our team.

​Headquartered in New York, ​our team spans key markets throughout the United States, including in Washington, D.C., Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, and more. 

We also have a network of international affiliates and alliances across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

​We seek to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture and a greater sense of belonging in all that we do. Read more about our DEI commitments here. ​

​Marc Smrikarov, President & Founder
​
​Marc has nearly 20 years experience leading domestic and international public relations and public affairs campaigns for Fortune 100 companies, heads of state, CEOs, and top non-profits from across the U.S., Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. 

Marc has led successful, high-profile, and award-winning PR campaigns for prominent clients that include: Robin Hood Foundation, AARP, Public Rights Project, Vote Forward, Swing Left, IBM, State Farm, GlaxoSmithKline, Bloomberg L.P., the former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker, the United Nations, the City of London Corporation, American Jewish Congress, the National Committee on US-China Relations, and many others.

He has managed thought-leadership programs for heads of state, ministers, CEOs and other VIPs, and developed domestic and international media and public affairs campaigns related to finance, trade, investment, technology, innovation, foreign relations, government affairs, international litigation, health, diversity, environment, education and social advocacy.

Prior to founding Chatham Strategies in 2017, Marc Served as Executive Vice President at BLJ Worldwide, an international strategic consultancy & public relations agency, where he managed staff across the firm’s US offices, reported directly to the CEO and President, and led the firm's client management and business development initiatives.
​
He is also involved in supporting a number of charitable and political advocacy initiatives. He serves as chair of Neighborhood SHOPP, a New York City-based non-profit that for over 40 years has provided social and community services for older persons in need. He has advised Literacy Partners, a New York City-based nonprofit that provides free literacy and language education for thousands of low-income adults in New York, and provided strategic advice and support to assist the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). He is a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations. Marc majored in History at Columbia University's Columbia College, and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
​

Jessica Barist Cohen, Vice President
​
Jessica brings 20-plus years of experience in corporate and non-profit public relations to Chatham Strategies. She began her career at the financial PR/consulting firm Kekst and Company in New York City, where she worked with a wide range of Fortune 500 clients, providing strategic counsel relating to financial transactions, crisis communications, and corporate and investor relations. She then went on to run financial communications for Ogilvy PR, first in Beijing and Shanghai, China, and subsequently as a director for Ogilvy’s New York office, working primarily with Chinese companies listing on US exchanges. For a number of years, she ran her own PR firm, JBC Communications, which focused on non-profit PR. Before joining Chatham, she was the head of marketing and communications for Central Synagogue, one of the largest Reform congregations in the United States.

In addition to time living in Asia, she has lived in Europe, spending time in France, and five years in Brussels, Belgium. Jessica currently lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn with her husband, two teenage sons, and dog Dr. Zaius.
​

Stephanie Wolf, Media Relations Specialist

Stephanie Wolf is a global communications strategist and media relations expert with 20+ years experience in mission-driven PR and communications. She excels at amplifying the missions of organizations that make a positive impact at the intersection of lifestyle, business, wellness, social impact, and philanthropy. 

Stephanie frequently consults with women-led companies and organizations working on gender equity, including serving as US Communications Consultant for Catalyst, a global organization focused on workplace inclusion, where she works with CEOs of multinational Fortune 500 companies and other senior executives to build more inclusive workplaces. With deep and trusted connections at national, trade and regional outlets, she routinely collaborates with influential journalists, secures top-tier media coverage for clients, and helps position global company leaders as experts in the news through profile interviews, op-eds, and expert commentary.

Her clients have appeared in Associated Press, Bloomberg, Business Insider, CBS, CNN, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, Glamour, Good Morning America, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, TIME, USA Today, and more. Stephanie holds a BA in Political Science and Journalism from Rutgers University and was a recipient of the NJ Women’s Press Club Award for Achievement in Journalism.
​

Martine Charles, Senior Advisor

Martine is a senior communications executive who has held executive positions at top media entities such as CNBC, where she helped position the network as an accessible financial tool for the general public and was instrumental in launching ground-breaking political and financial CNBC/MSNBC programs.

Martine, who serves as President of Chatham's Washington, DC partner office, M.A.R.C. Global Communications, is skilled in brand development, creation and execution of comprehensive marketing & communications campaigns and targeted corporate and crisis communications plans.

Her relationships with the nation’s top business and entertainment brands have enabled her to produce outstanding campaigns and positioning strategies for high profile clients, and Fortune 500 companies. Results-driven, she is known for her ability to move the needle and create sustained best-in-class media coverage, and transparent brand communications strategies for blue-chip organizations and world-renowned clients.

