LEADERSHIP
CATHERINE POLISI JONES
President & Founder
Catherine Polisi Jones is the President and Founder of strategic advisory firm Polisi Jones, which she founded in 2014 after advising some of the largest and most well-known public and private companies in the world on their communications strategies throughout the past two decades.
Prior to founding Polisi Jones, Catherine served in senior roles at leading strategic communications firms in New York City and Greenwich, including Brunswick Group, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher (JWBK) and ASC Advisors. She works with companies globally across all sectors, advising clients on media and investor communications, marketing strategies, messaging, brand building, online branding and social media strategy, media and presentation coaching, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, internal communications and corporate crises.
In 2008, while Global Head of Media Relations for Lehman Brothers' Investment Banking Division, Catherine took a leadership role in managing and executing Lehman Brothers' corporate crisis communications initiatives during the global financial crisis, the firm's bankruptcy and subsequent acquisition of Lehman Brothers by Barclays Capital. Catherine continued her communications role at Barclays Capital after it acquired Lehman and helped rebrand Barclays' new investment banking platform.
In addition to her work in strategic communications, Catherine also previously worked as a television reporter at WENY-ABC in Elmira, NY and News 12 CT, and as a print reporter at The Ithaca Journal in Ithaca, NY.
Catherine is a volunteer and Board Director at Abilis, a CT non-profit that provides therapeutic, employment and training services to individuals with special needs. Previously, she was a Board Director for the India Cultural Center (ICC), a non-profit that promotes Indian culture and art throughout Fairfield and Westchester Counties; a Principle at B*Cured, which aims to end brain cancer; and Junior Council Member for REACH Prep, which provides underserved, high-achieving students access to transformative educational experiences that help cultivate our next generation of young leaders.
Catherine was named a YWCA Greenwich Brava Award winner in 2018 for her professional and community contributions. In 2017, she was given the title of Honorary Accountapreneur by The Accountability Lab of Nepal, a non-profit organization that provides support to young Nepalese entrepreneurs as they develop and implement low-cost, high-impact solutions for achieving accountability in their local communities.
Catherine graduated with a B.A. in Art History from Williams College in 1999 and an M.A. in International Law and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 2004. She is a Certified KRI Kundalini Yoga instructor, sound therapist and medical intuitive, as well as a meditation and pranayama practitioner and teacher.
MORGAN BRINLEY MELNIKOFF
LEAD STRATEGIST
Morgan Brinley Melnikoff is Lead Strategist at Polisi Jones after joining the firm in 2019. She brings a diverse set of skills to the team, including operations, business launches, investor relations, marketing, branding, messaging, fundraising, hedge fund compliance and accounting.
A proven entrepreneur, Morgan built and launched multimillion dollar Everpoint Health in the middle of COVID-19, which was one of the first national companies that provided rapid corporate and institutional COVID-19 testing. Prior to joining Polisi Jones, Morgan worked as an investor communications consultant and assisted emerging hedge fund managers launch their businesses, providing support with investor outreach, marketing, pitch book content and design creation, due diligence preparation and legal document review. Previously, Morgan spent six years at Luxor Capital Group, LP where she managed all aspects of the firm's investor relations functions, and provided direct support for the firm’s operations, accounting and compliance. Morgan began her career as an auditor at Ernst & Young in the Financial Services Organization (FSO) where she worked with various clients, including UBS AG, Fortress Investment Group and Jefferies Group, Inc.
Morgan is an active volunteer for cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. She worked with the development team and Dr. Robert Motzer to establish the Memorial Sloan Kettering Translational Kidney Cancer Research Program (TKCRP), a powerful platform to integrate the expertise of multiple disciplines, with the singular goal of curing kidney cancer. She founded and chaired the fundraising event "Rock Out for the Cure" to benefit kidney cancer research, which raised over $1 million—the most successful third party fundraising event in Memorial Sloan Kettering’s history. In addition, she spent time bringing congressional awareness to the lack of funding for kidney cancer, which has since been increased from $5 million to $30 million annually. Morgan was chosen to be the 2018 keynote speaker at the Memorial Sloan Kettering "Celebration of Fundraisers” and was profiled on the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center website, Greenwich Magazine and CBS news.
Morgan holds a Master of Science in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Fordham University at Rose Hill.