Ron Berkowitz

CEO and Founder

From powerhouse personalities and companies like Jay Z, Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Durant, Roc Nation Sports and Bacardi to leaders in hospitality such as Tao, 1OAK, Brother Jimmy’s and even the island of St. Maarten, Ron Berkowitz has worked with some of the top brands and celebrities in the world over the last nearly two decades. What started as an entrepreneurial dream with one employee and a desk in 1999 has turned into a formidable player in the PR world specializing in hospitality, celebrity, travel, nightlife, spirits and events. Ron’s philosophy of fostering relationships with both brand owners and members of the media has resulted in long lasting clients and strong media relationships that deliver real results for those clients. His impressive roster of lifestyle and celebrity clients ranges from personalities in music, film, television and sports to five−star resorts and some of New York City’s hottest restaurants and nightclubs, not to mention A− list red carpet events. Berk Communications is now one of the most sought after partners in the space.

Marisa Carstens

Senior Vice President

Marisa Carstens joined Berk Communications in 2016 with 16 years of experience in consumer and corporate communications.  A New York native, Marisa has spent her years in public relations taking well-known and not so well-known brands and getting them the visibility and coverage they want through creative and strategic programming.  Her career path has taken her to notable agencies including Text100 and Harrison & Shriftman and to American Express where she oversaw external communications for travel and lifestyle services.  Marisa has had the luck to work with amazing clients throughout her career including British Airways, Johnson & Johnson, TLC (The Learning Channel), W Hotels, JW Marriott, Blackberry, MTV and more. At Berk Communications, she oversees the food & beverage, travel & lifestyle teams. In her spare time she can be found building Lego towers with her son or reading a great novel.

Melanie Wadden

Vice President, Sports & Entertainment

Melanie Wadden joined Berk Communications in 2017 with a wealth of experience in sports and entertainment communications. She has experience across the league, team, agency, and union sides of the industry and has worked with some of the biggest personalities in sports including numerous league campions, Pro Bowl selections, All-Stars, and Olympians. Her career path has taken her to the Washington Redskins, NFL Players Association, National Basketball Association (NBA), Octagon, and Select Sports Group. Most recently at Select Sports Group, Melanie directed and developed strategic communications for the firm while shaping and rebuilding client reputations through targeted and creative media placements, publicity opportunities, brand collaborations, philanthropic endeavors, and social strategy. Since leaving her home state of Virginia, Melanie has lived in New York, San Francisco, and Houston. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and a master’s from Georgetown University. At Berk Communications, Melanie oversees the sports and entertainment team in conjunction with President Ron Berkowitz. In her spare time, she enjoys indulging in Bachelor marathons and teaching her petite golden-doodle new tricks with her fiancé.

Brenda Fuster

Director, Travel & Hospitality

Brenda has nearly a decade of experience in public relations covering a diverse set of clients in travel, lifestyle and hospitality. Having lived in more than six different countries and speaking four languages, she has first-hand experience understanding cultures and their intricacies.

Prior to joining Berk Communications, Brenda was an Account Director at SweeneyVesty where she was responsible for drafting strategic communications proposals for potential new clients and leading multiple accounts in the agency’s tourism and economic development division including Ireland’s flag carrier Aer Lingus and New Zealand’s regional economic development agency (WREDA). Before that, Brenda cultivated her media relations and event management skills by working with the Jamaica Tourist Board, Hilton Hotels, Air France and Hotels.com at Finn Partners.

Originally from the Dominican Republic, Brenda is fluent in Spanish and English. Thanks to the four years she lived in Switzerland, she’s also familiar with Italian and French.

Alexandra Romanoff

Director, Food & Beverage

Alexandra Romanoff joined Berk Communications in 2016 with an extensive background in communications for the hospitality industry. She has worked for a variety of companies such as Tasting Table, the New York City Wine and Food Festival and the PR agency Bullfrog + Baum. At Berk Communications, Alexandra is the Director of Food & Beverage. She collaborates with her clients closely to meet their goals, while proactively sharing their stories to the media, and implementing creative programming within restaurants to keep them newsworthy. Alexandra has strong relationships with the high end media in both New York, nationally and in other local markets. Alexandra received her undergraduate degree in Communications from The George Washington University and completed her master’s in Corporate Communications and Public Relations from The New York University. Outside of Berk, Alexandra also successfully runs the food, travel and lifestyle blog @Onemoredish, which is approaching 60K followers on Instagram.

Didier Morais

Director, Lifestyle  

Didier Morais joined Berk Communications in 2017 with experience in sports, entertainment and technology communications. At Berk, Didier currently leads clients that span the sports, spirits, travel and consumer lifestyle verticals. Prior to joining the company, he worked at Edelman and Text100, where he successfully spearheaded and executed media relations campaigns for many prominent brands, including MTV, VH1, Samsung Techwin, Schick, Heinz and IBM Watson. Before working in public relations, Didier spent three years as a sports reporter, covering the Boston Red Sox for New England Sports Network (NESN), the Miami Heat for the Miami Herald and high school sports for the Houston Chronicle. He also graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. In his spare time, he enjoys hanging out in Washington Heights, watching Power and eating his traditional Colombian cuisine.

Zach Kempner

Director, Lifestyle

Zach Kempner joined Berk Communication in 2016 with experience in corporate, consumer, technology and sports communications. Born in New Jersey, he has spent years crafting compelling stories for his clients spanning from Fortune 500 CEOs to former politicians, big brands to start-ups. Previously, he was the Director of Communications for numberFire, one of the nation’s leading sports and data analytics platforms, and an intergral member of the Corporate Reputation and Crisis Management teams at MWWPR. Before settling in New York City, Zach earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. At Berk Communications, Zach leads clients spanning the consumer lifestyle, B2B and executive eminence verticals. In his spare time, he can be found preparing a gourmet meal or fervently cheering for the Wisconsin Badgers, New York Mets, or New York Jets.

Alexandra Spang

Senior Consultant

Alexandra Spang joined Berk Communications in 2014 with more than 10 years of experience in the luxury hospitality and tourism industry, leading PR programs from in−house positions with brands such as Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental, as well as New York PR agencies. She and her team have unrivaled contacts in travel and lifestyle publications, and her dedicated work has garnered placements  in the New York Times, Conde  Nast  Traveler,  AFAR, Vogue, Travel +  Leisure,  The Miami Herald, Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and NBC’s TODAY Show, just to name a few.