Ben Behrooz
Founder & CEO

Ben Behrooz is the Founder & CEO of Branding Los Angeles. He brings a dynamic, hard-working, strategic, and tenacious mind to his work, and he loves every second of it. 

Simply put, Ben plans, creates, and optimizes local and national marketing campaigns, ranging from a citywide public-safety campaign to helping ambitious sole proprietors grow thriving businesses with multiple locations in and around Los Angeles. Over 15 years, he’s built Branding Los Angeles into a powerful, multicultural marketing agency providing award-winning services in:

• Strategic Branding
• Marketing and Communications
• Public Affairs Strategies

On a more spiritual level, Ben thinks of his work as “helping our clients find their voices.” He defines and builds their brands, cultivating and fine-tuning their messaging to create consistent and galvanizing brand personalities that resonate across as many channels as necessary to achieve his clients’ goals.

He’s also created his own holiday tradition. Every winter, he rallies Branding Los Angeles’s sphere of influence to “toy-raise” for the area children who need it the most. He is proud to live the American dream and humbled to be able to give smiles to children and families in need. He also uses this influence in other crucial areas, including the fair treatment of animals and human-rights issues. 

As a result of his commitment to building sustainable and trusting relationships with everyone he works with, he’s able to create needed change, whether through an end-to-end campaign or sometimes just a quick phone call. The City of Los Angeles has recognized Ben for his support of local charities and consistent support of his community.

After graduating from UCLA, Ben began his entrepreneurial journey as a media innovator, supporting top companies such as Sony Music and Yahoo as they developed new pathways through an ever-changing ecosystem. His time at UCLA helped cystalize his passion for improving the quality of life in his community – as a mentor for others, a creator of new opportunities, and a champion of creativity, innovation, hard work, and excellence. As a Social Media Director with Truthdig, he discovered the power of dedicated activism and the joy of giving a voice to those with something to say. 

That dedication, celebration, and appreciation infuse all his work, driving him to help his clients turn their dreams into tangible realities.

Joella Hopkins
VP,  Strategic Marketing & Accounts

Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP, MBA has recently joined the team and comes to us from the City of Los Angeles where she was the DTLA Director & Strategic Media for L.A. City Council District 14. She was responsible for all #DTLA related matters from Homelessness, Policy, Planning, Public Works, Transportation, to Community Engagement & Programming. She also engaged in the Office’s Strategic Planning & Media related activities from overall communications and social media to printed collateral. Prior to her City life, she focused her attention as the President of Mumtaz Marketing & Public Relations. Mumtaz is a Strategic Marketing & PR agency whose roots are founded in creative meetings & award winning special events. She serviced clients from the Central City Association, Hospital Association of Southern California, LAEDC, Univision 34, Western Turbine Users, Inc., Beverly Hills Chamber and more. She also manages a boutique travel agency in her spare time – The UnLeashed Traveler. 

Kris Allen Rodriguez
Media & Digital Director

Kris Allen Rodriguez is a visual artist and video production professional based in Los Angeles, California with experience in the commercial and entertainment spaces since 2017. With a roster of clientele including Hyundai, Jimmy Choo, Truff Sauce, and more – Kris has proven to effectively use his love for video and talent in Digital Marketing to offer comprehensive media solutions that not only look amazing, but help provide value for clients in all industries.

Wayne Su
Paid Media & Accounts Manager

As a Digital Marketing Associate, Wayne uses a brands’ analytics to craft compelling stories and customize content via social media and blogs. He utilizes email marketing campaigns to boost engagement that resonates within specified niches. He enjoys planning and executing paid campaigns and building funnels for potential customers at their different stages of purchasing journeys. He is creative, works amazing with teams, and gets inspired by the people he works with. He is originally from Taiwan and has an engineering degree, but decided to follow his passion and the fascinating world of marketing. In his free time, he likes to try different workout classes, rowing, boxing, CrossFit, and circuit training. His current obsession is hot pilates classes.

Michelle Chiu
Marketing Associate, Social Media

Michelle Chiu specializes in social media content creation and social media marketing strategies. She is a first-generation college graduate from the University of California, Riverside with a BA in Media Studies. In 2019, she gained a large following on TikTok and decided to take social media seriously. She began her career by partaking in freelance UGC, doing an influencer marketing internship as a Brand Ambassador for T-Mobile, and eventually landing a full-time position as an in-house Social Media Manager in the beauty industry. Because of her experience and expertise, she is always keeping up with the latest trends and have perfected the recipe to going viral. She has always loved being in front of and behind the camera, whether it’s modeling, or shooting and editing videos. In her free time she loves creating TikToks, dying her hair crazy colors, attending music festivals, and snowboarding.

