Our Founder Gina, sharing the origin story of Make it Mariko:
WHO WE ARE:
Make it Mariko (pronounced mah-ri-ko) is a Bay Area event production company focused on creating magical, meaningful, and unforgettable moments.
Moments that make you feel, make you cry, make you laugh, give you perspective on life; moments that you’ll remember forever. We focus on nonprofit & arts events, San Francisco street festivals, corporate events, and weddings in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
WHAT WE STAND FOR:
Our founder Gina’s family has a motto:
“to da dit”
(literally “to the death” said in a Filipino accent)
IN GINA’S WORDS: It started off as a saying the cousins learned from our uncles; our version of “Cheers!” that we’d say before taking shots at family parties. It was a fun phrase to get the party started as we pledged to drink “to the death”. But after my cousin only 3 months younger than me died by suicide in 2011 and then my uncle in 2014 due to leukemia, the meaning changed drastically for our entire family. “To da dit” became something more real — a mantra reminding us to never forget how precious our lives are, to appreciate every single day, and most importantly, to appreciate each other.
Family, community, and love is everything. Life can be cut short at any moment, and you never know when, or how. The moments we create with each other are what matter the most, and are what we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.
That’s why our goal at Make it Mariko is to create magical, meaningful, and unforgettable moments for you, your family, your community, your company, and your loved ones. Moments worth remembering “to da dit” and beyond.
Read more about 'To da dit' on the blog.
Click here
When you partner with Make it Mariko, you can expect:
Meet the Team
We are an all women-of-color team committed to keeping our clients organized, on deadline, calm, and inspired.
Building strong relationships with our clients and community is our top priority.
Gina Mariko Rosales
Founder & Owner | Lead Event Producer
Gina Mariko Rosales is an events enthusiast, #Entrepinay (pinay entrepreneur), efficiency nerd, dancer, and nonprofit advocate. Prior to founding Make it Mariko, Gina spent 10 years doing corporate & nonprofit event planning, administration, and operations. She was the first Administrative Business Partner for the Google Self-Driving Car Team, and the first Head of Marketing Events at X, the moonshot factory (formerly Google X) where she planned large scale tech event activations, press, and public policy events. Gina was former Executive Director of the award-winning, nonprofit performing arts organization, Funkanometry SF and did youth outreach work with SF & Oakland schools. She is the Co-Founder of the UNDISCOVERED SF Creative Night Market in SOMA Pilipinas, as well as the Founder of the Entrepinays Summit – a nonprofit community of pinay entrepreneurs dedicated to building sisterhood in the hustle. Gina’s personal mission is to create magical, meaningful moments that help remind us of the beauty and interconnectedness of life.
Coming soon…
Felicia Chanco
Event Manager
Felicia Jacobe was born and raised in LA/OC, finally making her way up to the Bay Area after graduating from Chapman University in 2013. Felicia started her SF adventure as the first employee for the pop-up restaurant Rice Paper Scissors then transitioned to the startup scene, becoming the Program Director of the award-winning incubator Alchemist Accelerator. Though different worlds, Felicia found the common thread through it all was her passion for hosting people and the events side of things in all its forms. In 2016, she quit her full-time job and founded her own event planning company, Felicious Events, and has spent the past few years producing conferences in SF, New York, and London with Lean Startup Co. A self-proclaimed “extreme extrovert,” Felicia sources energy from those around her and harnesses it into producing memorable experiences for guests. When she’s not swiveling her head around to reimagine spaces as event venues – Felicia can be found performing with her sketch comedy group Granny Cart Gangstas or playing League of Legends.
Coming soon…
Angel Lobo
Event Manager
Angelique Lobo is a Chicana Pinay Warrior Mama raised in Sacramento, CA. At a young age, she discovered her passion for uplifting the community through creating spaces for her peers to engage in artistic expression, cultural awareness, and political activism. After undergrad, Angel worked in various teaching positions in nonprofit and school settings throughout Sacramento and the Bay Area. She earned her Masters Degree at San Francisco State University in Equity and Social Justice in Education with research that examined Mixed Heritage Consciousness and the lack of Mixed Heritage representation in school curricula. As a response, she created a Critical Mixed Consciousness Pedagogy and Curriculum. Throughout graduate school she served the community as an educator and Curriculum Coordinator for Pin@y Educational Partnerships, teaching Ethnic Studies in San Francisco. Working with Make It Mariko Angel is able to connect her purpose for uplifting community and education through event and experience curation. She creates from a place of human connection through empathy to curate moments of joy and healing.
Coming soon…
