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.

Executive Vice President

Since 2001, Kristen has helped to grow the agency’s Hospitality & Travel division. As the EVP, 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.

Senior Director

Emily manages the account teams on: The Barbados Tourism Authority; Virtuoso;  The Chatwal New York; Oberoi Hotels & Resorts; and Hotel La Mamounia, Marrakech. In her thirteen 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.

Director of Operations

Swati supervises the day-to-day operations of the agency with the aim of keeping not only Brandman's illustrious roster of clients happy, but also its talented and hard-working staff. Swati has over a decade of experience managing creative agencies spanning such fields as the performing arts, photography, fashion, advertising and public relations.  She has an undergraduate degree in Art History and Business Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.    Swati has also spent the past several years designing and producing a line of fair-trade clothing for women that features the craftsmanship of textile communities based in rural India, and continues to do so in her spare time.  Swati is fluent in Marathi and Hindi.

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.

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.

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.

Account Supervisor

Kirsten brings nearly a decade of diverse PR experience to her role as Account Supervisor. Prior to joining The Brandman Agency she was the Public Relations Director for InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she managed public relations for the award-winning resort 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, public figures and other diverse clients. As a cum-laude graduate of Arizona State University, Kirsten misses guaranteed sunshine but is quite content with the diversity of direct flights from JFK to sunny 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 new home town.


Account Manager, New Media (West Coast)

Laura works with a variety of clients to leverage new media trends into campaign strategy, along with providing region-specific outreach for Los Angeles and the west coast in total. Previously on board at Brandman’s NYC headquarters, she joined the agency from the client side – working on Public Relations for two historic hotels in the Pacific Northwest. Five years of Public Relations and hospitality experience include past work with InterContinental Hotels & Resorts- Europe, the Fairmont Olympic Hotel and the Noble House Hotels collection, along with corporate event management,  hotel sales and marketing. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington, and enjoys badminton, surfing, crosswords and the world weather report on France 24 News in her spare time.

Account Manager

Daphna works directly with the InterContinental Europe, Barbados Tourism Authority, The Chatwal New York, Yabu Pushelberg and SFERRA Fine Linens 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.

Senior Account Executive

In her role as Senior Account Executive, Stephanie works with the Barbados Tourism Authority, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Molori Private Retreats, 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.

Senior Account Executive

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.

Senior Account Executive

As a Senior Account Executive, Katie handles day-to-day media interaction on behalf of InterContinental Asia-Pacific, Orient-Express Hotels, Thompson Hotels and Maharajas' Express and Cox & Kings. Formerly at Rubenstein Communications for two years, Katie spent another two years teaching English at Assumption University in Bangkok, Thailand, while simultaneously working as a model, appearing in numerous Thai, Japanese and Australian commercials. With a Communications degree from Loyola College in Maryland, Katie also holds a Minor in Photography, and enjoys taking shots of bike tours through Brooklyn in her spare time. Katie is also just two degrees of separation from the Pope, with a cousin serving as an Archbishop at the Vatican.

Senior Account Executive

In her role as Senior Account Executive, Jami works with Banyan Tree Resorts & Hotels worldwide, 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.  

Operations Associate/Executive Assistant

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.

Account Executive

Holly’s role includes day-to-day work with clients: Orient-Express North America, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, 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.

Assistant Account Executive

As Assistant Account Executive, Kelsey’s role includes media correspondence and day-to-day client support for Orient-Express Hotels – North America & Asia, Orient-Express Real Estate Initiatives, Virtuoso, The Chatwal New York, Qantas Airways, and the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. A graduate from the University of Maryland, College Park, Kelsey’s prior experience includes work with the Public Affairs Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. In her spare time, the DC native enjoys exploring the tastes and scenes of New York City and going to concerts and sporting events.

Account Coordinator

As an Account Coordinator, Natalie provides support on InterContinental Europe, Molori Private Retreats,  Orion Expedition Cruises, Maharajas' Express and Cox & Kings. 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.

Account Coordinator

Hadley serves as an Account Coordinator for the InterContinental French Polynesia and Americas, Orient-Express Hotels - Europe, Las Alcobas, La Mamounia and Paul Gauguin Cruises accounts. A graduate of Trinity College, Hadley spent a semester abroad in Rome before receiving her degree in Political Science. She went on to complete several internships for well-known luxury brands Elizabeth Arden, Tory Burch and Lilly Pulitzer, and sparked her interest in travel public relations through trips in the past few years – to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Argentina and Hong Kong. Formerly captain of one of the country’s best ranked squash teams, these days she’s still sport-minded, playing tennis as well as snow- and water-skiing.

Account Coordinator

As an Account Coordinator at The Brandman Agency, Alison’s role includes media correspondence and day-to-day client support for Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Qantas Airways and Thompson Hotels. She grew up in the hometown of Skyline Chili and Graeter’s icecream – Cincinnati, Ohio. Alison earned her B.A. in Journalism and Communications at Miami University in May 2009. Prior to joining Brandman, Alison’s internships included O’Keeffe Communications in Cincinnati and Conde Nast’s Cookie magazine.  As a new New Yorker, Alison enjoys Saturday afternoons at the MoMa, shopping in Soho, running along the Hudson and exploring her West Village neighborhood.