Summer Carrick, your Marketing & Communications executive, Fractional CMO, and brand strategist.

Summer Carrick on the Kohala Coast in Hawaii with long dark hair smiling outdoors near palm trees and the Pacific Ocean.

An incredible range
of field expertise

  • Founder-led Brands

  • Justice organizations

  • Arts & Entertainment

  • Healthcare

  • Nonprofits

  • Government & Academia

  • E-commerce & Retail

  • Tech

  • Visitor Industry & Tourism

A woman with long dark hair giving a speech at a podium with a microphone, in a professional setting with a presentation screen in the background.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Summer Carrick is a senior marketing strategist, fractional chief marketing officer, and communications executive with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations grow, adapt, and build systems to communicate with clarity.

She holds a master's degree in New Media and brings a rare combination of executive leadership, strategic marketing expertise, and hands-on production and execution. Throughout her career, she has led cross-functional teams, directed multimillion-dollar initiatives, and guided organizations through growth, transformation, and complex communications challenges with creativity, empathy, and measurable results.

Summer specializes in aligning strategy, brand, marketing, and communications to help organizations move confidently from vision to execution. Whether serving as a fractional executive, developing a comprehensive marketing strategy, launching a new brand, leading a website redesign, integrating AI-powered workflows, managing public relations, or overseeing complex marketing campaigns, she combines big-picture thinking with practical implementation to create meaningful, lasting impact.

Known for blending leading-edge technology with deeply human storytelling, Summer helps organizations navigate change while building authentic brands that earn trust and inspire action. Her experience spans executive communications, digital marketing, website strategy, search optimization, social media, content development, advertising, public relations, crisis communications, video and documentary production, and organizational leadership. Clients value her ability to simplify complexity, unite teams around a shared vision, and develop marketing systems that deliver measurable business results.

Throughout her career, Summer has partnered with healthcare organizations, nonprofit coalitions, government agencies, universities, tourism and hospitality companies, technology firms, arts and entertainment organizations, and purpose-driven businesses throughout the West Coast and Hawaiʻi. She has served as a vice president, communications director, nonprofit executive, founder, and trusted advisor, providing executive marketing leadership for organizations seeking thoughtful strategy, creative excellence, and sustainable growth.

Work with Me

Not YOUR average Marketer

Summer Carrick with long hair looking at her smartphone to check on client social media accounts while sitting in front of an open laptop in a bright room in Kona.
Close-up of a glittering disco ball with mirrored tiles reflecting light and creating bokeh effect.

  • If it is new and worthy, I’m researching and implementing it to give my clients a competitive advantage. I use technology to amplify humanity, not replace it.

  • I'm obsessed with making complicated things easy to understand.

  • I collect stories almost as much as I collect clients. My ability to talk about a wide range of industries keeps your marketing engaging and consistent. If it needs to be done, I will get it done.

  • My wide range of business experience and expertise means I ask very little of my clients. I do the job, and you approve or adjust. It’s just what a busy executive needs, and is why founder-led brands love my work.

Zarina Zertuche sits at a desk in an office. She wears a black blazer, a pink patterned scarf, and has a notebook, pen, and coffee mug on the desk. There are plants and office supplies in the background.

Based in Los Angeles, California, Zarina is a senior marketing strategist and advanced designer with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations build memorable brands and achieve sustainable growth. She holds a bachelor's degree and brings a unique combination of strategic marketing leadership, creative design expertise, and hands-on execution.

Throughout her career, she has led cross-functional teams, developed innovative marketing initiatives, and created compelling brand experiences that strengthen customer engagement and drive measurable results. Combining strategic marketing expertise with exceptional creative talent, she brings brands to life across print, digital, environmental, and experiential design.

With a career shaped by luxury hospitality and premium consumer brands, Zarina brings a refined design sensibility and an uncompromising commitment to quality. Her work is elegant, intentional, and strategically driven—creating visual experiences that not only look exceptional but also strengthen brands, build credibility, and inspire confidence. Whether the project calls for a unique brand identity, website, packaging, signage, presentations, publications, or a large-scale campaign, she consistently delivers work that is both visually compelling and strategically effective.

As a corporate marketing consultant, Zarina has partnered with leading hospitality companies, agencies, entertainment brands, and commercial organizations, providing strategic marketing, branding, and creative direction for more than 50 restaurants and hospitality brands. Clients include Hilton Resorts, Hostmark Hospitality Group, Davidson Hotels & Resorts, Springboard Hospitality, SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts, Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, and The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.

Meet Zarina, your Strategic Marketing & Creative Director.

A hospitality
marketing powerhouse

  • Luxury Resorts

  • World-renowned Spas and Amenities

  • Cherished legacy & boutique brands

  • National Publications

  • Visitor Industry & Tourism

  • Award-winning culinary and nightlife hotspots

Branding reimagined

Zarina Zertuche with curly hair wearing a beanie taking a casual mirror selfie in black and white.
Close-up of a mirrored disco ball reflecting light and small beads of sequins, with a blurry background of silver and metallic surfaces.

  • Having built brands for luxury hospitality companies, Zarina has a keen eye for elevated design. Together we understands how to create polished, memorable experiences that communicate quality, inspire trust, and stand out in competitive markets.

  • Elegant, intentional, and strategically driven—we’ll create visual experiences that not only look exceptional but also strengthen brands, build credibility, and inspire confidence.

  • We combine refined aesthetics with data-driven decision-making, ensuring every campaign is as effective as it is visually compelling.

  • Our priority is to bring your creative vision to life, while utilizing years of experience to amplify its impact. Whether it's branding, print, digital, environmental graphics, presentations, packaging, or large-scale campaigns, if it can be done, we’ll says “yes.”

High Performance Marketing 

without Extractive Practices

Neon sign on a brick wall with the text 'This is the sign you've been looking for'.

Marketing should create value without extracting from people, places, cultures or communities.

01.

Responsible Marketing

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02.

Integrity In marketing

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03.

Transparency in marketing

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Summer Carrick's two hands in pink gloves arranging white roses with other pink and white flowers floating around, decorated with green floral tape, symbolic of the brand design process in Portland, Oregon.

Deeply Human.

Marketing for humans in an AI world.

We embrace the newest technologies, AI tools, and automation to work smarter and move faster—but every strategy, every message, and every creative decision is shaped by human insight, emotional intelligence, and decades of experience.

Technology is an advantage. Human connection is everything.