Our Team

Melissa Mathews

Passion for:
Executive communications
and speechwriting

Fun fact:
Was a mascot in high school and college

Lives in the Middle East

Melissa Mathews

Melissa Mathews is the Founder and President of The Mathews Group.

Melissa has worked in communications for over 20 years, advising CEOs, business leaders and entrepreneurs. Her expertise lies in executive communications and speechwriting, and she is passionate about helping clients tell their unique story.

Before establishing The Mathews Group in 2010, Melissa earned her communication credentials at CNN and NASA.

At CNN, Melissa wrote and edited scripts for news reports and produced international broadcasts with global teams. The intense newsroom pressure equipped her to work quickly and accurately on deadline, and her experience working with colleagues across time zones developed her ability to manage distributed teams.

During her career with NASA as a public affairs officer and spokesperson, Melissa advised senior leaders on strategy and implemented communications campaigns, specializing in media outreach to non-traditional audiences. She spent nearly three years working crisis response to the Space Shuttle Columbia accident and subsequent return to flight, and led the international partnerships communications portfolio.

Today, Melissa is proud to direct The Mathews Group, a pioneer in the virtual agency model. She guides a team of remote staff and advises Fortune 50 clients, small businesses, and non-profits on corporate communications strategy. Melissa is also a passionate advocate for virtual and flexible work opportunities. She has presented at industry conferences including the PRSA Counselors Academy and been interviewed for print and podcasts.

A collaborative leader, Melissa is not afraid to make tough decisions or offer expertise to colleagues and clients. She builds strong relationships with her team and clients and often serves in a confidante role. Melissa is married to a U.S. diplomat and has three kids and a Louisiana-born mutt. She has lived in the U.K., Japan, Guatemala Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Connect with Melissa today.

Tia Over

Passion for:
Helping clients achieve their goals
and creative problem-solving

Fun fact:
Can recite the 50 United States in alphabetical order

Lives in Portland, Oregon

Tia Over

Tia Over is a Partner at The Mathews Group.

Tia has over 15 years of experience advising Fortune 500 and Fortune 50 clients, small businesses, non-profits and government agency on corporate communications strategy. Her expertise lies in strategic communications planning, internal communications and copy writing.

Tia launched her public relations career working for a political and public affairs shop consulting for state and federal political campaigns and trade associations in Oregon state. Her next position was as a White House appointee at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she directed all internal communications for agency employees at each of the 10 NASA field centers. Tia was responsible for developing consistent messaging across the agency, managing incoming media requests for the assistant administrator and special projects such as the Return to Flight Space Shuttle Launch, the 35^th Anniversary of Apollo 11 and the premiere of the IMAX film Magnificent Desolation.

Eager to return to the Pacific Northwest, Tia joined the global public relations firm WE Communications (formerly Waggener Edstrom Worldwide). Tia led a Microsoft analyst relations team and served as a strategic relationship manager. She was responsible for building relations with leading industry analyst firms and helped facilitate product development consulting activities with Microsoft’s engineering, architecture, and marketing teams to enable competitive market positioning and delivery through the sales and partner channel.

Today, Tia leads The Mathews Group business development efforts and has helped grow the client roster to include Fortune 100 companies such as Honeywell, Lockheed Martin and Phillips 66. In addition, Tia leads the agency’s University of Washington Continuum College account. Internally, Tia leads efforts to ensure The Mathews Group team collaborates seamlessly around the globe.

Among her volunteer projects, Tia serves on the board of directors and coordinates The Mathews Group’s pro-bono communications and PR work on behalf of Ameena Project. The organization runs a preschool and early elementary school in a vulnerable community within Thika, Kenya, which she visited in 2016. Tia is a member of PRSA Counselors Academy and Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

As a thought leader, Tia has spoken at industry events including the SWE WE Local Portland conference, Women Who Code’s national CONNECT Conference, DevRel Summit, and PRSA Counselors Academy Conference.

Tia and her husband Andrew, their two children and pet Shiba live in Portland.

