Expertise

Mara’s specialty is delivering an amazing experience—one that’s thoughtful, true to our organization, and fun! She brings a high level of service to each client that hires us, providing white glove service for every event. With Mara managing the details of our keynote speakers, working with ZingTrain is an enjoyable breeze; clients will often say how easy she made it for them. Mara loves to create unique experiences and create systems where none previously existed. While the content framework is consistent from keynote to keynote, the way she works with clients is anything but. Mara loves to customize clients’ experiences with ZingTrain, providing exactly what they need and taking on clients’ goals for the event as her own.

Strengths & Style

Mara is creative and solution-oriented. And while she’s happiest behind the scenes, she’s always ready to jump in to take care of what’s needed, especially in the name of impacting the lives of leaders and employees across the globe. Her flexibility and work ethic shine in these situations, from championing large events like Intentional Leadership, ZingPosium, and an epic street fair for Zingerman’s 35th anniversary, to managing ZingTrain’s Suite 6 build-out. Mara is also deeply sensitive—she finds being in service to others intrinsically rewarding, enjoys doing what she can to delight someone else, and appreciates that ZingTrain is slowly but surely helping to shift the culture of workplaces to be more enjoyable and compassionate.

Experience

Mara’s introduction to Zingerman’s came in 2010, when she took a “temporary” position at Zingerman’s Bakehouse, honing her customer service skills in the Bakeshop and developing new recipes in the savory department. (Proof of Mara’s problem-solving prowess: Customers kept asking for a salad with our chicken salad on it, so Mara took it upon herself to develop one and Mara’s Well-Dressed Chicken Salad was born!) She ended up falling in love with Zingerman’s, and has been moving and shifting her way through the organization ever since. She joined the ZingTrain team in 2012, has served as chairperson of the Great Service Group, and is also a tour guide for Zingerman’s Food Tours. Mara also served on the Governance Committee—a group responsible for evolving and improving Zingerman’s governance, like launching Community Shares and adding Staff Partners to Partners Group (the governing body of the organization) to increase the number of stakeholders and the diversity of voices leading the organization, respectively. Last, but certainly not least, Mara was the recipient of a Great Service Award for, you guessed it, her great service to customers.