Great Performances

Kaeleigh's hospitality career began at a young age, working for a mom-and-pop establishment in her hometown in Connecticut. A high school field trip to The Culinary Institute of America significantly impacted her, driving her to graduate early from Fordham University and pursue a second degree at CIA. During her time at CIA and since graduating, she has accumulated nearly fifteen years of operations and human resources experience at esteemed restaurant groups including Myriad, Patina, USHG, and Make It Nice. Her love of the industry and respect for hospitality professionals drove her to focus her full attention on human resources, where she most recently supported the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group and Elior North America. In addition to earning a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics from Fordham University and a degree in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America, Kaeleigh also earned an MBA from Pace University and holds an SPHR designation from HRCI.

Ideal Restaurant Experience

My love of the industry started with comforting environments that feel genuine and authentic. This essential element of making people happy through hospitality, paired with my deep respect the perseverance it takes, brings me home every time. That’s always at the heart of what I look for in a dining experience.

What does creating workplaces where people thrive mean to you?

It means everything. I’ve been very fortunate to work at companies with cultures I’m proud of. One core value that has always resonated above others is integrity: “perform your work selflessly, honestly, and caringly.” I believe that doing so humbly and with awareness fosters the type of work environment that makes our industry better every day.

Bradley was always fascinated by restaurants; while other kids wanted to be doctors or astronauts, Bradley wanted to be a waiter. In 2005, while studying Mathematics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Bradley got his first restaurant job as a server and cemented his passion for hospitality. Bradley turned his passion into a career and moved to New York City in 2012 to join North End Grill, part of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Bradley grew in his career by earning his level 2 Sommelier Certification, teaching classes at Murray’s Cheese, and later joining the opening management team at Marta. Bradley thrived at USHG in a variety of roles, including as a Business Intelligence Analyst on their corporate finance team, where he was actively engaged in the Hospitality Included, non-tipping initiative, as well as finance, technology, and human resources. In 2022 Bradley led the opening of Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi as the General Manager, working to create an employee-first culture of inclusion and excellence that helped lead to the restaurant’s vibrant success. Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi quickly became a cultural destination, earned a coveted 3-star review in the New York Times, and was named the #1 restaurant in New York City.
Bradley is excited to bring nearly 20 years of hospitality experience to Empowered. He believes that people are the center of every great restaurant and is excited to support our incredible clients in building better work practices and cultures for people to truly thrive.

Ideal Restaurant Experience

My ideal restaurant experience always revolves around sharing and experiencing as much of the menu, and restaurant, as possible. I love to go to a new restaurant, or an old favorite, with 2-3 friends and order an array of appetizers and entrees for the table while enjoying a bottle of wine (or two). I’m especially excited to see items the food or beverage menu that I’ve never tried, and I always ask the service team for their favorite hidden gems.

What does "creating workplaces where people thrive" mean to you?

Everyone in life wants to feel valued, appreciated, trusted, and respected while having a clear understanding of how they can succeed individually and as a team. Creating workplaces where people thrive means creating clear expectations and frameworks for your team to understand what success looks like for them while also creating an environment where people feel appreciated and their time and work matters. People are our greatest asset!