Jessi Marquez
CEO/Co-Founder
Jessi, a New York native, began her career at fifteen. Passionate about people she jumped into events the first opportunity she had. During her time at the University of Miami – she helped develop Funkshion Fashion Week Miami Beach. After college, Jessi moved to NYC and event planning took over full time. Working with premier venues, sponsors and celebrities Jessi gained new perspective on “the experience.”
"FreelyBe would become the bridge."
Never neglecting her passion for connecting people, in 2010 she decided to travel the world and work with non-profits. While working at an orphanage in Uganda she witnessed someone pass away in her arms from malnutrition. Deeply shaken she decided that the problems in the world are everyones responsibility. She wanted to create a platform where people could take their talents and help change the lives of others. After research and planning, in 2012 she launched FreelyBe.
jessi@freelybe.org | @Jessimarquez
Gracie Gordon
COO/Co-Founder
Gracie spent the majority of her life in suburbia Pennsylvania, always knowing that she wanted to somehow share her voice with the world. Pairing that with a passion and education in Media Communication Studies, in 2010 Gracie launched her lifestyle blog Girl Meets Life, which now reaches thousands of readers daily.
"FreelyBe was that 'something bigger."
A few years later Gracie knew she was supposed to do something bigger...but wasn't exactly sure what that looked like. She decided to move to New York City, where she met Jessi Marquez. Gracie instantly knew that FreelyBe – allowing her to combine her skills and interests with her passion for a world in need – was that "something bigger." As a self-proclaimed lover all things list-oriented, Gracie thrives on her behind-the-scenes COO duties. Oh, and we hear she bakes a pretty mean batch of cookies.
gracie@freelybe.org | @alagracie
Monica Hinrichsen
Marketing Director
Monica loves to travel and meet new people. She is passionate about the vision of FreelyBe and shares our vision with people all around the world. She’s also never won a thumb war in her life, so feel free to ask her for a match – she’s up for the challenge.
monica@freelybe.org
Jenina Soto
CFO
Jenina is the numbers girl at FreelyBe. She graduated from Boston University where she studied finance and law. Now you’ll find Jenina with a calculator in one hand, an events clipboard in the other, and her running shoes geared up for the NYC marathon. Catch her if you can!
jenina@freelybe.org| @jeninabonina
Leah Guaglione
Creative Director
You’ll typically find Leah striking up philosophical conversations with perfect strangers, randomly stopping to write down a song lyric, or traveling from city to city creating engaging media pieces for non profits that tell their story in a compelling way. Her goal is to encourage others to help create this new type of world, and to have fun doing it.
info@freelybe.org | @LeahDanielleG
Al'ona Vykydanets
Editor in Chief of The Insider
Alona is one of those people that just exudes the hip factor. Whether it’s her green-ombred hair or a creative new idea for the Insider, everything she touches turns to…well, cool. She also admits to singing in her sleep from time to time, but we won’t judge her for it.
alona@freelybe.org | @Alioshca