prominent publishing house, and research/editing for a stem cell doctor.

In her free time, you can find Lauren reading novels in coffee shops, playing chess and Super Mario with her nephews, talking about one day getting a hypo-allergenic puppy, and admiring art online.

Chiara Ravalli

Having recently graduated from New York University with a degree in European Studies and Communications, Chiara joined Morpheus full-time after 5 months of interning and began her career as an Associate Account Strategist.

Her unusual name always begs the question of her nationality. She is first generation American, with parents from Rome, Italy. She adores all things Italian -- ranging from fashion labels to movies but her absolute favorite is Nutella! Fluent in Italian and currently attempting to master French after having lived in Paris last year, Chiara is fascinated with different cultures and adores traveling. Having been to over ten countries already, she is constantly trying to dream up a new get-away destination to add to her list. Feel free to send her suggestions!

In her spare time, Chiara enjoys taking advantage of New York City as much as she can. Even though one would think there is probably not much left to see after being born and raised in the city, Chiara would beg to differ! She also enjoys trying new restaurants, shopping, watching movies and her favorite TV shows or just relaxing with her friends and family.

Gila Wilensky

Gila joined Morpheus as an SEM Account Strategist with a background in graphic design, food writing, and SEM. Gila graduated from McGill University in 2006 and her most enjoyable work experiences were as a food writer for Time Out Magazine and at an architecture firm here in New York City. Not a day goes by when someone mispronounces her name and/or she sneezes in triplicate, but she has learned to accept both of these facts as truth. In her spare time, Gila enjoys consuming large quantities of wine and cheese and trying out for Jeopardy.

Stephen Racano

Stephen brings both marketing and technology together as an Senio SEO Strategist. His education includes a B.A. focused on advertising from the University of South Florida and a M.S. from University of Phoenix focused on Computer Information Systems.

He believes that computers can make any task more efficient, and spends most of his time on one. Stephen has a development background, beginning with his Webmaster Certificate from Florida State University. He is always looking to learn new technologies and program languages as he continues to develop new sites.

Stephen was born and raised in NJ, where he currently resides. When he gets time away from his computer, he also enjoys playing hockey and surfing.

Dave Surgan

Dave brings experience to his position at Morpheus from the Creative and Advertising Department at Barnes & Noble and Marketing and Promotions at House of Blues Orlando. With a sense of branding firmly in place, Dave followed his passions for online marketing, emerging technologies and social media to Morpheus where he has provided support on the Hennessy, MoÃƒï¿½Ã¯Â¿Â½Ãƒï¿½Ã‚Â«t, Lord & Taylor, IFC and Sundance brands. This transition came naturally as Dave has his own NYC culture and events website and remains active in far too many social media communities than is healthy for one person. His current favorites include Tumblr, Twitter and Flickr.

Simon Gibson

Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here"Â, Led Zepplin "IV"Ã‚, Radiohead "Ok Computer"Â, and Tool "Aenima"...just a few reasons why I fell head first into music and have been dedicated to its pursuit for the last ten years.

Minimum wage at a coffee shop, no savings, New York rent, and two band mates who worked there...just a few reasons why I jumped head first into Morpheus Media.

Working as an SEM Strategist here at Morpheus Media has been one of the few times I've been able to apply concepts from my artistic, creative side, to my analytical, math oriented way of thinking. It's actually very similar to writing music in a lot of ways. You come up with a creative idea, you use your knowledge and originality to blend and mold those ideas into an approach. You have an idea of the finish line, but must be able to adapt to changes in any and all directions. And that's what I do in both my jobs.

Ken Seligman

OK, so I've been here a year and I still haven't posted one of these pages. Why you ask? Too busy? Can't possibly imagine what you want to read about me? Waiting for Divine Inspiration (with low expectations)? Perhaps a bit of all these things.

But the time has come, something has gotta go up. So, here we go. Stay tuned for an actual spark of genius (or some less powerful approximation thereof).

