Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Zelefsky.
Hi Victoria, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Like most people, what I studied (and what I thought I would do since I was a little girl) is very different from what I actually do today. I studied vocal performance for six years in college, sang professionally in Europe and across the United States, and was convinced I would become a professional opera singer, spending my days on stage or buried in a score.
While I was in graduate school at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, I started struggling to maintain my vocal stamina, especially during extremely busy weeks packed with work, rehearsals, performances, and practice. After trying to figure out what was going on, I discovered I had vocal nodules. At 22, the diagnosis felt soul-crushing, but it ultimately became the start of a wonderful new beginning.
I chose to skip surgery, lighten my performance schedule, and continue pursuing my dream in Europe after graduation. It wasn’t long before I realized that being a professional singer simply wasn’t in the cards for me. So, I did what any 24-year-old living in Europe in 2015 would do: I found a job on Craigslist.
It was a remote job, before remote jobs were quite so popular, and I was responsible for creating social media content calendars for hotels. Those “hotels” turned out to be ten Marriott properties through a consulting firm. Once I realized I could combine my love of creativity and travel with my Type A personality (and actually make money doing it) I never looked back.
After various roles in marketing and communications over the past decade, I now serve as Vice President of Marketing & Communications for the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation. I love that I still get to be creative every day, just in a very different way than 22-year-old me imagined. And getting to do that work in my own community makes it even better.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
After being diagnosed with nodules and pivoting to a marketing career, I became laser-focused on building a career I could be proud of. But becoming a mom shifted everything for me. Before having children, I had no idea just how difficult finding reliable childcare in the U.S. could be. I had always believed that with enough planning and determination, you could figure almost anything out.
When I found out we were expecting our first son, I was over the moon—and, naturally, immediately started planning. We toured a few daycare centers, picked our favorite, and, before we had even told our families we were pregnant, put down a deposit and joined the waitlist at a highly regarded center close to home. I felt confident. We had a plan.
Then, just weeks after my son Charlie was born, I called to confirm our spot and learned that, even after waiting 11 months, we no longer had one. Families already enrolled at the center who had new babies took priority and we went from being 2nd on the list to 6th. Suddenly, I was facing a return to work in less than a month with a newborn in my arms and absolutely no childcare plan. As a planner who felt like I had done everything “right,” I was devastated.
For the first time, my priorities had completely shifted. Charlie came first, and I even considered putting my career on hold to stay home; something I had never imagined for myself. I threw myself into finding another solution while also preparing to walk away from my job if I couldn’t find care I truly trusted.
And then, in the most unexpected way, the answer literally showed up at my door. My garden was overflowing with herbs, so I posted in a local moms’ Facebook group offering some bundles for free. A woman who came by to pick up some extra dill and rosemary, saw me playing outside with Charlie, and casually asked, “What are you doing for childcare?” Within two months, we joined her nanny share and found the most loving, kind, and wonderful nanny I could have imagined.
Looking back, being bumped from that daycare list was a blessing in disguise. It certainly didn’t feel that way as a sleep-deprived new mom with a return-to-work date quickly approaching, but it taught me resilience, the power of community, and that sometimes the best plans are the ones you never could have planned for yourself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Today, I’m the Vice President of Marketing & Communications at the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation in Annapolis, Maryland. What I love most about my role is the opportunity to make a difference right here in the community I call home. Before this, I worked in Washington, D.C., leading marketing for a real estate development company and its brokerage of more than 1,000 agents. It was fast-paced, exciting, and rewarding, but after welcoming my first son, I knew I needed to rebalance and work closer to home. I took a leap of faith and found a role—and a team—that turned out to be an amazing fit.
Now, my work is as meaningful as it is dynamic. I’ve led a complete redesign of our organization’s website, helped build an annual business expo that brings together hundreds of local businesses for a day of networking, education, and connection, organized agricultural fundraisers that showcase the best of our local farms and producers while raising funds that go directly back to our farmers, and oversee a whirlwind week of business visits every fall that connects our team and community leaders directly with businesses across the county. There is truly never a dull moment, and that’s exactly how I like it.
Balancing a career I care deeply about with motherhood and community life is no small feat, but I’m incredibly grateful to have found a place where I can continue to grow professionally while making an impact so close to home. More than anything, I’m grateful for the people I get to work alongside and the community we get to support every day.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
As a longtime member of the Forbes Communications Council, I’m invited to participate in expert panels throughout the year, and one of the most prominent topics we continue to tackle is AI. It’s an especially important conversation in marketing and communications, where there is understandable fear around job replacement, but also tremendous opportunity for those willing to embrace these tools.
At this point, AI adoption is no longer optional. Over the next five to ten years, I expect everyone in my field will need to become an AI expert in some capacity. That doesn’t mean replacing creativity or strategy with technology, it means learning how to make technology work for us. Embracing AI agents, building systems that improve workflows and processes, and training these tools to help create thoughtful, interesting, and engaging content will become essential skills. I see AI as an opportunity to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time doing what communicators do best: thinking creatively, building connections, and telling stories that matter.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aaedc.org
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriazelefsky
