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Experience Curator / Senior Marketing & Brand Leader

Jewels
MacPherson-Zorro

I build experiences people want to show up for. Then I build the brand, audience journey and systems that make the feeling last after the room clears.

Jewels MacPherson-Zorro | Toronto, Ontario | 905.929.6410 | jewelsmacpherson@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/macpherson-zorro
1,325%mailing-list growth through a rebrand and new digital ecosystem
200%website-traffic growth following repositioning and channel rebuild
137%increase in organic social engagement at NEXT Canada
20K+community audience grown from just over 2,000
$6,225raised in one evening against a $2,500 fundraising goal

Executive profile

Strategy with taste. Systems with teeth.

01 / Brand

Positioning that holds

Brand architecture, launches, integrated campaigns, premium visual standards and creative direction across every audience-facing touchpoint.

02 / Lifecycle

Journeys people feel

Segmentation, CRM, nurture, onboarding, reactivation and content designed around how people actually move from interest to loyalty.

03 / Experience

URL to IRL

Events, editorial platforms, partnerships and hospitality-minded moments that turn audiences into communities.

04 / Operations

Built to keep moving

Dashboards, automation, reporting and AI-assisted production systems that give teams clarity without flattening the creative.

Selected impact

The work moved. So did the numbers.

Rebrand / Growth / Marketing technology

Seventy Seven Park became a wealth-management brand.

Led the repositioning across real estate, mortgages, financing and development. Rebuilt the digital journey, lifecycle infrastructure, campaign destinations, SEO, tracking and cross-channel creative system.

112% email open-rate growth316% social growth200% web traffic

Brand launch / Live experience

A launch party with somewhere to go.

Built Dempsey Barker's brand and customer ecosystem, then directed FemmeRaiser, a 100-person International Women's Day launch and fundraiser. Partners included Jo Malone, Prada and Dior. The evening raised $6,225 for Yorktown Family Services through the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.

Community / Fitness / Partnerships

From 30 runners to 900.

Helped rebuild Midnight Runners Toronto through weekly programming, social storytelling and events. Grew the audience from just over 2,000 to 20,000+ and supported activations with Nike, Reebok, Mizuno and other aligned brands.

Editorial / Content platforms

Built media people chose to spend time with.

Directed BEYOND Magazine, created Beyond the Blueprints and led GRIT Magazine Editions 07-11. The work moved brands beyond campaigns and into recurring editorial platforms with a point of view.

15,500+ podcast views5 GRIT editionsToronto Life publisher

Marketing operations / AI-assisted systems

Good marketing needs an operating system.

For The Central, designed brand and campaign systems alongside internal tools for listings, transactions, content, reporting and team workflows. The work connects polished customer-facing marketing with the less glamorous infrastructure that keeps it accurate, fast and useful.

Event planning & experiential marketing

Different scales. Different goals. Same attention to the room.

I have planned, marketed and executed 20+ major events and activations across venture capital, entrepreneurship, real estate, hospitality, luxury, arts, community and sport, alongside recurring weekly community programming.

My experience spans intimate 40-person tastings and executive events, 100+ person launches and ecosystem activations, 250+ person founder and investor showcases, and community experiences reaching up to 900 participants.

I work across the full event lifecycle, connecting the business objective, audience, marketing, hospitality and operational details into one experience.

20+major named events and activations
40–900attendee range
250+founder and investor stakeholders
2 citiesToronto and Montréal
5 yearspremium hospitality experience

Full event lifecycle

01 / Strategy & sourcing

From brief to the right room

Event strategy, concept development, budgets, venue sourcing, contracting, vendor sourcing, capacity planning and resource allocation.

02 / Guest & hospitality

The experience is operational

Registration, guest communications, VIP hospitality, food and beverage, accommodation coordination, speakers, founders, artists, partners and stakeholder management.

03 / Production & operations

Built for the live moment

Run of show, staffing, AV, staging, presentation requirements, cross-functional teams, on-site execution and real-time troubleshooting.

04 / Marketing & measurement

Before, during and after

Positioning, creative, email, social, paid media, registration campaigns, sponsorship integration, post-event communications, feedback and performance measurement.

Selected event experience

Founders / Investors / Accelerator

Ecosystem events at national scale

Produced founder, investor, partner and recruitment programming across NEXT Canada's Next 36, Next AI and Next Founders programs in Toronto and Montréal. Work included Venture Week, investor programming, program open houses, Building Black Unicorns and Venture Reveal, which brought together 250+ founders, investors, corporate partners, mentors and ecosystem leaders.