10 Things I Love (feel free to skip straight to #1):

10. Respawning

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my-nfzmfCoU)

9. Heroic Culinary Vision

(http://bit.ly/8Wi6BW)

8. 128 Madison Lane, Charlottesville, VA, 22903

(http://bit.ly/6ctSYE)

7. Grand Admiral Thrawn

(http://bit.ly/87YD0N)

6. 2 for Instigating + 5 for Fighting + 10 for Game Misconduct

(http://bit.ly/hockeyfigh)

5. Awkward

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx1whyzD0y0)

4. Roland and his Ka-Tet

(http://bit.ly/92Wmns)

3. 11/8 Triplets

(http://bit.ly/noyw)

2. Bleeding Blue & Orange

(http://bit.ly/5BhxfB)

1. The ChuckleBeaner and the Lionheart

(http://bit.ly/71HuiZ)

Yep, you got it, in no particular order until that last one.

OK, so since that's the best you're gonna get for now, I'll leave you with this thought:

"As you travel on through life, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the donut, and NOT upon the hole."

KMS

Justin Weag

Justin brings diversified experience to Morpheus, previously hailing from a tradeshow and event marketing agency that focused on traditional and face to face advertising. With a degree in Information Science and specialization in traditional advertising, Justin's aspirations led to the booming world of digital marketing here at Morpheus Media. Justin has a strong drive to succeed, loves challenges, and thrives when learning new things. This makes the world of digital marketing and search engine optimization a perfect fit.

On a personal note, he is an avid sports fan in rooting for the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Eagles, and Philadelphia Flyers. Yes, those are very odd sports allegiances, but are explained by his attendance at Villanova University as an undergraduate. Additionally, he loves to travel visiting places such as England, Ireland, Spain, and the Caribbean.

Some quotes he lives by:

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. " - Buddha

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - Robert Frost

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." - Confucius

"Fortune and love favor the brave." - Ovid

Mychal Turpin

His name is pronounced "Michael", not "Michelle", and not "My-shall".

Often misunderstood, whether it is his name, a cab driver asking if he is from some
far-off country, or just a random person saying he must be an artist.

While being ethnically ambiguous with an afro everyone requests to touch has reaped a lot of rewards, he still feels the best part of his life is still ahead of him.

After being hired by Morpheus the first thing he did was reward himself with a yoga membership, even though coworkers swear he carries around a yoga mat to achieve his "Brooklyn yoga look", he really does go to class. When he is not centering himself in his practice he is balancing different flavors in
the kitchen exploring his love for food. His other interest include his long love for playing soccer and his new fling with photography. At Morpheus he looks forward to determining users' intent and finding creative ways to
engage them with our different clients.

His favorite quote is

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. - Mahatma Gandhi

Ben Beyda

Ever since my first computer (IBM Aptiva!) I have tried to stay at the forefront of technology and the internet's evolution. Both have come a long, long way from the days of Prodigy and floppy disk drives. Since those early days I've been a frequent beta tester (for some amazing products like Hulu.com) and early adopter of new products (like the Creative Nomad Jukebox and the substantially better first gen iPod).

When I first heard of search engine optimization I was pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. I started doing freelance work for small businesses in New York and quickly noticed my interest in SEO was growing. At that point I began to fuse elements of psychology with SEO and contemplated a full time career in the field.

As an Associate SEO and Emerging Technologies strategist I not only work in an exciting and growing industry, but I'm also required to pursue my passion for emerging technologies as part of my job. I now use my background and interests to better understand why users and search engines think and behave as they do.

A few random facts about me: Even though I live in Manhattan I am more of a country mouse than a city mouse. I like digital photography and enjoy many different types of music (the last 3 artists played in iTunes: Bob Dylan, MGMT, Blue Scholars). I am often told I don't have a Long Island accent which, I think I dodged as a first generation American.

James Simon

Polish Chinese mix
NJ Transit is the worst
My dog weighs four pounds

Simple and intelligible, this Haiku was written by James Simon 2 & 1/2 years after his journey started at Morpheus. Prior to his tenure, James worked as a Managing Director for a large retail chain. In a recent interview with Mr. Simon, he stated the reasons why he left his previous position, "I hated it!"