Connect with Tia today.

Katherine Brennecke

Passion for:
Media training and content development

Fun fact:
Teaches communications as a university professor

Lives in Atlanta, Georgia

Katherine Brennecke

Katherine is an accomplished communications trainer, public relations specialist, media manager and television producer. She has over 20 years of experience with a proven record of growing brands and engaging target audiences through content development and traditional and social media.

Katherine developed her passion for communications and content development working for the CNN news group and Turner Broadcasting. During her 15 years at CNN Headline News (now HLN), Katherine served in a variety of positions including Editorial Manager and Executive Editor, managing a team of 35+ employees. She set network guidance, coordinated story treatment and promotion, established network editorial policy and managed a large staff of writers.

In 2011, Katherine moved Turner Broadcasting’s TruTV, where she supervised collaboration efforts with all CNN networks and affiliate stations. Katherine was responsible for big-picture coverage and daily editorial direction for live gavel-to-gavel coverage of the nation's highest-profile trials. Outside of the courtroom, Katherine was also charged with growing the network’s social media presence and increasing user engagement.

In her work with The Mathews Group, Katherine develops customized training for clients looking for impactful interpersonal communication in the science, technology and engineering fields. She creates training curricula and facilitates high-energy, relevant, skills training including: core communication skills, presentation skills, written communication, facilitating effective meetings, newsroom management, video production skills for corporate communicators, and writing for broadcast and multi-media applications.

Katherine is a professor at the University of North Georgia where she teaches Public Speaking and Intercultural Communication. As a thought leader, Katherine has contributed articles to various news outlets, including Working Mother.

Katherine lives in Atlanta with her two children.

Connect with Katherine today.

Kathie Schoff

Passion for:
STEM advocacy, community relations and internal communications

Fun fact:
Lived in Japan for 3 years

Lives in Washington, D.C.

Kathie Schoff

Kathie has over 20 years’ experience working in public policy, government affairs and public relations. Her expertise lies in business development, media relations, internal communications, including website content development, and event planning.

Before joining The Mathews Group, Kathie consulted for pharmaceutical and biotech companies at an award-winning healthcare public relations agency and handled high-profile global accounts at Hill & Knowlton in Japan. She also spent five years at the Society for Neuroscience promoting the cutting-edge research conducted by the group’s membership, while also pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Policy. Kathie is highly skilled in public relations, public policy and science, which makes her an ideal fit for many of our technology and science clients.

At The Mathews Group, Kathie spends the majority of her time dedicated to the Lockheed Martin account. She helped Lockheed Martin, in partnership with the Council on Competitiveness, launch the National Engineering Forum, a non-profit focused on providing solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing the engineering industry. Kathie also manages account work for Lockheed Martin’s Mission Development and Integration team.

Kathie is active in her local school and currently serves on the Executive Board. Kathie and her husband live in Virginia with their two kids. You can find them most weekends running or cheering for their kids from the sidelines!

Connect with Kathie today.

Susan Connery

Passion for:
Business operations

Fun fact:
Loves to stand-up paddleboard

Lives in Washington, D.C.

Susan Connery

Susan is the Controller at The Mathews Group.

Susan handles all aspects of our billing and accounting, and her background as a CPA helps ensure our books are ship-shape. She’s heavily involved in our business operations, from invoicing, to compliance issues, to helping us with key financial and business decisions.

Susan brings years of experience working for well-known firms in New York and Washington to managing our books. Her resume includes senior-level work for JP Morgan, Revlon and Arthur Andersen LLP. Most recently, Susan had been involved in the review of reporting packages for complex real estate fund investments.

Susan was jointly awarded a Bachelor of Science in Accounting (BSAc) degree and a Master of Accounting (MAcc) degree with high honors from the University of Florida’s Fisher School of Accounting’s premier 3/2 program.

Outside of the office, Susan is an active volunteer in her community. Her volunteer interests are varied, from acting as the class parent treasurer at her daughter’s high school to teaching religion class to elementary age students at her church. Susan and her husband are also involved with the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy.

