
Meet the Team
Mary Mattson-Quagliana, CPC
Michelle Szmajda- VIllatoro, CPC
Marcie Lieberman, CPC
Sandi Mitchell, CPC
Marcia Kelly, CPC, SHRM, SCP
Kurt Darre
Rebecca Gordon Sewell
Marilyn Draper
Melissa O’Hara
Brian Schwartz
Mary Mattson-Quagliana, CPC
Mary is the co-founder of Curated Critiques, a modern measurement of hospitality validating brand promise, vision, values and culture through the guest experience. Prior to coaching, Mary served as the Corp Director of Learning and development for Rosewood Hotels . Mary is recognized and respected for the work she does in LEadership development, change management and coaching to transform individuals to have sustainable influence in their organizations.
Michelle Szmajda- VIllatoro, CPC
Michelle employs leader as coach, hospitality mindset, team building, and values-based solutions to help leaders develop the mindset and skillset for success . Michelle is a Certified Executive Coach with 20 years in hospitality, 16 years in learning and development and has opened 40 locations/new markets. She has invaluable experiences from the Freeman group, Rosewood hotels and resorts, STK, and has taken her experiences into senior care, financial institutions and other industries with the desire for values based training and development.
Marcie Lieberman, CPC
With 25+ years in the hospitality industry , Marcie Lieberman provides leadership coaching and operations consulting from a place of true empathy. Prior to consulting Marcie provided operational support and guidance within Rosewood Hotels & Resorts as Senior Corporate Director of Rooms and Spa. Her tenure included 9 international pre/post openings, 4 acquisitions, and the development of 9 Spa concepts within the company’s Sense brand. Prior to joining the corporate team and creating this role within the company’s structure, Marcie paved the way as Rosewood’s first female Managing Director.
Sandi Mitchell, CPC
Sandi Mitchell focuses on building leaders and their companies. She began consulting in 2013 after more than 20 years in corporate America. She is a Certified Executive Coach , Goldman Sack Small Business Lead Faculty, and a Professional EOS Implementer. Before APEX, Sandi created a technology corporate university at a Fortune 500 company, training over 4200 employees in more than 46 countries. Sandi’s superpower is Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) implementation, working with the small companies and nonprofits.
MARCIA KELLY, CPC, SHRM, SCP
Marcia is the VP, Total Rewards and HRIS for the Atlantis group, and is a certified Executive Coach focusing on helping hospitality executives design purposeful leadership strategies, enabling high performance and business success transformation. She earned a Master’s degree in Hospitality Management from Florida International University and is strategic leader with over 20 years’ expertise developing and executing talent strategies that improve employee morale and business results. Marcia is passionate about developing human capital within the hospitality and service industries. She believes that people are the most important asset within any organization. Her focus has always been on transforming HR functions to more strategic positioning.
Kurt Darre
Kurt Darre’ is joining the team with 12 years of Human Resources experience. He has worked in the Hospitality, Healthcare and Non- profit industries in four different markets including NYC and the Bay Area. Kurt’s career has been focused on finding ways to improve the employee life cycle and strengthening company culture. When not working, Kurt can be found with his wife, Suzi, and his two little boys scoping out new playgrounds in CT.
Rebecca Gordon Sewell
Rebecca has 20 + years of executive experience distinguished by proven results in human resource management, business development, operational optimization, and organizational design. Rebecca served as Executive Vice President at LaForce- NYC, a full-service marketing communications firm. Prior to that she received her SHRM certification in Professional HR Management from Pace University, later working for Ralph Lauren in human resources management. Rebecca began her career at Abercrombie & Fitch, as district manager the company’s largest district, overseeing all NY, NJ, and CT A&F retail stores.
Marilyn Draper
Marilyn Draper focuses on executive and leadership effectiveness and executive team performance. She helps leaders enhance their individual effectiveness, teams improve their collective performance, and organizations achieve their strategic objectives. For two decades Marilyn has worked with global leaders in the financial services sector: retail and consumer banking, investment management, mortgage, insurance and reinsurance.
Prior to consulting, Marilyn was a Partner in the Delta business unit of Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm. Oliver Wyman is one of the four operating companies of Marsh and McLennan, a $12 billion Fortune 250 insurance, reinsurance, risk, and professional services organization. In that role, Marilyn worked with CEOs, boards of directors, executive teams, and other senior leaders on the design and implementation of executive and leadership strategies with impact across the enterprise.
Melissa O’Hara
After more than two decades of corporate and business success, she began consulting, helping
companies, individuals and teams solve complex problems and take bold action. Her business experience in Product Development, Operations, Finance and HR enable her to provide practical solutions to ever changing business needs Melissa is a seasoned business professional who is passionate about motivating and inspiring others. She developed a proprietary framework, Horizon Life Design® that allows you to custom-design your life full of purpose, meaning, joy, and success on your own terms. As an expert top talent coach, she helps executives, leaders and individual contributors discover hidden talents helping them to increase their personal impact, be better colleagues, and become even stronger leaders.
Brian Schwartz
Brian Schwartz is a seasoned coach, mediator, facilitator, and trainer who leads with empathy. He brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and a passionate commitment to intercultural understanding to every client engagement. With a nimble ability to see all sides of an issue, Brian has facilitated diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings in settings ranging from schools to board rooms to houses of worship.
Brian worked in residence life and multicultural affairs at Pomona College and Williams College, and taught anthropology and sociology at Lesley University. He has mediated cases in small claims courts and within the Federal Government. A veteran of political campaigns, Brian helped to stand-up three new governmental offices, leading internal and external stakeholder engagement, as well as business development. This work included launching publicly-accountable, cross-sector advisory committees and implementing programs he designed to improve workplace culture.
Most recently, Brian served as a Senior Associate at Justice & Sustainability Associates, leading the Organizational Development and Governance practices.
Get in touch
Reach Us
New York, New York
732-945 4684
info@aubergine-partners.com