Maryam Simpson grew up in Edison, New Jersey, in a home where ideas mattered. Her father was a civil engineer. Her mother, a teacher originally from Iran, filled the house with books and stories. From a young age, Maryam loved creating things. She made homemade magazines and digital collages on the family computer. She was curious about people and what moved them.
At Rutgers University, she studied marketing and communications. An internship at a small ad agency changed everything. She saw how brands could tell stories that truly connect. That spark turned into a career.
Maryam began as a marketing assistant in Newark. She worked hard. She paid attention to the details. Soon, she was leading campaigns that made real impact. A hospital rebrand increased patient engagement by 43 percent. A skincare campaign tripled sales. Her strategies boosted online traffic by more than 200 percent. She blends creativity with data. Heart with numbers.
Now at EverNova, a sustainability-focused brand, she helps shape messages that reflect people’s values. She believes marketing starts with empathy. She mentors young professionals online and gives practical advice without ego.
Outside of work, Maryam volunteers with Girls Who Code NJ and Habitat for Humanity. She wants young women to see space for themselves in tech and business. In Hoboken, she spends weekends exploring coffee shops, practicing yoga, and photographing city streets for her blog, The Urban Lens.
Maryam builds brands. But more than that, she builds others’ confidence to tell their own stories.
Q: You often talk about empathy in marketing. Where did that mindset begin?
It started at home. My mom taught high school English, so dinner conversations were always about stories and perspective. She would ask, “Why do you think that character made that choice?” My dad is a civil engineer, very analytical. So I grew up learning that both feelings and facts matter. Marketing sits right in the middle of that. It’s about understanding people and measuring what works.
Q: Do you remember a moment when you realized this was the path for you?
Yes. I was interning at a small ad agency in Princeton during college. I was helping with copy for a local nonprofit. We rewrote their email campaign to focus less on statistics and more on one family’s story. Donations increased that month. It wasn’t huge money, but I saw the shift. Words mattered. Framing mattered. That stayed with me.
Q: Your campaigns have had measurable results — like increasing hospital engagement by 43% and tripling sales for a skincare brand. What gave you the confidence to lead those projects?
Honestly, I didn’t always feel confident. When I joined BrightLeaf Media Group in Jersey City, I was younger than many of the clients. During the hospital rebrand, I suggested we simplify medical language and focus on patient stories. It felt risky. Healthcare marketing can be very formal. But I had done the research. I showed the data on engagement trends. When leadership saw both the emotional case and the numbers, they trusted it. That experience taught me that confidence grows when preparation meets courage.
Q: How do you approach risk in business?
I treat risk like an experiment, not a leap off a cliff. With the skincare influencer campaign, we shifted budget from traditional ads to micro-influencers. It wasn’t the safe choice. But we tracked everything weekly and adjusted quickly. When sales tripled, it wasn’t magic. It was testing, measuring, refining. Risk feels less scary when you build feedback loops.
Q: You now work with a sustainability-focused brand. Has your idea of success changed?
Yes. Earlier in my career, success meant performance metrics — higher traffic, stronger conversions. At EverNova, I work closely with product teams to align messaging with consumer values. Now I think more about long-term trust. If a campaign performs well but doesn’t reflect the company’s values, it’s not a win. Success feels more complete when the message matches the mission.
Q: You mentor young professionals online and volunteer with Girls Who Code NJ. Why is that important to you?
Because I remember being the only woman in certain rooms. Or the youngest. Early in my career at Garden State Financial Services, I handled email campaigns and social media, but I had ideas beyond my role. A senior colleague once told me, “Speak up even if your voice shakes.” That stuck. When I mentor now, I try to give practical advice — how to present data clearly, how to ask for responsibility, how to handle rejection. Confidence isn’t loud. It’s consistent.
Q: Where do you draw personal inspiration from today?
Travel and photography help me reset. I run a small blog, The Urban Lens, where I document city life and quiet nature spots. When I photograph people in everyday moments, I’m reminded that every audience is human first. Yoga and journaling also help me reflect. Some of my best campaign ideas started as messy notes in a notebook.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to someone with a new idea, what would it be?
Start small, but start. Test your idea in a low-stakes way. When I was in high school, I entered a DECA marketing competition with a strategy that felt unconventional. I didn’t know if it would work, but I tried. I won regionals that year. That experience taught me that action builds belief. You don’t wait to feel ready. You build readiness through action.
Q: Looking back, how did you get to where you are today?
Step by step. Internships. Entry-level work. Late nights reviewing analytics. Listening more than talking. Taking calculated risks. Staying curious. I never had one dramatic breakthrough moment. It was steady growth. And along the way, I learned that ideas gain power when you believe in them enough to test them — and humble enough to refine them.
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