Who We Are
Our team has decades of collective experience in the hospitality industry at businesses like Union Square Hospitality Group, Momofuku, Crafted Hospitality, Blue Hill Stone Barns, The Dinex Group, Dig Inn, Wagstaff Worldwide, Bunkhouse Hotels, and beyond. We have a wide network of seasoned industry experts that we’re able to leverage based on a client’s particular needs and goals.
A woman-founded and woman-led company, we’ve worked with hundreds of hospitality brands across the US and abroad, and bring a multi-disciplinary approach to everything we do knowing that no decisions can be made in a vacuum.
Elizabeth Tilton
Founder + CEO
New Orleans, LA
Elizabeth’s hospitality career started with several years of back of house experience in New Orleans and eventually moved to NYC to join Momofuku. On the branding team, Elizabeth managed the public relations and marketing for Momofuku’s New York restaurants, market research for Momofuku’s expansion in the US, and major partnerships with companies such as The World Bank, Sweetgreen, Patagonia, Lucky Peach + MAD in Copenhagen.
Prior to launching Oyster Sunday in 2019, Elizabeth was part of the original leadership team and the Head of Brand at W&P, a vertically-integrated design and manufacturing company developing culinary products. She managed a department to strategize and execute the launch of 300 + products including products in partnerships with Williams-Sonoma, West Elm, Lucas Films + Food52. She lives in New Orleans with her husband and son.
Jessica Abell
Managing Partner + COO
Brooklyn, NY
Jessica approaches everything she does at OS with a passion for hospitality and taking care of others, a deep understanding of restaurant operations, and a growth mindset. At OS, she leads strategy, business development, and the team.
Prior to helping Elizabeth launch OS in early 2020, she spent six years working for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, which included time in the back-of-house, front-of-house, and on the Business Development team leading new business openings and key consulting projects with clients such as Hyatt. Before USHG, she worked at global branding agency Siegel + Gale and the publishing company Simon & Schuster. In 2013 she decided to pursue her lifelong passion for cooking and attend the Institute of Culinary Education, which ultimately led her to Danny Meyer. She loves tennis, traveling, and is always planning her next meal. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, three children, and dog.
Sophie Amodeo
Head of People + Operations
Los Angeles, CA
Sophie is a people-focused operations leader with over a decade of experience supporting thoughtful, high-performing teams in the restaurant and hospitality world. Her passion for restaurants and the people who make them thrive began at her family’s neighborhood diner in Michigan. Before joining Oyster Sunday in 2022, she worked with award-winning businesses, including Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where she led hospitality consulting projects, and Prune Restaurant, on its management team. She firmly believes that a strong people strategy is the backbone of a good business strategy and is passionate about partnering with operators to help build businesses that reflect their values, vision, and growth goals. She holds a degree in Human Development and Social Relations from Kalamazoo College and lives in Los Angeles, CA, with her husband.
Jalees Khalid
Head of Finance + Analytics
New Orleans, LA
Jalees helps businesses translate their data into strategy by turning financial models into decision-making tools for clients in hospitality, retail, and CPG. Prior to joining Oyster Sunday, Jalees was the Director of Marketing + Sales at InnoGenomics Technologies, a start-up molecular biology R&D company based in New Orleans. He also co-founded Ansanm, a boutique consulting company that was sold in 2022. Jalees began his career in consulting as an associate at Caerus Management, where he managed client engagements, provided market research, developed revenue forecasts, and conducted data analysis to support businesses in hospitality, healthcare, biotech, and education.
Claire Sprouse
HR + Operations Strategist
Brooklyn, NY
Claire brings over two decades of experience in hospitality, spanning leadership roles in operations, people strategy, and sustainability. She opened Hunky Dory in Brooklyn and Buddy in San Francisco - two award-winning venues rooted in equity, climate-conscious practices, and care for both guests and teams. Claire’s background as an operator informs her work today in HR consulting, where she supports hospitality businesses in building healthy, values-driven workplace cultures.