Previously, Martine worked as Vice President of Corporate Comm at VH1 and RealNetworks, Inc., and held executive positions at CNBC and other top media entities. Among her accomplishments, she served as communications strategist for the Real Networks vs. Microsoft Antitrust case (2002), steered positioning for VH1′s Save the Music Foundation and “The Concert”, a Democratic fund raising event held by Jann Wenner and John Sykes. Martine was instrumental in launching ground-breaking political and financial CNBC/MSNBC programs. At RealNetworks, Martine oversaw the research, events and public relations divisions of the growing technology company. 
​

Teri Duerr, Account Collaborator 
​
As an Account Collaborator at Chatham Strategies, Teri provides messaging, communications, and graphic design services for clients who are making a positive impact in the world. With over 20 years of experience creating compelling and engaging written content and over 15 years working in photo and graphic design across various media platforms, including print, web, and social media, she’s equally adept at understanding and creating written and visual storytelling. 

Teri’s diverse client work ranges from health care, human rights, education, and labor issues to lifestyle, art, and culture, and have included Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, National Employment Labor Project, Hearst Corporation, Visionaire, Central Synagogue, PBS, Public Agenda, New York State Nurses Association, PSC-CUNY, Community Word Project and New Victory Theater, Children of China Pediatrics Foundation, Women Make Movies, and many more.
​

Graham Newhall, Strategy & Media Specialist

Graham Newhall is a strategic communications and media relations 
consultant with more than a decade of experience focused on local, 
national, and international campaigns. 
Graham has worked on communications and messaging strategy for 
political, advocacy, and technology projects, including helping to develop the public positioning and messaging for the launch of leading cryptocurrency advocacy organizations the DeFi Education Fund, the Blockchain Association, and Apiary. Other recent clients include a New York City-based real estate trade group, The Bodleian Library at Oxford, and the global architecture and design firm Gensler. 
Graham has also worked with top-tier cultural institutions and companies, including running the communications team at Artsy, the $100M venture-backed global art marketplace, and The Whitney Museum of American Art during its expansion campaign.
​

Leslie Martinez, Senior Account Executive

A Laredo, Texas native, Leslie graduated from Texas A&M International University where she earned a B.A. in Multidisciplinary Studies in Political Science, Leadership, and Translation, and an MBA in International Trade. Leslie has extensive experience in public relations, media strategy, communications, and translation. Prior to her position with Chatham Strategies she worked for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives managing district communications, content writing, social media, press conferences for high-level US and International elected officials, and media relations. Leslie is a fellow and alumna of the Harvard Latino Leadership 2013 Cohort, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and Project Pengyou, programs through which she enhanced her leadership skills and her commitment to serve the Latino community and serve as a bridge-builder in the U.S.-China sector. Leslie has lived in Mexico, Germany, and China and is fluent in Spanish and German and is currently learning Mandarin Chinese. 

Fran Wilson, Senior Account Executive

Fran Wilson grew up in rust-belt Ohio, has lived and worked in China and Denmark, and graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2019. At university, they specialized in advanced Mandarin Chinese, Photojournalism, Political Communication, and Digital Theory. Fran’s past work bridges numerous private and public clients― with special focus on digital narrative, communication strategy, and research. In the private sector, they have served as a copyeditor for a Danish tech startup, a photographer and videographer for small businesses, and a digital consultant for an emerging $20M bioscience nonprofit. In the public sector, they have published new research on young political candidates in the US, prepared a POTUS-appointee for a US Senate hearing, advised a US House competitive primary candidate, and served as Communications Director on a campaign to flip a gerrymandered Ohio House district. At Chatham Strategies, Fran is a PR Account Executive, using their passion for design and digital media to help clients make a bigger impact online.
​

KJ Kerr, Senior Account Executive

KJ has worked with Chatham Strategies since late 2020. Prior, she graduated from Western Kentucky University with a B.A. in Public Relations and Asian Studies. She was a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America, served as a Marketing Intern with Inked Brands, and assisted with content writing and social media for the Bring Me Hope Foundation. She studied Chinese culture and Mandarin basics in Beijing and Shanghai in the summer of 2015, and also spent four summers working at the Bring Me Hope Foundation (three of those summers serving as the BMH Camp Co-Director and Media Coordinator in Yantai, China). Prior to her position with Chatham Strategies, she worked in Visitor Services and Tours at the American Swedish Institute.
​

Grace Kair, Account Collaborator
​
Grace Kair is a marketing and communications strategist who helps our clients identify and acquire their targeted media placement and community outreach goals while developing and nurturing valuable relationships.

Her work has included collaborative design and implementation of national-level campaigns and events for a major league sports team, a global sports talent management company, and mission driven nonprofits to name just a few. Recently, she helped a client, a major sports network, develop and manage an externship program to promote and amplify their diversity and inclusion initiatives. 

Grace holds a BS in Marketing from George Mason University. She brings her keen research and analytic skills, broad range of knowledge, interest, and involvement across arenas, encompassing sports, arts, and social justice, to every engagement to consistently deliver.