Melanie Brandman

Founder & CEO

Melanie is an eighth-generation Australian, born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. She spent her childhood in both Melbourne and Sydney and maintains strong ties with Australia, as she began her 20+ years of public relations experience with positions at Vogue Australia and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Sydney. Eventually settling in media-capital New York City, Melanie established The Brandman Agency in 2001. Today, the agency holds an esteemed reputation as a major competitor in the global luxury travel market.

Prior to establishing The Brandman Agency, Melanie served as Vice President, Corporate Affairs for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in London, where she headed worldwide public relations and communications efforts for over 3000 hotels and resorts in 100 countries. In addition, she was responsible for the company’s public affairs, government and community relations.

In her spare time, Melanie devotes her time to philanthropic efforts focusing on travel and education, as a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the Bodhi Tree Foundation - supporting underserved communities and working to preserve endangered places for future generations. Melanie also serves as manager of the U.S. Elephant Polo Team, with all funds raised supporting the growth of local Nepalese schools and protection of the Nepal elephant population.

In 2007 and 2008, Melanie was one of 50 female executives from the United States selected to participate in the Women Business Leaders Summit. Held in Jordan and Bahrain, it serves to facilitate links between America and the broader Middle East business community.

Kristen Vigrass

President

Since 2001, Kristen has helped to grow the agency’s Hospitality & Travel division. As President, she manages agency personnel, client relationships and directs strategy plans for Orient-Express Hotels, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Banyan Tree Resorts, Virtuoso and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts. Kristen has over 15 years of experience in PR, has won numerous HSMAI awards, and belongs to a number of PR associations. Former clients have included Good Housekeeping magazine, and consumer brands such as Banana Republic and even Krispy Kreme. Her past experience also includes fashion and film - she spent three years as the Coordinator of Global Communications for Calvin Klein, and worked for Castle Rock Productions and as a story editor for IndieProd, an independent film company in Los Angeles. Kristen holds a degree in Film Production from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and is currently active in public relations organizations, the Syracuse University Alumni Association and is a member of the Gotham Writers Workshop.

Emily Venugopal

Vice President

Emily directs the account teams for: The Chatwal New York; Hotel La Mamounia, Marrakech; The Istanbiul EDITION; Forty 1 North; MSC Yacht Club; and Virtuoso, having previously managed teams on The Barbados Tourism Authority and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts accounts. In her 15 years in travel PR, Emily has worked with hotels Paraiso de la Bonita, Riviera Maya; The Regent Bal Harbour, Miami; and The Scotsman, Edinburgh; hotel brands including Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts: the InterContinental Hotel Group; Connoisseurs Scotland: Villas de Maitre: and Hyatt Resorts Caribbean. Past experience with tourist boards includes: Namibia; the Greater Miami CVB; Palm Springs; Texas Tourism; Washington State & Seattle; Kent Tourism; and the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism. A native of the U.K., Emily graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a degree in Media Studies, and spent nine years in London’s finest travel PR firms. Prior to joining Brandman in New York, she also worked with Miami’s KWE Group. In her spare time, she enjoys picnics in Central Park and discovering fabulous travel locales with her new baby boy.

Ty Bentsen

Managing Director (Los Angeles Office, The Brandman Agency)

Ty Bentsen joins The Brandman Agency with over a decade of experience in the Los Angeles media market. In her most recent role at Wagstaff Worldwide, she spearheaded strategic PR plans for a range of A-list travel and hospitality clientele including Tourism Western Australia, Patina Restaurant Group West Coast, and the Viceroy Hotel Group’s Urban Retreat collection. Ty’s close-knit and long-term relationships—both with clients and local, regional, and national media contacts—demonstrate the power of her commitment to not only get the job done, but to exceed expectations whenever possible. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ty considers herself a true “Angeleno” after attending the University of California Los Angeles and calling the city of angels home since 1999. Outside of work, Ty enjoys exploring the many cultural, musical, and culinary delights Los Angeles has to offer. She indulges in regular doses of “retail therapy” and loves spending evenings and weekends hiking the Hollywood Hills with her dog, Honey.