Susan lives with her husband, three children, and a very cute toy poodle in McLean, Virginia.

Connect with Susan today.

Nellie Betzen

Passion for:
Writing and communications campaign development

Fun fact:
Has identical twin boys

Lives in Kansas City, Missouri

Nellie Betzen

Nellie has more than 10 years’ experience working in corporate communications and marketing roles. She has developed and executed communications campaigns for every audience – executives, employees, customers and consumers.

Before joining The Mathews Group in 2019, Nellie’s career was in the oil and gas industry. Having worked in a variety of communications roles, Nellie’s expertise ranges from public relations, to executive communications, to advertising. She has delivered award-winning internal communications programs related to spin-offs, company culture and branding initiatives. She also spent time on consumer marketing campaigns, resulting in increased sales, social media followers and positive brand awareness and sentiment. From her work on B2B communications, she understands the important role the customer has in a company’s success and has successfully designed several communications platforms to reach and influence this stakeholder group.

At The Mathews Group, Nellie primarily focuses on the Phillips 66 and Resideo accounts, providing content development, executive communication and annual publication support.

Nellie has a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and an MBA from Kansas State University. After living in Texas for eight years, she and her husband decided to move their family back “home” to the Kansas City area. She keeps quite busy with a toddler, infant twin boys and two dogs, but she wouldn’t have it any other way!

Connect with Nellie today.

Our Strategic Partners

Katie Kelty

Art Director

Passion for:
Taking design ideas from concept to reality

Fun fact:
Katie recently fulfilled a New Year's resolution by learning how to hold a headstand.

Lives in Louisville, Kentucky

Michael Lindenberger

Principal, LindyPR

Passion for:
Creating narratives that capture the imagination. And really fresh sushi.

Fun fact:
Michael is a former filmmaker and co-produced a film that, according to Rotten Tomatoes, is the fifth highest rated baseball movie of all time.

Lives in Portland, Oregon

Michael Lindenberger

A natural story-teller and media bulldog, Michael has spent the past 20 + years crafting, pitching, and landing stories in the press that are “made to stick.” Outlets in which he has secured coverage include The New York Times, CNN, CNBC, BBC Worldwide Television, USA Today, Bloomberg/Businessweek, Forbes and Fortune. Michael has represented companies from a wide range of sectors, including the technology, film, and sports industries, to name a few. Connect with Michael.

Emily Pappas

Communications Consultant

Passion for:
Spending time with family and going to the beach

Fun fact:
Emily made her reality TV debut on the HGTV show My First Place, where she searched for her first home alongside America.

Lives in Portland, Oregon

Emily Pappas

A communicator at her core, Emily has a passion for creativity and her ability to think strategically. With more than 15 years in media management, public relations and strategic communications, Emily’s background providing strategic support for leading technology firms, such as Microsoft and Intel, aligns with The Mathews Group’s commitment to engineering-driven clients. Emily supports The Mathews Group agency marketing efforts and special projects.

Connect with Emily.

Vic Parker

Owner, 6foot8, LLC

Passion for:
Balance, equity and learning

Fun fact:
6foot8, LLC is named for the height listed for Vic on his college basketball roster... in reality, Vic has never been more than 6'7" tall.

Lives in Salem, Oregon

Vic Parker

Vic brings decades of creative experience and communications insight to every project, and is the go-to web design pro for The Mathews Group. He specializes in finding the right visual solution for your design project, and effectively communicating the intended message and feel to your audience.

Melissa Mathews

Melissa Mathews

Tia Over

Tia Over

Katherine Brennecke

Katherine Brennecke

Kathie Schoff

Kathie Schoff

Susan Connery

Susan Connery

Nellie Betzen

Nellie Betzen

Our Strategic Partners

Katie Kelty

Michael Lindenberger

Michael Lindenberger

Emily Pappas

Emily Pappas

Vic Parker

Vic Parker

Get in touch with us!