Marisa Cleveland
Marisa Cleveland is the executive director for The Seymour Agency, which offers to aspiring and established authors the representation and resources needed in the publishing industry. Marisa has been featured at various book festivals and participated in panels and workshops on branding, communication, cultural agility, diversity, and the state of the industry.
Her efforts to support literacy include establishing the Agency’s literacy fundraiser, supporting authors in their writing endeavors with motivational events, and teaching writing workshops. With more than two decades of experience in the education and publishing industries, Marisa is adamant about supporting efforts toward the betterment of the human condition. Gulfshore Business and D’Latinos magazines honored Marisa with the Arts and Culture 2015 FACE Award, and in 2014, Gulfshore Business selected her as a “40 Under Forty” honoree.
As a New York Times bestselling author, she has eight academic peer-reviewed publications, one academic book chapter, over 20 published book remarks in a regional newspaper, and nine published novels. Marisa explains on The Seymour Agency website, “I love to write. I will probably always have a romance work-in-progress going on. But reading is my passion.”
She earned her doctorate in organizational leadership from Northeastern University, earned her master’s in educational administration and a bachelor’s in speech communications from George Mason University, and is a 2015 Leadership Marco graduate. In a recent edition of Florida Weekly Naples, it was announced that Marisa joined Hodges University as a trustee.
Board member and membership chair Karla Wheeler says the club is pleased that Marisa has returned to Naples and wants to become active once again with the press club. “From the moment she joined the club several years ago, Marisa stood out as an enthusiastic, roll-up-her-sleeves member who made a positive difference for the club and its members. We look forward to Marisa’s future involvement in the club serving as membership co-chair starting in 2021 to help with membership recruitment and retention.”
Welcome back, Marisa!