250+ stakeholdersToronto + MontréalVirtual / Hybrid / In-person

Brand launch / Fundraiser / Partnerships

A launch with a measurable outcome

Built the Dempsey Barker brand and introduced it through FemmeRaiser, a 100+ guest International Women's Day launch and fundraiser with partners including Jo Malone, Prada and Dior. The event raised $6,225 against a $2,500 fundraising goal.

100+ guests$6,225 raised2.5× goal

Luxury / Real estate / Culture

One calendar. Very different rooms.

Led a varied calendar of approximately 13 named client and community activations spanning luxury property previews, wine tastings, artist talks, family programming, neighbourhood experiences, educational events, markets and destination real estate experiences.

Selected examples: Family Fun Day at The Rec Room; Hockey Night in Leaside; The Lobby Holiday Market; Julie Moon Artist Talk; Burgundy Wine Tasting; Maxine McCrann Opening Reception; Exclusive Preview of 7 Dale.

Community / Sport / Brand partnerships

Recurring events at community scale

As Toronto City Lead, led a 14-person volunteer captain team and recurring community programming with attendance reaching up to 900 participants. Larger activations included Toronto Island Run, Run the P.A.T.H. and Global Midnight Run, alongside brand partnerships with Reebok, Mizuno, Celsius and Secret.

Up to 900 participants14-person captain teamRecurring programming

ICONINK / Byblos Downtown

The guest experience came first

Five years inside high-volume premium hospitality environments. As Reservations & Events Manager at Byblos Downtown, managed large parties, venue buyouts, high-volume reservations, an eight-person host team, OpenTable floor plans, capacity and service flow.

5 years hospitality8-person teamLarge parties + buyouts
40–60Tastings, artist talks, private educational events
50–125Executive events, previews, receptions, luxury activations
100+Founder, DEI and entrepreneurship events
150–250+Markets, family programming and community activations
250+Investor and startup showcases
Up to 900Community sport and branded activations

Professional experience

Brand leadership. Hands still on the work.

Jun 2023 - Present

Brand, Marketing & Digital Systems Consultant

Independent | Toronto, Ontario

  • Partner with founder-led teams to build or reposition brands, launch customer-facing experiences and create the marketing infrastructure needed to scale.
  • Lead strategy and hands-on execution across positioning, content, social, lifecycle, websites, events, print, presentations, lead generation, analytics and AI-assisted operations.
  • Translate complex requirements into clear customer journeys, team workflows, campaign systems and digital products, coordinating leadership, internal teams, vendors and creative partners from concept through rollout.

The Central

Current fractional brand and marketing partner. Lead creative concepts, social, campaigns, print, digital, pitches and premium listing marketing. Built The Central Command and supporting dashboards, automations and customer-facing tools to connect marketing, listings and operations.

Dempsey Barker

Built the brand ecosystem from the ground up: positioning, identity, responsive website, social and editorial system, CRM architecture, 49-step customer lifecycle, presentations, listing collateral and launch experience.

Seventy Seven Park

Led the rebrand and go-to-market system for an integrated real estate wealth-management business. Connected brand, website, lifecycle email, lead capture, technical SEO, paid media, analytics and reporting.

Additional sectors

Selected advisory and execution work across private capital and commercial development, including brand positioning, investor and sales materials, web strategy, launches and ongoing marketing systems.

May 2023 - Jun 2024

Director of Marketing & Brand Innovation

Heaps Estrin Real Estate Team | Toronto, Ontario

  • Led integrated marketing across brand, digital, print, social, lifecycle, content, events and partnerships for Canada's top-performing real estate team.
  • Directed BEYOND Magazine with Strategic Content Labs, created and produced Beyond the Blueprints, and built lifestyle-led content platforms that expanded reach beyond the real estate transaction.
  • Led collaborations and experiences with BMW, Jaguar, Toronto Life, Steam Whistle, Rec Room, Cottage Springs, artists Maxine McCrann and Caitlin Cronenberg, and other premium partners.
  • Built a lead-capture and attribution system for The Lobby to connect walk-ins, event attendance and marketing engagement with future real estate activity.
  • Marketing supported $348.7M in sales volume, a $37.1M year-over-year market-share increase, a #1 Royal LePage Canada ranking and #3 TRREB team ranking.

