About this Service

If you're someone whose work, studio, or personal life could use an extra hand, I can be that hand!

I have about 10-15 hours a week to offer as a personal, work, or studio assistant. Depending on what you need, that could look like inbox and calendar management, errand running, sourcing materials, building out educational materials, organizing a home office or studio space, helping prep for a launch or a show, event coordinating, light bookkeeping or invoicing, scheduling, travel logistics, vendor and client communication, developing support systems, or simply being a consistent and trustworthy presence in the background of your week. I'm thoughtful with details, good at building tailored systems that hold without being rigid, and at ease moving between the operational and the creative, while maintaining a personal and caring touch!

My professional background is in operations, development, communications, and educational consulting - work that is fundamentally about deep observation, careful analysis, and thoughtful problem-solving in service of helping people and projects move forward. I've held a Director-level role running client experience, event coordination, and creative solutions at a film production studio, built communication and learning systems for a solar energy company working across Tanzania and Nigeria, and designed and/or taught curricula across very different contexts, including rural India, refugee youth programs in Brooklyn, and women's education internationally. I've managed complex calendars, donor relationships, grant timelines, leads tracking, fundraising efforts, a wide range of admin responsibilities, and creative production schedules. I know how to keep many moving pieces organized without losing the thread of what actually matters.

But it's my want to understand a person or a place that really drives my work. I pay close attention. I observe how someone is actually best supported and what they need, and adjust my service accordingly. In every area of my life I want to be a presence that allows and empowers someone to be their best self.

I work best with people whose work is compassion or creation led - therapists and alternative practitioners, folks in the nonprofit world, people working with immigrant and refugee communities, ceramicists and metalsmiths, acupuncturists, reiki and breathwork facilitators, Pilates instructors, other creatives, , and anyone whose work runs on care.

My rate is $45-$50/hr, but I'm happy to be flexible in exchange for learning or other meaningful trade. If that sounds like you or something you might be interested in, I'd love to connect and build something out together! :)

About this Lister

I'm Marina from Brooklyn, NY, and I've had a full life that's led me to where I am today!

I was a professional performer starting at the age of 11, and all through my teens I was performing in Broadway shows. Dancing has always been my passion, and is what led me to be able to work in a theater-based setting. However, toward my later teen years I realized I didn't want to perform so much as use the arts to help others in the way that it had helped me so much. I started volunteering and working for various non-profit arts organizations, and after spending a few years in college studying Arts Activism, I left the states and started volunteer teaching academics and dance for a school in India. I had only planned to be there for 2 months, but my heart was tied to my students, and I stayed for 10. I started doing administrative work for this school part-time while living back in Brooklyn. While in Brooklyn I worked at a summer camp for refugee youth, and later began tutoring the same kids on the weekends. I was then offered a full-time English Fellow position at this school in India, where I taught English Language and Literature to middle school and high school students, as well as to some aunties on campus who had never had any formal English classes.

At the start of the pandemic I transitioned into an educational consultant role, developing and teaching both academic and emotional/social skill-based curricula such as a college readiness course, and a women's empowerment seminar. I also began working as an Executive Assistant and Learning and Development Consultant for a company that brings solar-powered energy options to people in rural areas of Tanzania and Nigeria. I structured communication plans, built Learning and Development curricula for the women we served, and partnered on building out a talent management structure.

I lived in Mexico for a couple of years, and spent a portion of my time touring around teaching an emotional release through movement/aerial dance workshop with my ex-partner. Due to this, I do have an intermediate-advanced level of Spanish speaking now.

After a year and a half of working at a film production studio as the Head of Client Experience and a Creative Solutions Specialist, I'm refocusing on the work that really fills my life with purpose. I thrive when making an impact in the world.
Some passions of mine include creativity, the arts, community engagement, animals, nature, somatic work, psychology, cooking, journaling, learning, and reading. I just started a metal-smithing class a couple months ago and I'm very excited about it!

Background and Expertise

I have about 15 years of experience supporting people and the work they're building, across operations, communications, development, consulting, and creative production. I've worked with executives, founders, nonprofit leaders, teachers, artists, and creative teams, for organizations based in Brooklyn, India, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Mexico, including in environments where cultural consideration and professionalism are non-negotiable - and I understand what that actually looks like in practice.

Across all of this work, I emphasize systems that allow everyone involved to flourish. I think carefully about how time and attention are spent, mine and the person I'm supporting, and I bring that same intentionality to everything I do.

I'm proficient in G-Suite, Asana, and Slack, knowledgeable with Trello and Notion, and I'm a very fast learner. References available upon request.