Born and raised in East Brunswick, NJ, James is an Associate Director of Media Strategy at Morpheus. He oversees a plethora of client brands ranging from high-end retail clients all the way to entertainment. Some of his unusual interests include little dogs, a 4-pound teacup poodle and a 7-pound chihuahua, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, LOST, and Wii Mario Kart.

James' love for Morpheus can be easily seen on a daily basis:

"The culture, the employees, the Open Door Policy for all the executives, the dogs, and the incredible sense of family are my main reasons why I cherish the opportunity I have received here."

Zai Jian

Jenn Heinen

A book review for Jennifer Michelle Heinen

"If Jenn jumped off a cliff, I would too." - Anonymous

"So good, you find yourself asking how you could not know this already." - Information Superhighway

"If Jerry Garcia and Celia Cruz were to have a love child, it would be Jennifer Heinen." - Jimmy Buffet

"Engrossing...exceedingly well documented...uttterly fascinating." - Librarian

"Jenn Heinen is small, ferocious, hyper-energetic (though she hides it well), and surprisingly intelligent."-Professor

"Kakuru master, guiding light to lost souls, wrangler of small dogs" - Sensai

"Jennifer M. Heinen was caught lookin' good in the fourth grade." -Principal

"Jenn finds no irony in tie-dye" - Truth

Jeffrey Capossela

Jeffrey Capossela is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island where he mastered his skills in painting and design, and soon after jumped into the world of traditional advertising in Midtown Manhattan. With 7 years of "real world" experience under his belt, since leaving the Ocean State, he has needless to say found himself with some eclectic jobs along the way (including but not limited to: selling wine in the West Village and helping motorcycle techs get the parts to fix a fried clutch at a Manhattan motorcycle dealership).

Now at Morpheus Media Jeff finds himself on the SEO Team dabbling in all areas of the business. On any given day he can be found constructing detailed wire-frames or optimizing a site for the search engine crawlers. All in all Jeff is enjoying being a part of this emerging industry.

In his free time Jeff stills loves to paint (you may see one of his paintings hanging in the Morpheus office) and enjoys stopping in at the local music venues to check out his favorite bands. He loves sushi and Aquarians. Some may say he's obsessed with the Yankees and the Rangers, but he'd call it more of a profound passion. So, during baseball and hockey season you know where you can find him: planted in front of a TV watching the games with some sushi and sake.

Scott Elliott

Born in El Paso Texas and almost a lifelong New Jersey resident, Scott Elliott is the Accounting and Operations Manager at Morpheus Media. Though he has a Psychology Degree from Rutgers University, Scott has parlayed his skills with accounting and numbers into a challenging career choice. Scott has partially traveled the globe, visiting 10 foreign countries to date and most of the United States, with many more travels on the horizon. Scott is addicted to all types of media including music, film, technology and video games and is as comfortable on the couch as he is performing a marriage as an ordained reverend. "I look forward to many more productive and creative years in my professional life at Morpheus."

David Levine

Born and raised in New Jersey, David moved to Columbus, Ohio to attend The Ohio State University, and Franklin University. After earning a Marketing degree, he felt it was time to leave the Midwest and put his talents to work in the Big Apple. As the Senior Ad Operations Strategist, David works closely with our Clients to assure their Creative Branding Campaigns are running as planned.
When David is not hard at work at Morpheus, he is enjoying his other interests in life. Some of these include: Spending time with his family and friends, watching sports, listening to Pearl Jam and Howard Stern, going to concerts, walking around New York City giving tourists inaccurate directions, and praying the NY Jets win the Super Bowl in his lifetime.

Marius Draghici

Born and raised in Bucharest (Romania), Marius joined Morpheus after graduating SUNY at Stony Brook with a Computer Science degree. As an Information Technology Manger, Marius serves as the main point of contact for all areas involving computing technologies: from hardware and software purchasing or debugging to researching and implementing new solutions. Although he doesn't have time anymore to pursue his passion for climbing, Marius still enjoys hiking occasionally and dreams of tackling the Eiger's wall someday.

Hugh Prysten

Morpheus Media Tumblr

The Morpheus team tumbles some of our favorite digital marketing and media trends.
Read it all on the Morpheus Tumblr