Oct 2021 - May 2023

Creative & Marketing Manager

NEXT Canada | Toronto, Ontario

  • Led brand, creative, content and full-funnel recruitment marketing for NextAI, Next 36 and Next Founders across digital, social, email, editorial, print and events.
  • Directed GRIT Magazine Editions 07-11 and helped evolve the parent-brand system following the integration of Next AI Montreal.
  • Led a partnership initiative with Black Wealth Club that contributed to a 63% increase in Black founder applications and equal Black and Caucasian representation in that recruitment cycle.
  • Increased organic social engagement by 137% and supported founder experiences including open houses, Venture Reveal, Venture Week and Building Black Unicorns.

May 2020 - Oct 2021

Marketing Manager

Heaps Estrin Real Estate Team | Toronto, Ontario

  • Developed brand, agent and luxury-listing marketing across social, email, print, digital advertising, content and client communications.
  • Built campaign concepts and editorial foundations that later evolved into larger platforms, including BEYOND Magazine, after returning in a director role.
  • Increased lead generation by 32% and contributed to a 72% increase in social engagement.

2009 - 2020

Earlier Marketing, Design & Business Development

MacPherson Creatives | Consumer Choice Award | VR Listing

  • Managed brand, graphic and web projects across hospitality, cannabis and real estate, including proposals, contracts, budgets, approvals, launch materials, packaging, print and websites.
  • At Consumer Choice Award, led creative delivery for 233+ B2B accounts across four Canadian markets and coordinated campaigns with OUTFRONT, Pattison and Cineplex across transit, billboards, Tims TV, theatres, social, Google Display and YouTube.
  • Led national video services and produced custom 15-90 second promotional content while managing concurrent client priorities, stakeholder approvals and tight media deadlines.

Hospitality foundation

The guest experience came first.

ICONINK
2013-2018

Five years inside some of Toronto's busiest premium hospitality environments. It taught me how brand promises survive contact with a real guest: through pace, care, details, teamwork and the ability to solve the problem in front of you.

Jan - Jul 2018

Reservations & Events Manager / Byblos Downtown

Managed high-volume reservations, large parties and venue buyouts. Hired, trained and scheduled an eight-person host team, managed OpenTable floor plans and coordinated service flow to protect both capacity and the guest experience.

Nov 2017 - Jan 2018

Reservations Office Assistant / Byblos Downtown

Supported guests by phone and in person, coordinated reservation plans and handled detailed requests in a fast-moving, high-touch environment.

May - Oct 2017

Head Lifeguard / Cabana Pool Bar

Supervised, hired, scheduled and evaluated the lifeguard team for a 50,000-square-foot luxury outdoor venue while enforcing safety, sanitation and operating standards.

Jan - May 2017

Hostess / Weslodge

Managed welcomes, seating and dining flow in a high-volume Entertainment District restaurant, responding to guest needs with warmth, speed and good judgment.

May 2013 - May 2017

Lifeguard / Cabana Pool Bar

Maintained guest safety across a large poolside venue with private cabanas, DJs and premium food and beverage service, developing the calm operational instincts that still shape how I lead live experiences.

Speaking & community leadership

Connection scales.

George Brown College

Guest speaker

Invited to speak to the Event Marketing Strategies course within the Event and Meeting Management Certificate, sharing practical experience in branded events, partnerships, audience journeys and live execution.

Midnight Runners Toronto / 2021-2024

City lead & captain

Led community programming, partnerships, event operations and social storytelling for a global running community's Toronto chapter. Rain or shine. Usually with a speaker.

PAKT Fitness & Social Club / 2026-Present

Running lead

Lead weekly community runs, programming, partnerships and events that create connection, grow the community and give people a welcoming way into the club.

Approach

Culture is the strategy.

Whether it is a founder cohort, a premium client event or hundreds of runners in the rain, the job is the same: build an environment people want to run toward.

Selected work

Receipts, not adjectives.

Beyond the Blueprints / Kristine HubbardConcept / production / launch Beyond the Blueprints / Chuck MagwoodConcept / production / launch Beyond the Blueprints / Coco SmartConcept / production / launch BEYOND Magazine / Issue 03Creative direction / Toronto real estate and culture BEYOND Magazine / Issue 02Creative direction / Toronto real estate and culture GRIT / 5G, Web3 & NFTsCreative direction / design / emerging technology and founders GRIT / The Second ActCreative direction / design / serial entrepreneurship Building Black UnicornsPartnership / event / inclusive founder recruitment GRIT / Family MattersCreative direction / design / family enterprise and founder stories GRIT / The Relentless PursuitCreative direction / design / resilience and opportunity