Our Team

In 2013, McLane founded the Mach 1 Group, leveraging decades of experience in politics, communications and crisis management. Today, Mach 1 has assembled a nationally recognized team recruited out of newsrooms and the halls of government to provide critical strategic communications and public affairs services to clients with issues in Capitols and in the news.

McLane is a veteran of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration and she served as Press Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education during the George W. Bush administration. She led crisis response for the LIVESTRONG Foundation as Vice President for Communications & External Affairs. McLane’s roots are in Texas, where she began her career at Public Strategies Inc.

McLane has built a reputation both locally and nationally as an innovative advisor, insightful and compassionate business owner, and steadfast community advocate. She was named a Women of Impact Award of Commendation winner by PRSA (’26); Best Female CEO of the Year Finalist at the Stevie Awards for Women in Business (’26); Leader of the Year by the Bulldog PR Awards (’25); and Top Women in PR, Business Entrepreneurs list by PRNEWS (’23). 

McLane is a former chair of the Ann Richards School Foundation Board of Directors and a proud pro-bono PR partner for Women in Neuroscience at UT Austin. A member of the Austin Women’s Symphony League, she is also an LBJ Women’s Campaign School Founder’s Circle Member and mentor.

McLane is a graduate of Texas A&M University and she and her husband, Brett, are proud parents to Jack and Ian.

Mary Bell Love is a communications and public affairs expert with nearly 20 years of experience spanning education, nonprofits, trade associations and complex policy sectors. She is a specialist in energy communications, with deep expertise in oil & gas, water and electricity, and directs the firm’s natural resources practice.

Love has been with Mach 1 since its earliest days and oversees the firm’s operations, ensuring the highest standards of excellence and aligning all communications strategies with client goals. She has been instrumental in shaping Mach 1’s reputation as one of Texas’ most elite public relations firms.

Her leadership and impact have been recognized locally and nationally. She was named a Stevie Awards for Women in Business Finalist for Most Innovative Woman of the Year (’26), PR Professional Who Makes a Difference by the Bulldog Awards (’25), one of the Top 50 Women Chief Operating Officers by Women We Admire (’24) and received a Bronze Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year (’23). She was also named Agency Planner of the Year (’23) by the Austin Alliance for Women in Media and nominated for the Austin Business Journal’s Women in Business (’22).

Before joining Mach 1, Love served as Director of Public Affairs for the Texas Railroad Commission Chairman, where she was nominated for Outstanding Women in Texas Government.

A seventh-generation Texan, Love is passionate about serving her community. She is an executive board member for the Pink Granite Foundation, currently serving as Treasurer, and is the founder and a former board member of the Texas Natural Gas Foundation. She was appointed to serve as a commissioner for the City of Austin on the Water and Wastewater Commission and has previously held board positions with the Women’s Symphony League of Austin, Austin Alliance for Women in Media and the KLRU Community Advisory Board.

Love earned both her Bachelor’s and Master of Fine Arts degrees from Texas State University. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and spending time at her family’s ranch with their dogs.

Brett Fey is an operations expert with 30 years of experience managing teams big and small. His strengths in financial planning, strategy and resourcing keep Mach 1 thriving.

Claiborne is an experienced strategic communications leader specializing in earned media, crisis response and high-stakes messaging in complex policy and political environments.

Currently, she leads her firm’s earned media practice, collaborating with clients to develop and implement media strategies that elevate voices on critical issues. Her efforts have successfully placed clients in local, regional, national and political media, amplifying messages that influence public opinion and policy.

Claiborne began her career as a television news producer, refining her skills in understanding the media landscape and mastering the ability to navigate fast-paced, high-pressure situations with precision and composure. She took those skills into public service, serving as Communications Director for Texas State Sen. Donna Campbell and former Austin City Council Member Ellen Troxclair.

She has directed numerous award-winning campaigns. Her commitment to her work was recognized on a global scale at the 20th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, where she won the Gold Prize for Female Employee of the Year in 2023.

A fifth-generation Texan and a graduate of Oklahoma State University, Claiborne is also a devoted wife and mother.

Chapman is a veteran journalist, accomplished storyteller and recognized crisis communications expert. She brings extensive experience managing breaking news and high-stakes events, offering clients calm, clarity and strategic focus when it matters most.

Before joining The Mach 1 Group, Chapman served as Executive Features Editor at the Austin American-Statesman, where she built trusted relationships with public officials, entrepreneurs and communication professionals across Texas and the nation. Under her leadership, her team earned multiple storytelling and writing awards from leading journalism organizations.

A past president and current board member of the Society for Features Journalism, Chapman continues to strengthen media relationships nationwide. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas and previously worked at The Kansas City Star and the Salem (OR) Statesman-Journal. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, live music and hiking with her rescue dog, Dottie.

Carsyn Collins is a rising policy and communications professional with a passion for advocacy and public affairs. She has cultivated a robust skill set through her work with diverse organizations across multiple sectors. Prior to joining The Mach 1 Group, Carsyn served as a Graduate Assistant at The University of Texas at Austin’s Disability Cultural Center, where she quickly gained recognition for her ability to develop outreach strategies, manage comprehensive communications efforts and spearhead events promoting disability advocacy within higher education.

Carsyn brings multifaceted experience in digital fundraising, legislative affairs and strategic communications. As a Public Policy Intern at the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, she contributed to advancing pro-disability policy during the 88th Texas Legislative Session. Her background also includes digital fundraising at Mothership Strategies and strategic communications for political campaigns, where she leveraged her marketing skills to engage diverse audiences on behalf of nationally recognized PACs. Additionally, she gained firsthand legislative experience while interning in a Texas senator’s office during the 87th Legislative Session.

