The Team

Cliff Co. was born from friendship, grew through collaboration, and exists today because of a collective commitment to telling stories that matter. Teamwork is at the core of what we do. Each of us has a unique set of strengths, but we have chosen to join forces for good. We invite every partner and client into that process with us.

Based in San Diego’s growing art community, Cliff Co. is a leading storytelling team for international humanitarian organizations, social impact initiatives, and cause-driven companies. With extensive global production experience, we specialize in connecting stories and issues to the people and motivations behind them, and we commit to finding an authentic lens to communicate our partner’s message across cultures.

We believe a well-told story can connect and ignite us all. Stories transcend language and cultural barriers and emotionally affix people to social issues, causes, and campaigns. When told well, people respond, and people act. Whether we are creating a campaign to advocate for the end of bonded labor or a commercial designed to heighten a brand across global economic markets, our team guarantees to doing it purposefully.

We dedicate ourselves to creating a mindful impact.

Ashley Gutierrez

Ashley uses storytelling to to disrupt people’s daily lives (in the best way) and create impact (the best kind). From viral campaigns like KONY 2012 to commercials to music videos, her work has been viewed by millions, received national film awards, and aided in passing legislation.

Prior to forming Cliff Co., Ashley worked for non-profit Invisible Children for six years where she created documentaries and short films, started an art department in Gulu, Uganda, and acted as the lead editor and videographer. Before that, she worked at VH1 creating promotional pieces, and (perhaps most impressive of all) before that she was in a video game.

She holds a Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Recovery and Trauma-Informed Care and commits to multicultural awareness, sensitivity and mindfulness. Love and care for people always come first before the story.

Jacob Watson

Jacob is a creative know-it-all and not the annoying kind— we promise. He is an expert at listening and learning. He synthesizes complicated details and stats into powerful stories, and turns exhaustive to-do lists and tasks into “got shit done.”

He’s put in his years working with a variety of peeps from the humanitarian and commercial world. Be it photography, film or gifs— he’ll master it. He averages 12 podcasts a week, at minimum, and is our unofficial master of culture. Essentially, he knows what to watch and listen to and curates all our entertainment.

What We've Been Up To