As founder and director of Merrell Strategy, a NYC based crisis management and litigation strategy firm, Alexandrea Merrell has developed a reputation as a straight-talking, no-nonsense strategist for high-profile civilians, celebrities, and brands facing challenges. One of the most sought-after crisis management specialists in the country, Alex is known as a “fixer” specializing in assisting clients who are faced with online hate, harassment, defamation, extortion, and canceling and the offline consequences.

In addition to assisting high-profile individuals and brands, Alex provides consultation to attorneys, companies, educational institutions, social media platforms, political organizations, non-profits, and official agencies seeking to better understand and combat online abuse, develop and implement preemptive policy, and fix their most complex problems.

Alexandrea Merrell is also the former Director of Public Relations and Policy and current Executive Chair of the Board of Directors for the HONR Network, a non-profit dedicated to the reporting and removal of harassing and defamatory content online, particularly hoax and conspiracy content that further victimizes survivors and family members of victims in high-profile violence and mass casualty incidents.

While the first priority is always to control the crisis and combat the abuse that clients are facing, many ultimately want to tell their story. Alex has a masters degree in TV and Film Project Development and extensive experience in turning client’s exceptional experiences into television, documentary, feature film, and books. Merrell Strategy also represents a sizable stable of artists, musicians, film makers, game developers, publishers, and other creative people seeking innovative ways to engage with consumers.

Part of her passion for helping people deal with crisis comes from personal experience. For 14 years, she was the obsession of a mentally unstable stranger who relentlessly hunted her and her family. Understanding first-hand how debilitating the crime can be on a person’s self-esteem, on their relationships, and on their professional reputation and how utterly unmoved social media platforms and the legal system can be when tasked with dealing with online terror, Alex set out to fix the problem.

Alexandrea is the author of Stand Up to Stalking, a primer in protecting yourself from stalking, bullying, harassment, “Karen-ing,” and online hate campaigns. and the upcoming Do Over Principle. She also hosts the daily podcasts 5Minute PR and 5Minute Do Over.

In addition to being a frequent speaker on crisis strategy and public relations, Alex is an author, documentarian, and a collector of oddities. She is a devoted philanthropist and supports a wide variety of cultural, community, and reform initiatives and is currently developing Art of the Brave, a resource focused on providing art therapy and gallery spaces for military and public service veteran artists. She holds a Master’s Degree in Film & Television Project Development and studied International Law in the UK.

She divides her time between an apartment in Manhattan and a big old Victorian on the Hudson River with 3 sons, 2 axolotl (Edger and Edwin) and a Chinese Crested name Delilah.