Claire Sabin
Marketing Associate

Claire Sabin is one of Branding Los Angeles’ Marketing Associates. She assists the team in various functions from drafting innovative marketing campaigns, monitoring photo shoots, to administrative tasks. Claire grew up in Austin, Texas and attended Texas State University studying Biology with a focus in animal sciences until she changed plans and decided to focus on her creative skills and pursue a career focused in the creative arts and media. She is currently working towards her degree in Graphic Design, and in her spare time enjoys photography. Claire is well-versed in social media management, creative developments, and developing insights into SEO strategies.

Samantha Moyer
Graphic Designer

Samantha conceptualizes branding, translates identity systems into style guides, and implements corporate voice consistently across marketing collateral. She brings visual representations of brands to life. She brings to Branding Los Angeles almost a decade of print and digital experience. She loves challenging herself and loves working within fluid and strict guardrails especially with developing different types of advertising campaigns and methods. She is passionate about elevating our brand’s visual presence across platforms in sparking more conversations and opening up new and innovative opportunities for your business.

Justin Axelrode
Graphic Designer

Justin has a unique and talented eye for the creative. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Art from California State University, Northridge. He is very passionate about design and specializes in branding projects. He has designed logos for brands and clients that evoke their desired messages in every industry and niche market. Justin is one of Branding Los Angeles’ creative assets. 

Alejandra Vasquez
Junior Media Specialist

Alejandra is Branding Los Angeles’ Junior Media Specialist. She is all about creating content that gets seen. She is constantly working towards beating her most recent wins in terms of engagement, views, and building brand awareness. She also specializes in Drone Photography & Drone Videography as she is a licensed Pilot. She’s always loved photography and started droning in 2018. With a degree in Communications and real world marketing experience behind her, she’s got an eye for the perfect angle.

Jaylene Guevara
Content & Copy Editor

Jaylene is one of Branding Los Angeles’ Content Writer & Copy Editors. She graduated from Cal Poly Pomona, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism. She has years of experience in marketing and content writing, working with small businesses in many different industries. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with her friends and family.

Taylor Kandris
Marketing Associate

Taylor is a recent addition to our team. Originally from Sacramento, CA, Taylor returned back to California in 2020 after spending nearly a decade in the DFW-area in Texas, where she studied Social Work and Education at Texas Christian University (TCU). Prior to her move, she worked in college athletics as a Learning Specialist and Assistant Director of Student Services. Most recently, she worked in the Real Estate and Mortgage industries as a Communications Director. Taylor’s diverse background and passion for helping others makes her a wonderful addition to our team. She has a passion for helping others and helping make their dreams a reality. As a marketing associate, she’s well-versed with strategizing brand identity, marketing development and digital media planning, such as social media.

EduardoOviedo
Graphic Designer

Eduardo has been with Branding Los Angeles since 2018 and been one of our key graphic designers. He has strong skills in developing all of our client designs  – logo creation, product packaging, print, web design and more… just to list a few of his everyday creative tasks. He also helps lead our design team as well. He earned his Bachelor’s from California State University Fullerton. 

Caley Robison 
Marketing Associate

Caley Robison earned her Bachelors in Studio Art and minored in Graphic Design. She has a unique and trained eye for visual components of brands. With extensive experience in the service industry, over 10 years, she has been able to perfect her communication skills which are paramount in understanding the overall design and business goals of Branding Los Angeles’ clients and executing them.

Chelsea Randall
Director of Accounts

Chelsea Randall is a seasoned administrative, operations, and marketing professional, with extensive experience managing strategic client projects. Driven by growth, she takes pride in delivering impactful solutions and maximizing operational excellence. As the Director of Accounts at Branding Los Angeles, she provides strategic support and guidance to clients and the internal BLA team. She loves working with teams big and small on strategic projects that achieve success for clients. Chelsea holds a B.S. in Marketing from California State University, Northridge.

Gie Somintac
Lead Designer

Gie Somintac is BLA’s Lead Designer. She is a multimedia creative guru. She excels at creating innovative visuals that deliver on brand. She is a Video Editor, Illustrator, and Graphic Designer. She’s passion for design shows in her work product. She is ambitious and versatile. She loves comprehensive projects that utilize her skills across channels from print, digital, and mass communications like billboards and TV. Argie exceeds expectations and is always on target, on brand, and on time.

Emerson Dameron
Content & Copy Editor

Emerson is a writer, content strategist, media mage, and certified content marketing professional with a background in journalism, comedy, and training in User Experience. He enriches lives and careers through strategy, compassion, and relentless curiosity. He is able to magically make words deliver on brand. Software programs he works regularly with are WordPress, HubSpot, Omnigraffle, balsamiq, Axure, draw.io, POP, InVision, Adobe Creative Suite, Mac and Windows environments.