Our Team

We’re a team of experienced, big agency defectors. Every team member brings 5+ years at larger agencies working with major brands. That depth allows us to make confident recommendations, anticipate needs, and create an effortless experience for clients navigating complex communications challenges.

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    Garland Harwood

    Founder & CEO

    Garland Harwood is co-founder of Confidant and CEO of Catamaran, the earned-first agency that evolved from Confidant’s PR practice. He brings more than two decades of experience helping brands, including Amazon, Shake Shack, BarkBox, Sonos, Samsung, ZocDoc, Chobani, and Getaway, navigate modern media, shape narratives, and earn cultural relevance. Garland has been recognized on PRWeek’s 40 Under 40 list and PR News Rising PR Stars. He’s a member of the Board of Visitors for The University of Alabama's College of Communication and Information Sciences.

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    Lydia Voles

    SVP, Chief of Staff

    Lydia brings more than 30 years’ experience of conceptualizing and implementing integrated marketing and communications programs for both the public and private sectors to the agency's client roster. She was previously a Senior Vice President at Widmeyer Communications, a Finn Partners Company. When not working, she can often be found with a good novel, preferably with a dirty martini close at hand.

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    Renée McDonald

    SVP, Brand Communications

    Specializing in corporate comms and CSR, Renée has helped shape strategy, executive leadership storytelling and DEI campaigns for companies such as Amazon and L'Oréal. She has worked with both Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing startups, including Facebook, BMW, Cannon, PwC and Birchbox. She joined Confidant following roles at Golin and 5W PR. Born in Jamaica, Renee holds a bachelor’s degree from the UNC Chapel Hill and a master’s degree from Boston University.

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    Jeanne Montone

    SVP, Consumer Brands

    Jeanne has led campaigns for established companies like Amazon, InterContinental Hotels Group and The Weather Company, as well as rapidly growing startups like BARK, Rare Beauty, Getaway, Birchbox, Castle & Key, ZocDoc and OnePlus. Prior to joining Catamaran, Jeanne was at Weber Shandwick where her work spanned media relations, consumer media events and global product launches. She began her career in entertainment PR and cable news, and holds a master’s degree from New York University.

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    Alan Keane

    SVP, Media

    Alan Keane leads the agency’s program to build and enhance its media relations function. An experienced media strategist, he has helped the agency put an increasing focus on emerging and non-legacy media platforms. Additionally, Alan leads the agency’s social impact programming, helping clients navigate evolving expectations around credibility, accountability, and leadership.

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    Kait Fund

    SVP, Corporate Reputation & Innovation

    With a wealth of experience in strategic planning, thought leadership development, business storytelling and project management, Kait has counseled clients spanning a broad spectrum of sectors, including operations and logistics, direct-to-consumer brands and startups, tech and travel. Her work at Catamaran spans campaign rollouts, issues management and ongoing media relations. Prior to joining the firm, Kait developed and executed media relations and thought leadership campaigns at Weber Shandwick.

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    Katy Byers

    Finance Director

    Katy leads finance for both Catamaran and Confidant. Prior to joining she was a founding member of financial services company, Gatemore Capital Management. Over the course of 13 years she established the foundational financial and client reporting systems and maintained and scaled the operation across both the US and European markets.

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    Nicole Farin

    Vice President

    Nicole’s corporate and consumer PR experience spanning retail, food and beverage, travel and lifestyle brands includes work with Shake Shack, BarkBox, Getaway, Tanger Outlets, Eataly, The Macallan, Campari, Beyond Meat, SOREL Footwear and Constellation Brands. Prior to joining Confidant, she held roles at HL Group, M Booth and R\West.

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    Kathy Dalley

    Senior Director

    Kathy's award-winning work telling meaningful corporate stories includes campaigns for global tech companies like Amazon, IBM, SAP, Baidu; cybersecurity startups like White Ops; large consumer brands like HARMAN, Viacom, McGraw-Hill Education and Liberty Mutual; and exciting new brands such as Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez. Prior to joining Catamaran, she held roles at Ogilvy, Text100 and PAN Communications.

