Marlo Zarka, MPA
Chief Executive Officer
Marlo Zarka is a formidable strategy partner who empowers organizations and their leaders to own their future. As CEO of Executive Presence, she brings more than two decades of expertise in strategic communications, crisis response, and organizational effectiveness. Known for her pragmatic outlook and authentic storytelling, Marlo guides executives and agencies through complex challenges with confidence and clarity.
Her work spans public relations strategy, media relations, crisis communications, public policy development, organizational effectiveness, and long-range strategic planning. She has designed customized communications plans that strengthen trust, foster transparency, and mitigate risks, ensuring that businesses and institutions emerge stronger and more resilient.
Marlo’s crisis leadership is nationally recognized. She has served as Community Communications Commander for numerous large-scale incidents, including natural disasters, the Jacksonville Landing active shooter response, the COVID-19 pandemic, protests for criminal justice reform, and the Republican National Convention in support of the FBI and U.S. Secret Service. In each of these roles, she has provided senior leadership with actionable insights on public perception, crafted clear communication strategies, and served as a trusted liaison between agencies, stakeholders, and the communities they serve.
With a career rooted in both preparation and response, Marlo is passionate about equipping leaders to communicate effectively not only in the midst of crisis but also before it ever occurs. She offers fresh perspectives in contingency planning, transition management, and quality improvement initiatives, delivering structured, sequenced strategies that benefit leadership teams, employees, customers, and entire organizations.
Through Executive Presence, Marlo Zarka continues to champion a future where clarity, credibility, and confidence define leadership.
Experienced.
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During her time at Blue Zones Project Jacksonville, Marlo advanced evidence-based strategies designed to help people live better, longer. She applied the lessons drawn from the original Blue Zones regions to shape policies and practices in Jacksonville—part of a movement now active in more than 70 communities nationwide that has significantly improved health outcomes and lowered healthcare costs.
Marlo’s work emphasized optimizing living environments and advancing policies proven to enhance well-being. Under her leadership, initiatives contributed to double-digit decreases in obesity and smoking rates, along with measurable gains in life satisfaction. In her role as Public Policy Lead, she partnered with local government officials, community stakeholders, and organizations to evaluate, adapt, and implement policies across the built environment, food systems, tobacco use, and alcohol access. She also spearheaded outreach and education efforts to ensure residents and leaders alike understood how policy decisions could directly shape community health.
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As a Political Campaign Strategist, Marlo provided oversight to several competitive campaigns in which candidates secured the majority of the vote and successfully assumed public office. She analyzed polling data to capture public opinion, created opponent and issue briefs to guide candidate positions, and prepared weekly campaign status briefings for both staff and candidates.
Marlo also served as the primary press contact, cultivating strong media relationships, arranging interviews, and drafting compelling talking points to elevate candidate visibility. In addition, she led fundraising initiatives that generated more than $5 million in contributions and coordinated the planning and execution of over 100 campaign events per season, ensuring operational excellence and consistent voter engagement.
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As Strategic Liaison to the Sheriff, Marlo crafted and executed communications strategies designed to educate and inform the community while strengthening trust in law enforcement. She provided public relations counsel to the Sheriff and senior leaders prior to media engagements, fielded and prioritized media requests, and crafted responses that informed the public while minimizing negative reactions. Her work included managing media events, press conferences, and high-profile stories, as well as developing proactive community engagement campaigns to enhance the citizen experience and improve brand perception.
She collaborated with municipal leadership to align messaging during critical events, partnered with chamber leadership to support corporate headquarters relocation efforts, and consistently delivered strategic initiatives that elevated the public image of the agency.
In this role, Marlo also served as Critical Communications Commander for the 25th largest law enforcement agency in the nation, developing strategic responses for high-priority events such as natural disasters, NFL professional sporting events, the COVID-19 pandemic in coordination with federal partners, the 2020 Presidential National Convention, and local and state protests for criminal justice reform.
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As an Executive Coach and Strategic Consultant with Designed Alliance, Marlo worked with clients in Boston and Jacksonville to formulate tailored strategic growth plans rooted in industry research, competitive analysis, and market insights. She developed communications frameworks to enhance brand visibility with target audiences, while cultivating senior stakeholder relationships that created mutually beneficial partnerships and drove business development.
In her coaching role, Marlo guided clients in building structures of support and accountability that sustained long-term progress and commitment. Her work emphasized aligning leadership vision with actionable strategies that delivered measurable outcomes.
One of her most significant achievements during this time was expanding the business arm of a global hospitality company, generating $3.6 million in additional revenue within the first year.
