Founder and Search Strategy Director

Casey Nifong is the Founder of marketing and branding agency Mountain Laurel Digital (MLD) where she elevates the missions of purpose-driven brands that are paving the way for a better future. Casey holds over 13 years of experience in the marketing space and is a sought-after expert for her knowledge of SEO & Generative AI in Search, market research, branding, and digital strategy. Casey is also a passionate environmentalist and advocate for generational impact, she specializes in working on projects that focus on organic products, sustainability, b corp initiatives, and investing in the future of our world. A coveted thought leader in the digital marketing space, Casey founded MLD in 2017 with the desire for the agency to become more than just a functional need, and instead become a driving force for good themselves. As a founder she challenges the traditional hectic agency culture, leading with kindness and compassion first to create more sustainable long-term solutions for her staff and clients.

Digital Marketing Director

Karolina Dróżdż is our Digital Marketing Director. She started her online marketing career in 2014 when she moved to Stockholm from Poland, her home country. Since then, she's worked in various aspects of digital marketing, with a strong focus on paid advertising. She has experience with affiliates, influencers, website user experience and CRO, web analytics, programmatic buying, as well as more strategic client management. She’s passionate about sustainable brands and supporting businesses with a purpose.

Content Marketing Director

Jenny is our Content Marketing Director with a deep passion for creative brand storytelling. She loves the challenge behind content strategy and development to create messaging that speaks to the soul of a brand and the people it touches. After starting her career in 2016, with a Journalism degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, (Go Heels!) she has worked in both a small agency environment and on an in-house marketing team, before finding her place at MLD. She finds energy and fulfillment from her work in sustainability messaging and loves using the written word as a creative outlet to inform, inspire, and create change. If she’s not writing, you’ll find her cooking up something delicious or spending time with her very cute (but very mischievous) Golden Retriever, Cove.

Interactive Director

Kirsten is our Web Developer and Interactive Director. She has experience working in a small agency environment developing and designing websites and landing pages, running paid social media campaigns, and installing web analytics and tracking. She received her degree in New Media from UNC - Asheville, with a minor in Computer Science. Her passions lie within the realm that technology and art intersect, and she relies on her creative intuition to solve problems! In her free time you can find her hiking, drawing, playing games, and spending time with her beloved canine companion.

Operations & Digital Project Manager

Yumi is our Digital Project Manager with a restorative vision that lead her to deeply connect with MLD’s passion to bring positive change to the world. She finds the creative process life-giving, especially when it involves collaborating with passionate minds. Yumi has experience in Project Management and has previously worked in an agency-setting handling numerous large scale accounts. One of her favorite parts of working in the marketing industry is the relationships she gets to build along the way. That care for clients is the foundation which propels her into effectively building out of their brands and businesses.

Digital Marketing Web Developer Strategist

Ben is our Digital Marketing Web Developer Strategist. He has over a decade of experience building websites and interactive experiences using a wide range of technology and frameworks. No matter the tools, in the end it’s all just html, css, and javascript. (And usually PHP - thank you Wordpress!) He has a Front End Engineering degree from the Iron Yard and an associates degree in IT Networking and Security Management from ECPI. Outside of coding, he loves hanging out with his beagle, drawing on his iPad, reading science fiction, and eating Thai food.

Strategic Operational Partner

Dan is our strategic operational partner. He has an extensive background in business strategy that helps us pave the way from vision to reality. His diverse range of business and people leadership makes him our go to for all things high level and big picture. He guides our leadership team to stay focused while providing a differentiated perspective on our long term people and client needs. His passion is building amazing, sustainable business as forces for good.

HR and Team Wellness Partner

Malia is passionate about helping people and organizations reach their endless potential. She has a diverse professional background in business development, marketing, human resources and organizational design. Malia loves working with businesses to understand their culture, strengths, pain points and long-term goals. She uses those findings to design, implement and improve programs, processes and systems and to coach leaders and managers. She has experience building talent recruitment and hiring systems; learning and development programs, organizational values and mission statements, well-being programs, benefits, policies and beyond. Her end goal is to create enriching experiences and conditions in the workplace that bring out the best in others, spark creativity and lead to meaningful, high-impact work.

Constant Companion

Cooper is our studio companion (and de facto mascot) and can be found laying by a fire, expectantly looking up at you ready to give love, or simply laying his head on your knee - he is complete just knowing you are with him and he is with you. He is the constant companion and provides loyal support to of us in Studio 44 as only a sweet, squishy, yellow pup can. We're so thankful to be able to have such a lovable little guy roaming our creative space and offering those supportive moments in collaboration.

Be sure to look out for him if you pass by our studio! You just might see him waiting expectantly for new friends...