Meet the Badasses Behind the Work

Philippe Cesson is our bearded, sharp-witted, charming Badass-in-Chief. He has lived all over the world, and infused several different outlooks into his European-American cultural patterns and ways. Having split his time between New York City, Los Angeles and Mexico City — he's seen a lot in his travels and business adventures.

He's delivered more than 400 presentations, keynote addresses, and workshops in his days, but still gets a kick out of testing his comedic chops on an open-mic night, or putting his decades-long DJ skills to use. All with a full appreciation that any experience — successful or burning-in-flames — will most likely end up with a lot of laughing and living in the moment.

He has but ONE fear in life, and thrives on living, learning, listening, and sharing his colorful experiences. The whole principle behind "feeding your badass soul."

Chelsea Van Es is a true Geekette at heart. Her grandfather, who was a headteacher and programmer at IBM for 30 years, gave Chelsea her first computer when she was only six years old — launching her straight into the technology world. By the age of 16, she was building websites in HTML, and installing Internet and programming software for a fiber optics company.

At the age of 18, Chelsea joined a global sales and marketing company, which led her to develop a large organization that took her around the world, including Africa, Mexico, and a year abroad living in England. During this time, she was the host and presenter for events of 300+ attendees, sharing her experiences and motivating other young entrepreneurs and business people alike.

Now living in Southern California with her husband and two sons, she is putting her passion for technology to work, providing companies throughout the United States with Internet, Social Media Marketing, and Web Development services. Chelsea continues to enjoy coaching and helping others reach their potential through online and in-person sales and marketing.

Lorena discovered her passion for the arts at a young age, always hosting TV shows and planning small plays for her family. She studied musical theater for three years and began producing scripts for publicity for a show she was in. When she discovered her passion for creating, she decided to graduate in Social Communication from one of the best universities. After a few months, she started working at a communication and marketing agency.

Lorena is passionate about digital marketing and begins to investigate it, seeking to grow in her knowledge of the field. She loves learning new things and always researching new topics — a quality she inherited from her grandfather, who is her hero. Lorena enjoys spending time with her family and having a game night or karaoke. She wants to make her mark on the world and be a good example for future generations.

Leah is the Badass Speaker Elevation Wizard and one of the Content Queens at CESSON, where she works her magic by helping speakers amplify their voice, own their power, and shine online through strategic storytelling and magnetic content. With a diverse background from social media, healthcare consulting, project management, and performing arts, she brings a rare blend of creativity, strategy, analytics, and heart to everything she does.

At her core, Leah is a creator and connector. Whether she's building communities, elevating thought leaders, or crafting scroll-stopping content, she's driven by the belief that powerful communication can change lives. When she's not making content magic, you'll find her journaling, traveling, diving into creative projects, or snuggling with her adorable Frenchie. Always curious, always evolving — Leah is here to make waves and leave her creative stamp on the world, believing being a part of the CESSON family is the way to do it.

Kristina is CESSON's SEO & Ads Virtuosa, bringing 8+ years of digital marketing experience. She crafts data-driven strategies that boost visibility and drive growth through organic search and paid campaigns. Passionate about simplifying complex data, she turns insights into results that matter.

Beyond the digital realm, Kristina is an avid traveler with a love for global exploration. Having lived in vibrant cities like NYC, Boston, and London, she thrives on experiencing new cultures and broadening her perspective. When not immersed in the latest SEO or ad trends, she can be found experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen or sharing adventures with friends, always eager to discover and embrace the world around her.

Mary discovered her passion for content creation early on, whether it was piecing together short films with friends or designing visual projects for school. She quickly became drawn to the way good storytelling can connect people, and that interest led her to pursue opportunities across photography, video, and digital strategy.

After building hands-on experience in creative production, Mary joined the team at CESSON to deepen her skills in content and communication. She's passionate about creating purposeful work, and is always looking for new ways to grow — both personally and professionally.

Outside of the office, Mary trains as an MMA fighter, a discipline that fuels her focus, drive, and determination. She believes in showing up fully, pushing herself to keep learning, and finding strength in every challenge.

Kaite has been interested in creating art ever since she was a little kid. Whether it was carving names into her mom's window sills, or painting her cousin's head with nail polish, she was always able to get her hands on some creative tool to design with.

Before design became her career, Kaite went to undergrad at Union College in Schenectady, New York for a BA in English. She moved to Boston, Massachusetts during the pandemic, and then fully immersed herself in the arts in graduate school at University of Baltimore, where she gained her Master's in Integrated Design. She is excited to put her skills into action at CESSON as the resident Visual Genius.

She loves living in new places and traveling the world, and can't wait to continue pursuing that passion. In her free time, Kaite enjoys reading fantasy series, watching TV with her husband, and trying to wrestle her knitting projects away from both of her cats, Poderick and Morty.

Necia was born in a little town in Idaho and moved to Southern California when she was 5 years old. She grew up in a very non-tech world, and graduated from Cal State Northridge with a BA in Finance and Business and has worked as an accountant for American Suzuki, Warner Brothers Studios, UNX, and Xerox.

Necia learned to use computers when 8" discs and 8-track tapes were the rage. She has advanced from that and is continuing to develop her technology and social media skills as we speak.

When she is not juggling 6 projects at once, her passions are learning, traveling, fishing, and spending time with her family.