Iliana Carr

Account Director

Serving as an Account Director, Iliana manages account teams for a number of global hospitality brands, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Resorts French Polynesia, Paul Gauguin Cruises, and Orient-Express properties in South America, Australia and Africa. Iliana joined The Brandman Agency nine years ago, growing into her current role, leading her account teams and making sure her teams never miss a deadline and journalists never miss theirs. Originally from Washington Township, New Jersey, Iliana graduated Cum Laude from Syracuse University, triple majoring in Broadcast Journalism, Political Science and Spanish. As a Newhouse alumna, Iliana offers words of wisdom to graduates looking to start careers in the communications industry. Past media experience includes stints on Syracuse radio and on a travel broadcast channel in Madrid, utilizing her fluency in Spanish. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and playing a surrogate-albeit-stricter parent to the girls in the office.

Keri Kirschner

Account Director

Keri directs and provides strategic council for a variety of accounts, from global brands like Qantas Airways and Orient-Express Real Estate to boutique clients like Las Alcobas and Orion Expedition Cruises, as well as the agency’s flagship interior design client Yabu Pushelberg. Over the past year, Keri has helped to build the Molori Private Retreats hotel brand from scratch (award-winning Molori Safari Lodge launch included), overseeing website and collateral design as well as US and international media outreach. Having spent four previous years at Weber Shandwick Worldwide (on the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Royal Caribbean and Hotel Puerta America account teams), Keri brings a big agency perspective - and plenty of national broadcast experience - to the boutique agency format and works diligently to constantly expand the agency’s international media outreach program. She holds a degree in Economics from DePauw University, and completed a semester at University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Outside of work, Keri enjoys backpacking across the globe, reading and the New York social scene.

Kara Hoffman

Account Director

As an Account Director, Kara is responsible for providing the strategic direction and executing the delivery of programs for Orient-Express Hotels North America and Asia, the Barbados Tourism Authority, Maharajas’ Express and Cox & Kings. She spent the past ten years at several leading public relations agencies, focusing in Travel & Tourism and Business Technology, and developing an expertise in media relations. Past clients experience includes Rocco Forte Hotels Collection in Europe, Terme di Saturnia Spa & Golf Resort - Tuscany, Italy,Park Hotel Weggis -Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, Casa Colonial Beach & Spa resort - Dominican Republic and The Kitano New York Hotel. Kara is a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, and is fluent in Italian – having spent two years living in Florence. She has also written about food and travel for both local and international publications.

Kirsten Schaefer

Account Supervisor

Kirsten brings more than ten years of diverse PR experience to her role as Account Supervisor where she currently works to elevate the profile of destinations including Gold Coast, Australia, small luxury hotels Saffire in Tasmania, Round Hill and Jamaica Inn in Jamaica, along with hotel brand work with Vikram Chatwal Hotels, and work on other notable luxury travel and hotel clients. Prior to joining The Brandman Agency she worked in-house at InterContinental Hotels and Resorts where she directed public relations for a new resort launch while also learning every facet of the hotel industry. Before falling in love with hospitality PR, Kirsten worked for both agencies and in-house managing public relations for restaurants, casinos, non-profits, government entities, high-tech firms, educational institutions, public figures and other diverse clients. As a cum-laude graduate of Arizona State University, Kirsten is obsessed with sunny climates but is quite content with the diversity of direct flights from NYC to warm weather destinations. Passionate about all things food, when not working for her clients or traveling she can be found creating new recipes or exploring the astonishing array of restaurants in her home town.

Jennifer Walters

Account Supervisor

Joining The Brandman Agency in 2006, Jennifer currently works with a range of luxury travel clients including Thompson Hotels, Las Alcobas, Hotel La Mamounia, Orient-Express Europe and InterContinental Hotels Asia Pacific, handling US & international media relations, press kit development, press trip coordination and special event management.  Previous media experience includes a position with Penguin Group publishing, acting as a liaison between agents, editors and authors, as well as an editorial internship at Modern Bride magazine.  Jennifer graduated cum laude from Loyola University in Maryland with a B.A. in Spanish and a Communications Minor and completed a semester abroad at Madrid’s Universidad de Alcalá.  In her free time, Jennifer enjoys afternoons in the park with friends, kayaking on the Long Island Sound and defying gravity on her yoga mat.