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    Matt Luzuriaga

    Vice President

    Matt’s career in public relations has spanned corporate communications, integrated marketing campaigns, executive visibility, thought leadership and trade show support for large global brands including Amazon, MINI USA, Sharp Electronics, BMW and ExxonMobil. Before joining Catamaran, Matt managed top agency clients and spearheaded consumer and B2B client campaigns at Peppercomm. Prior to Peppercomm, Matt held roles at some of the world’s largest public relations agencies, including Edelman and Weber Shandwick.

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    Emma Vajda

    Senior Director

    Emma is a consumer media specialist with a track record of delivering valuable connections, strategy and insights for brands across CPG, e-commerce, entertainment, beauty, fashion, wellness and more. Well-versed in engaging with consumer media through creative storytelling and activations, she plays a pivotal role in building brand awareness, new product launches and event production. In addition, she has led executive visibility and thought leadership programs with a heavy focus on trends.

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    Rachel Quinlan

    Senior Director

    Rachel’s sweet spot lies at the intersection of technology and consumer brands with deep experience building campaigns for brands like Amazon, Canon, Mastercard, American Express, Ancestry, SONOS, Getty Images, Squarespace, Samsung and Lenovo. Currently based in the UK, Rachel is a Texan who has lived and worked in NYC, Sydney and Los Angeles.

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    Jess Rosa

    Senior Director

    Jessica is an award-winning public relations and communications professional telling brand stories through integrated campaigns, with expertise in experiential activations and event management. Her experience spans both B2B and B2C in the aerospace, legislative policy, philanthropic, lifestyle, beauty, sports, food and beverage, professional service, technology and entertainment industries. Prior to joining Catamaran, Jessica led earned initiatives at Mintz + Hoke.

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    Melissa Zapata

    Director

    Melissa is a seasoned consumer PR strategist who has led earned media and integrated campaigns for established brands including Meta, Lyft, American Express, Logitech and more. In addition to her consumer PR work, she is experienced in thought leadership and corporate storytelling. Prior to Catamaran, Melissa led earned media relations programs at Day One Agency, Golin and Finn Partners. She holds a master’s degree in strategic public relations from the University of Southern California.

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    Jolene Levesque

    Senior Manager

    Jolene is a strategic media and communications specialist with experience across food and beverage, consumer technology, and lifestyle brands. Her expertise includes media strategy development and execution, client management, and strategic campaign planning. Prior to joining Catamaran, Jolene was a media relations and strategy specialist at HUNTER and Legend, working with brands including Fever-Tree, Pressed Juicery, Nanit, and Lysol.

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    Hayley Wheeler

    Senior Manager

    Hayley is an experienced communications specialist with a successful track record across a wide range of sectors, including CPG, technology, banking, and lifestyle brands. Her key areas of expertise span strategic media relations, event planning, and client and project management. Prior to joining Catamaran, Hayley led impactful initiatives for established brands including Bank of America, Colgate-Palmolive, and Dollar General at Burson.

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    Scott Baldwin

    Tech Media Consultant

    Scott Baldwin brings more than 20 years of experience leading earned-first communications for consumer brands, technology, and products. At Catamaran, he works closely with tech clients like Aura, helping guide strategy and media engagement. Scott has led tech comms for global brands including Amazon’s Devices & Services business, Samsung Mobile, Huawei, OpenAI, and Chevy, and has built trusted relationships across consumer, tech, business, design, and creator media. Prior to Catamaran, he held senior leadership roles at Outcast, Edelman, and Burson.

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    Rebecca Trevethan

    Measurement & Analytics Manager

    With 25 years of experience supporting supporting marketing and administrative teams across across a range industries ranging from non-profits to corporate law, Rebeccca works across Catamaran teams to support research, measurement and analytics initiatives.