Her leadership has been recognized by Tales of the Cocktail’s “Sustainable Spirit Award” (2015) and “Golden Spirit Educator Award” (2016), Southern Foodways Alliance’s “Future of the South” Fellowship (2020), and Drinks International’s “Bar World 100 Most Influential Figures” (2019, 2020, 2021). She has also led the curriculum for a sustainability and wellness track at the Chaplin School of Hospitality at Florida International University.
Carlie Johnson
Senior Project Manager
Brooklyn, NY
Carlie attributes her love of the hospitality industry to her Midwestern roots and summers spent working at a bustling restaurant in her hometown of St. Louis. She brings a deep expertise in project management and knowledge of restaurant operations, brand, and marketing to her role at OS. Before joining OS in 2022, she spent her career gaining experience at Le Cordon Bleu, Union Square Hospitality Group, Sakara, and the New York-based fast-casual restaurant group Dig Inn. As Manager of Restaurant Openings and Innovation, she led Dig Inn’s restaurant openings, new concept developments, and strategic growth initiatives from concept ideation through launch. A lifelong learner, Carlie loves meeting new people and a good adventure.
Lauren DeFilippo Jackson
Designer
Denver, CO
A designer with a degree in psychology, Lauren has an eye for the subtle ways that typography, color and overall aesthetics can capture a mood or convey a sense of personality. After graduating from Parsons School of Design, she honed her skills in the hospitality design department at AvroKo and the studio of luxury printed materials designer, Ceci New York, while pursuing freelance photography for various food brands and publications. Building on this visual portfolio, she relocated to Denver in 2014, serving as the Brand Manager for Richard Sandoval Restaurants and the in-house designer for boutique architecture firm, JNS, while growing Cognoscenti Creative as an independent business.
Mariel Olivo
Designer
New York, NY
Mariel is a Creative Director and designer with an eye for people-first branding. For 10+ years, she has helped lifestyle hospitality brands get down to the nitty-gritty of why they do what they do, helping them tell their story in a creative & compelling way. Before opening up her own brand strategy & design shop, Mariel led the creative department at DFRG — overseeing 70+ locations for their brands: Barcelona Wine Bar, bartaco, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle, and Del Frisco’s Grille.
Sam Lewis
Brand Strategist + Copywriter
New York, NY
Sam believes that restaurants’ stories are among the best, and in the power of digital marketing to tell them. She began her career at (what was then) SeamlessWeb, on the Marketing team for a rebrand, a spin-out, acquisitions, and ultimately a merge with GrubHub. From there she went on to work for Danny Meyer, knowing that Union Square Hospitality Group was the epicenter of hospitality and industry opportunities. After three years as Marketing + Events Manager at Marta, she turned to consulting, working in a marketing capacity with both independent restaurants and larger hospitality groups such as Tom Colicchio’s Crafted Hospitality.
A Bostonian at heart, she has lived in NY for nearly 15 years – most recently moving to Nyack with her husband, son, and (dog) daughter Emmylou.
Carly DeFilippo
Brand Strategist + Copywriter
Denver, CO
Carly is a brand strategist and copywriter currently based in Colorado. Over the course of 10+ years in the food and hospitality industries, she has worked with clients that range from industry leaders—like Chef Daniel Boulud and La Marzocco—to small business owners and first-time entrepreneurs. She is also an editorial contributor to Life & Thyme and Edible Denver magazines.
Lisa Reile
Hospitality Consultant
Austin, New Orleans + The Berkshires
The Reilest started in 2017 as the culmination of three decades of experience in developing and managing iconic brands. A natural social connector and attuned cultural interpreter, Lisa delivers the hustle and know-how to bring your creative vision to life. Good design alone is not enough to thrive — visionaries need an operational universe that grounds their goals, manifests their ideas, and consistently implements their intentions. With a firm belief that success is best when shared, Lisa’s leadership and management style aims to build not just beautiful properties, but communities that last long after our work is done. Lisa’s passion for experience-building blossomed over a 21-year career guiding the evolution of Whole Foods Market from a Bay Area mom & pop to its current incarnation as a world-class brand. She began a new chapter in hospitality as General Manager at the celebrated Hotel Saint Cecilia in Austin, TX—innovating revenue streams with high-touch service and personalized guest experiences, such as the hotel’s private club, which continues to delight members today.