Jami Gordon Smith

Account Manager

In her role as Account Manager, Jami works with Orion Expedition Cruises, Virtuoso and Orient Express Real Estate Initiatives. Prior to joining the Brandman team, Jami developed her PR skills promoting clients such as destination spas, area CVBs and other worldwide hotel brands. Other experience includes international internships in Geneva, Switzerland, and a two-year service mission in France. A native of Minneapolis, Minn., Jami is fluent in French and enjoys New York’s many entertainment options including Broadway shows, indie concerts, the New York City Ballet and Karaoke clubs.  

Daphna Barzilay

Account Manager

Daphna works directly with the InterContinental Europe, Barbados Tourism Authority, The Chatwal New York, and Yabu Pushelberg accounts planning daily media relations, press trips and event coordination. Daphna began her career in the fashion and lifestyle division at the New York-based public relations agency, C&M Media. She has been responsible for strategic public relations planning and execution of luxury brands such as Roberto Cavalli, Missoni and Frette Linens. Her background also includes event management for designer Carlos Miele’s fashion shows in New York as well as coordinating front of house for shows and presentations in Milan, Paris and Barcelona. A Fine Arts graduate of the University of New Hampshire, in her free time Daphna is an artist, working in oil paints on large-scale canvases.

Ülkü Eruçar

Account Manager

Ülkü is the Account Manager on Orient-Express Resorts in North America and Asia; Orient-Express Real Estate; Buccament Bay Resort in St. Vincent; The Surrey, New York City; and MSC Yacht Club. Prior to joining The Brandman Agency in January 2011, her flair for destination marketing and brand positioning generated powerful results, including major broadcast and print features for which she won HSMAI and Magellan Awards. Former clients have included St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Smithsonian Journeys, SuperClubs Resorts, and Turkish Airlines. A native of Turkey, Ülkü started her career in media as part of the acclaimed NBC Page Program, with duties on MSNBC, Weekend TODAY, Dateline and Saturday Night Live. She has a B.A. in Communications and Theater Arts from Clark University, and holds a M.A. in Media Studies from New School University. Ülkü enjoys exploring Manhattan’s culinary offerings – particularly the sweets – and going for scenic runs in Central Park.

Stephanie Borris

Account Manager

In her role as Account Manager, Stephanie works with the Barbados Tourism Authority, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental North America and Paul Gauguin Cruises accounts on media outreach, press material development and press trip coordination. Stephanie’s prior experience includes working on the Bahamas and the Canadian Tourism Commission accounts for the Travel & Lifestyle division at Weber Shandwick, and on fashion clients at Harriett Ruderman PR. During an internship for the Publicity departments at NBC Universal and Epic Records, she worked on such shows as Saturday Night Live and artists as Jennifer Lopez. After completing one semester abroad in Florence, Italy, Stephanie graduated Cum Laude from Loyola College in Maryland with a B.A. in Communication, along with a Minor in Music. Stephanie currently takes voice lessons with the acclaimed Marni Nixon and occasionally graces the Brandman office with a tune or two.

Katie Clark

Account Manager

As an Account Manager, Katie handles day-to-day media interaction on behalf of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Orient-Express Hotels, Round Hill and Jamaica Inn.   Formerly working in the Entertainment PR realm at Rubenstein Communications, Katie spent another two years prior teaching English in Bangkok, Thailand, while simultaneously appearing in numerous Thai, Japanese and Australian commercials and music videos. With a Communications degree from Loyola College in Maryland, Katie also holds a Minor in Photography, and enjoys using these skills to document her travels throughout the world.  She spends much of her spare time in the kitchen, baking everything from pumpkin whoopie pies to 4-layer mango cakes and trying to master the art of the perfect chocolate chip cookie.  Katie is also just two degrees of separation from the Pope, with a cousin serving as an Archbishop at the Vatican.

