OUR PEOPLE
Michelle Lafferty
Michelle Lafferty founded Elephant Publicity in 2002. Having worked and trained as an actress she became proficient and passionate about giving artists a voice in NZ media.
Michelle trained in advertising & marketing at Unitec and also worked as a Producer for Theatre Stampede from 1999 to 2005. In this time she produced premiere and return seasons of work and a national tour. In her more than 20 years in the Publicity game she has enjoyed working alongside some of New Zealand's best arts practitioners and truly exceptional emerging artists.
Michelle is married to award winning journalist Matt Nippert and she has a boy, a cat, a dog and a home in the trees.
Ali Nicoll van Leeuwen
Originally from Christchurch, Ali moved to Auckland to get her degree in Communication Studies at AUT, majoring in Creative Industries.
After obtaining her degree, Ali began interning in publicity and communications at the New Zealand International Film Festival and then the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. Beginning as an intern at Elephant Publicity, Ali has now been an integral member of the Elephant herd since the start of 2016.
Ali has also worked at Basement Theatre as the Ticketing Manager & Marketing Assistant from 2017 to 2022 before going full time at Elephant. Ali now works remotely from Ōtautahi.
Steph Butler
Steph studied acting at Bretton Hall Drama School in Yorkshire, where the League of Gentlemen and other quirky characters popped up. She spent 10 years touring the UK as an actor/musician, playing everything from guitars to harps. She moved here in 2017 and has loved life in NZ since. In her spare time, she runs a monthly market at the much-loved wine bar Freida Margolis in Grey Lynn. After a short stint in 2023 with Elephant, she’s now part of the office furniture. Steph loves being a publicist almost as much as she loves a good cuppa of Yorkshire tea, which she insists is the only proper way to fuel her creativity.
Frida Lafferty
A true westie, born and raised, I joined Elephant Publicity as a pup-licist in 2016 and will likely never leave. I studied a Certificate of Puppy Training, level 1, from Barkley Manor. I live with my human pets and have come to accept my feline housemate, Mr Griffin.
Outside of work I enjoy shredding paper, barking at strangers and licking faces.
Erin Taylor
It’s all about numbers for me …………………………
My first 6 years in the workforce began with an office administrator position which progressed into a junior bookkeeping role. My itchy feet then lead me overseas for a 2.5 year stint doing various temporary accounts roles. After returning to New Zealand, I spent the next 10 years working in the international freight industry. For the past 13 years I have been doing various contract bookkeeping roles for small to medium sized businesses.
I joined the Elephant Publicity herd in 2007 and look forward to many more years with this dynamic team.