In her role as Senior Director, Carsyn leads the firm’s Marketing Department and Internship Program while taking on an elevated leadership role in client strategy and account management. Based in Houston, she has also spearheaded the firm’s expansion into the city’s prominent and growing market.

Carsyn holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas State University and a Master of Public Affairs from The University of Texas at Austin. Outside of work, she enjoys performing as a member of the Houston Astros Shooting Stars Dance Team.

Madeleine Bell is a marketing strategist who specializes in brand development, communications and operations. She has worked extensively across the restaurant, luxury real estate and private chef services industries, where she has led marketing campaigns, developed training programs and created systems that ensure brand consistency and measurable growth. At The Mach 1 Group, Bell supports both the team and clients by building processes that keep operations running smoothly and by bringing clarity and strategy to communications.

Before joining Mach 1, Bell served at the Texas Capitol as a staff member for Representative José Aliseda, where she supported legislative priorities and maintained constituent relations. Her early experience in government sharpened her skills in organization, messaging and advocacy, strengths she now applies to the structure and support of Mach 1’s internal operations.

Bell has since directed marketing and brand strategy for companies in the restaurant industry, where she oversaw design, digital campaigns and CRM systems to enhance efficiency and consistency. She has also consulted for luxury real estate groups and high-end hospitality brands, developing systems and strategies that elevate visibility and strengthen engagement.

Originally from Texas, Bell earned her degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Advertising and a minor in Psychology from Texas State University. She is passionate about building clear and compelling systems that strike a balance between creativity and precision. Outside of work, she splits her time between Austin and San Miguel de Allende with her three children, where she enjoys travel, local food culture and community-driven projects.

Shahreen Abedin is a public relations strategy expert with a focus on driving national media coverage of innovation in a wide cross-section of industries including health care, higher education, life sciences and nonprofits. From two decades as a national multimedia journalist and communications professional, Abedin developed a keen understanding of local, regional and national news processes on all formats. She was a medical news Senior Producer at CNN in New York for Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and honed her journalism skills even further as a freelance science and health reporter. Abedin led in her career for almost a decade in Communications Director roles, first at Ascension and later at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. 

She earned her bachelor’s degree at Southern Methodist University and her Juris Doctor degree at The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Leadership Austin.

Rachel Renier is a strategic communications and digital reputation leader with experience guiding organizations through complex brand, crisis, and growth challenges. She specializes in helping companies protect, shape, and strengthen their reputations in high-stakes environments, translating business objectives into clear messaging and measurable digital strategy.

Her agency background spans digital reputation management, crisis communications, strategic communications, SEO-driven content strategy, and business development. She has worked with a wide range of clients across nonprofit, B2B SaaS, hospitality, consumer, education, and energy sectors, advising on reputation strategy and long-term brand positioning.

Rachel holds a B.A. in Rhetoric and Writing from The University of Texas at Austin’s Plan II Honors Program, where she completed her senior thesis on the rhetoric of comedy. She also completed the Energy Management Program at the McCombs School of Business, gaining foundational training in energy markets, land management, and energy policy.

In her spare time, she enjoys taking dance classes and long walks around Lady Bird Lake.

Texas-based political operations professional and creative producer with a track record spanning the Texas Capitol, competitive legislative campaigns and internationally recognized audio work.

Griffin Tyler spent nearly three years with the Office of the Texas Governor as a Program Specialist and Advance Representative, coordinating logistics, stakeholder communications, security and event operations for Governor Greg Abbott’s public and private appearances across Texas. He subsequently served as Campaign Manager for a Texas House District race, leading field operations, voter contact strategy, messaging and multi-county coordination through a competitive general election.

As a composer and audio producer, Griffin has cultivated a dedicated international following, with nearly 50,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and millions of streams across his catalog. He is best known for sweeping cinematic and orchestral soundtracks, with acclaimed work scoring one of the most widely read online novels in the world. Beyond his independent releases, Griffin has contributed sound design and original composition to commercially released short films, game projects and major advertising campaigns for globally recognized brands, with extensive experience in audio systems, game audio design and end-to-end production workflows.

Young is a distinguished communications professional with experience in national cable broadcast news, federal and state government, and campaign strategy. She began her career at The Fox News Channel in New York City, where she helped produce hit cable news shows such as “Glenn Beck,” “The Five” and “Hannity.” While in Washington, D.C., Young worked as a Communications Director on Capitol Hill and later as the Director of TV and Radio for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Prior to moving to Texas, she was Director of Communications for the North Carolina Speaker of the House, worked in Gov. Pat McCrory’s Administration and helped run a gubernatorial primary campaign in South Carolina.

At Mach 1, Young’s unique expertise and sharp senses have helped craft and lead award-winning communications campaigns and advise clients on national outreach. A graduate of the University at Buffalo, Young now enjoys exploring the world with her husband, Brian, and their three young children.

Kailey Saylor is a communications professional with experience spanning Capitol Hill, the Texas Capitol and nationally recognized organizations. Prior to joining The Mach 1 Group, Kailey worked for U.S. Senator John Cornyn as his South-Central Texas Deputy Regional Director, where she represented the Senator in a 29-county region, connecting her with Texans across the state. 

During the 89th Texas Legislative session, Kailey worked as a Press and Communications intern in Governor Greg Abbott’s office, supporting the communication and social media strategy of the governor’s press office. Kailey also interned for U.S. Representative John Carter and worked as a student assistant at the Texas Tech University Learning Center. She currently serves as the Vice President of Communications for the Delta Gamma – San Antonio Alumnae Chapter. 

Kailey holds a B.S. in Political Science from Texas Tech University. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis and spending time with her two dogs.