Duffy is an advocate for spreading stories, ideas, and making the future awesome. She is a speaker on topics such as branding, marketing, digital and traditional media. She holds the license and is the organizer for TEDxResedaBlvd, and produces events including the annual Beach-Bound Book Bash, Scary Stories Around the Fire, Jingle Books, and has programmed panels and placed speakers for The West Coast Writers Conferences, Digital Hollywood, the Alliance for Women in Media, and Women in Business.
Desireé Duffy’s Career in Marketing and Public Relations
Desireé Duffy’s career spans nearly 20 years as a marketing and public relations professional in consumer goods, non-profits, and entertainment industries. Prior to launching Black Château, Duffy was the Vice President of the digital marketing agency, R6S. The creative agency serviced technology, fashion, education, ecommerce, and non-profit verticals. During her early career, Duffy was a radio host, program director, producer, and marketing professional with companies including: The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, iHeart Media’s KFI-AM, and ABC’s and Disney’s ESPN Radio/Radio Disney/KABC-AM/KLOS-FM. Since 2001 she served in roles for the Alliance for Women in Media’s Southern California Affiliate and National Headquarters, including: President, Western Area Director, Vice President of Programming, and Advisory Board chair.
Awards and professional recognitions include: a Gold Award in the General Website Magazine Category from the 13th Annual W³ Awards for the Books That Make You website in 2018; Duffy received the Publicist of the Year Award from The Southern California Book Publicists in 2017; Duffy was named the awardee for the Genii Award for Excellence in New Media in 2017; Duffy also received a nomination for the 2016 Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women in Business Awards, and won the Marketer of the Year Award during the Future of Digital Media Conference in 2015.
Duffy has a love for science and technology. She is honored to have supported organizations like XPRIZE as a Vanguard, the L.E.A.F. Foundation as a member of the Board of Directors, the Lifeboat Foundation as an advisory board member, and Digital Hollywood by sitting on the Women in Technology and Entertainment Summit’s Board of Advisors.
Professional memberships: The Greater Los Angeles Writer’s Society, The Independent Writers of Southern California, the Independent Book Publishers Association, the Los Angeles chapters of the Women’s National Book Association and the Alliance for Women in Media, the Horror Writer’s Association, and the Book Publicists of Southern California.
Founder of Black Château and Books That Make You
Desireé Duffy is also the Founder of Black Château, a marketing and public relations agency, and Books That Make You, a multi-media brand that promotes books and authors through its award-winning website, podcast, and radio show. Duffy contributes to Equities.com where she writes about marketing, technology, entrepreneurship and digital media. She also hosts, and is the executive producer, for the Books That Make You Show.
Duffy is a graduate of Marian University, and attended the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. She holds Bachelor of Science degrees in English and communication, and an associate degree in art. She also earned certificates in Ecommerce Business and Entrepreneurship from Santa Clarita’s College of the Canyons. Her daughter, Bree, serves as Black Château’s marketing and communication director. Duffy lives in Southern California with her husband and two pug-mixes, Spike and Teddy Bear.