Katie Bell
F&B Operations + Training Consultant
Sonoma, CA
Katie is an operations and leadership strategist with over 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry. She spent 10 years at James Beard and Michelin awarded restaurants in Los Angeles and New York City, including leading Dan Barber’s Blue Hill in Manhattan and Claus Meyer’s Agern. She then focused her skill set specifically on the opening phase and worked with Danny Meyer’s USHG, Dig Inn, and other clients large and small to bring their restaurant and hotel projects to fruition and success. She is based in Sonoma, CA and NYC, is a contributor to Life & Thyme magazine, and is a runner of increasingly long distances.
Jessica Rodriguez
Public Relations + Marketing
New York City, NY
Over the last 20+ years, Jessica learned many critical life truths – New York really does have the best pizza, concierges can solve all problems, and airline status matters. An eater, drinker and traveler, Jessica's career has been devoted to championing culinary, travel, hotel/resort and wine & spirits brands and personalities. Most recently, Jessica was Managing Partner of MMGY Wagstaff, (following the acquisition of Wagstaff Media + Marketing) where she built the agency's New York office as well as the Wine & Spirits and Digital practices while leading business development efforts and implementing strategic PR and marketing campaigns for best-in-class clients around the world. A native of Santa Fe, NM, Jessica believes the heart and soul of a destination is found in its people, cuisine, and spirit(s).
Alison Van de Berghe
Public Relations + Marketing
Brooklyn, NY + Mexico City
Alison Van de Berghe began her career working in San Francisco in sustainability marketing at Ogilvy & Mather and later in food and wine at Wagstaff Marketing. She then followed her passion for both and moved to Chile in 2019 to run the marketing and tourism operation of a sustainable vineyard outside of Santiago. Since beginning her career in hospitality, Alison has handled marketing and public relations for chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants on both coasts, luxury hotel brands, European and South American-focused wine importers, award-winning sommeliers and wine educators, and helped open restaurant concepts in San Francisco, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and Hawaii. In addition to her home base of New York, Alison has lived and worked in Washington, D.C., Paris, San Francisco, Chile, and is now based between NYC and Mexico City, where she recently opened her own restaurant and wine bar. With a deeply rooted belief in the power of hospitality, Alison enjoys working with female and minority-owned businesses and supporting advocacy in the industry.
Emily Jackson
Marketing Strategist
Charleston, SC
Emily Jackson is a hospitality marketing and creative operations leader with 10+ years of experience guiding hotel, restaurant, vineyard, and spa brands through launch and growth. She specializes in marketing strategy for boutique and luxury hospitality concepts, aligning brand positioning, storytelling, and operational execution. Her background includes leading creative strategy across the multi-property luxury portfolio at Easton Porter Group, and hotel spa brand development with Left Lane Development. Emily has overseen pre-opening marketing, brand rollouts, content and social strategy, partnerships, and cross-functional collaboration across ownership, operations, and creative teams. With an Advanced Creative Operations certificate from Rutgers University, she brings a systems-driven approach that ensures brand, marketing, and guest experience are fully aligned.
Gretchen Thomas
Private Events Strategy + Operations
Brooklyn, NY
Gretchen has thirteen years of hospitality experience helping restaurants, leaders, and teams plan smarter. She came to New York City in 2009 and was immediately inspired by the fast-paced nature of hospitality and the memorable experiences it creates. After six years working at Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group and David Chang's Momofuku, she turned her focus to smaller businesses, where she spent eight years developing unique event programs and strategies. Gretchen has dedicated her career to helping hospitality businesses through private events and is thrilled to be sharing her experiences, best practices, and hospitality ethos through independent work in collaboration with Oyster Sunday.
Our Values
Insatiable Curiosity
Endless Creativity
Boundless Optimism
Steady Empathy
Balanced Confidence
Excellence