Katy Sullivan

Operations Manager

Katy was first introduced to the Brandman Agency during a summer internship in 2003. After graduation from Suffolk University with a degree in Communications in 2005, Katy worked with Boston-based public relations firm The Castle Group before returning to the Brandman Agency for a full-time position. She is always ready to take on any task at hand and manages the intricacies of scheduling for the agency, as well as coming up with creative solutions to ensure that everyday logistics run smoothly. In addition to ensuring the flawless day-to-day operation of the office, Katy is a certified pastry chef, trained at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan.

Carrie Mosner

Senior Account Executive

Carrie joined The Brandman Agency in September 2011 as a Senior Account Executive and works on many of the agency’s exciting and most prestigious accounts including InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Thompson Hotels, Ian Schrager's PUBLIC Chicago, ONE57 and Virtuoso. Previously, she handled PR efforts for Aloft Hotels, RockResorts / Vail Resorts Hospitality, Eden Rock – St Barths, a Relais and Châteaux property, and St. Regis Hotels in Washington D.C. and Bal Harbour. She holds a B.S. in Communications from Boston University and is a native of Seattle, Washington. Carrie caught the travel bug early in life and has lived in Sydney, Australia and Rome, Italy. A West Village resident, Carrie enjoys discovering new restaurants and shops in her neighborhood and also frequents Italian classics at the Metropolitan Opera.

Holly Schnabel

Senior Account Executive

Holly’s role includes day-to-day work with clients: Orient-Express North America,Saffire Freycinet, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts Asia-Pacific and designers Yabu Pushelburg. One of the Brandman Agency’s favorite interns, Holly returned after graduating from Indiana University with a degree in communications and culture. Previously, Holly’s work experience included internships with Lippe Taylor Brand Communications, and on the journalist side at OK! Magazine. An east-coast native, Holly enjoys living in New York, theater, and coining catchphrases along with the occasional vodka gimlet.

Maggie Salone

Account Executive

As an Account Executive Maggie’s role includes day-to-day work with clients: Vikram Chatwal Hotels, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, and The Willow Club.   Maggie graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in fashion merchandising and buying.  Prior to joining the Brandman team, Maggie developed her PR skills by representing Ted Baker London in the US as the Public Relations Manager of the US Wholesale Division.  A New York native, Maggie enjoys summers on the beaches of her hometown in Long Island, is passionate about cooking and loves living in and exploring all “the city that never sleeps” has to offer.

Sarah Uibel

Account Executive

As an Account Executive Sarah’s role includes day-to-day work with clients: Vikram Chatwal Hotels, MSC Yacht Club, Round Hill Hotel and Villas, Jamaica Inn and Orion Excursions. Sarah graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a degree in English and began her career as an intern at Sony Pictures.  Following her parlay into film publicity, she went on to explore different avenues of PR including talent, lifestyle, fashion and events.  Sarah has worked with clients including John Varvatos, American Ballet Theatre, and The Whitney Museum.  In 2010, Sarah moved from West Hollywood, CA to Manhattan and has been successful in building and maintaining media relations on both coasts.  In her spare time, Sarah enjoys exploring new restaurants around New York City, reading a good book, and taking long naps on weekends after an adventurous night out on the town with friends.

Natalie Guevara

Account Executive

As an Account Executive, Natalie provides support on InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Maharajas' Express, Cox & Kings and The Crane Residential Resort in Barbados. Raised in the Dominican Republic, Natalie earned her B.A. in English from Columbia University. Prior to joining Brandman, Natalie’s varied internships included stints as an editorial intern for Rolling Stone and VIBE magazines, at OutOfTheBlue Advertising in Miami and Planned Television Arts in NYC, where she coordinated TV and radio author interviews with Candace Bushnell and Joan Collins. Her favorite intern memory? Booking shows and fixing guitar strings for NYC rock band The Strokes, and learning that band members’ favorite colors are classified information.