Capitol Communicator is running “Up Close and Personal” profiles of communicators in the mid-Atlantic.  In this profile we feature Lindsay Maarec.  Photography for the series is by Cade Martin, wardrobe styling by Pascale Lemaire and Sybil Street for THE Artist Agency; and hair and makeup by Patti D Nelson, Janice Kinigopoulos and Lori Pressman for THE Artist Agency.

Lindsay, please provide us a short bio.

I have almost 13 years under my belt at HZ — the longest relationship of my life! We’re an independent agency founded from a one-person operation 30 years ago to a team of 200-plus today, and my roles and responsibilities have grown and changed right along with the agency. I started out on the account side, with a focus on real estate as well as retail and hospitality clients before I moved into tackling the challenge of growing HZ by bringing on new and varied clients. I’ve worked to market everything from beachside condos to global hotel brands.

Are you involved in any other organizations?

Every year we are involved with the National MS Society’s MuckFest fundraiser. Together with about 30 friends and family, we run a 5K mud run with over 15 crazy obstacles — it’s basically the low key, funny version of Tough Mudder. The highlight for me is watching my mother-in-law conquer the “Big Balls” every year. In 2016, our team raised more than $10,000 for the organization!

What are the things you are most proud of?

As cheesy and cliché as it sounds, I am amazed every day by my children. My husband and I went through years of infertility before they came into this world, so when we finally had them—boy and girl twins nonetheless— we were not only thrilled when they were born, but continue to be in awe of them every day. They are the type of kids that people like being around  – and I promise I’m not biased! – so I’m convinced that we shouldn’t have any more because the next one would probably be the descendant of Satan. In other words, they are our first, second and only!

Who are your personal role models?

Every working mom.

What’s the take-away advice you received from watching your mom? 

My own mother always says that in a woman’s life there are three vials: your family, your work, and yourself. But you only have enough sand to fill two of the three vials. If you want to do all three, you have to be comfortable not doing everything 100%. When my mom would tell me this before I had kids, I would roll my eyes. But now, I truly understand what she means—and feel fortunate that every morning when I wake up that I have the ability to choose how I’m spending my day.

What professional advice do you have for others?

The only thing my parents wanted for me was to be able to support myself and enjoy doing whatever I chose to do for eight hours a day. This statement rings more true to me now that ever before, as we all know there’s no such thing as an eight-hour work day anymore due to being connected all the time. If you love what you do, it makes it that much easier to check email at midnight, work a few hours on the weekend, and push yourself to make deadlines day in and day out. I recently read the classic self-help book How to Make Friends and Influence People, and one of the best takeaways is simply, “smile.” If you’re happy with your job and the professional choices you’ve made, smiling comes a lot more naturally.

What’s on your Spotify or Pandora playlists?

My co-workers are usually curious about what I’m listening to when I put the big orange headphones on. So here’s the big reveal: I’m a big Broadway buff, so I’m usually listening to a soundtrack. I think I’ve listened to Hamilton 500 times before I saw the show. However, at work I listen to a station called “Classical for Studying,” which is not traditional classical. It’s popular or soundtrack (surprise!) songs performed in a classical way. Earlier, I was listening to The Vitamin String Quartet performing “Imagine Dragons.”

What’s your favorite restaurant?

As a fourth generation Washingtonian, hard shell crabs are my ultimate. I love Nick’s Fish House off Hanover Street in Baltimore. Best ambiance, best setting, and the best crabs.

Is there anything else you would like us to know about you?

I still drink a glass of milk every morning. No coffee, no caffeine ever—at any time of the day. Just a nice glass of milk through a straw to get my body strong for the day.