CRE Property Marketing & Brand Strategy Cocktail

Marissa Rupert joined Stream Realty Partners in 2021 as a Marketing Specialist, where she helped establish and grow the Chicago office’s marketing team. She was later promoted to Creative Manager in 2022 before stepping into her current role as Strategic Marketing Director in 2023. Today, she leads strategic marketing initiatives that elevate the firm’s brand, business development, and client engagement efforts across the region. In her role, Marissa partners closely with office and industrial brokerage, property management, tenant representation, and leadership teams to develop integrated marketing strategies, positioning campaigns, and creative solutions that support business growth and strengthen market presence. Known for her collaborative approach, competitive drive, and strong creative vision, she plays a key role in shaping the office’s brand through innovative storytelling, high-impact design, and data-driven marketing execution. Prior to joining Stream, Marissa began her professional career at Walsh Construction, supporting the Chicago headquarters marketing team on proposal development, communications, and brand initiatives for large-scale construction projects. She later transitioned into the technology industry at Cheetah Digital, where she further expanded her expertise in visual communications, creative strategy, and global brand design. With a multidisciplinary background spanning commercial real estate, construction, and technology, Marissa brings a strategic and creative perspective to marketing leadership, combining brand development, design, communications, and business strategy to drive meaningful results. A highly competitive and team-oriented professional, she thrives in collaborative environments and believes strong teams are built through trust, positivity, accountability, and a shared commitment to excellence. She values the culture and camaraderie that come from working alongside people who challenge and support one another, and she considers the relationships built throughout her career an important part of her professional journey. Outside of work, Marissa is a proud mom to her three children and wife to her husband, Cory.

For as long as she can remember, Emily Johnson has been honing her skills as a real estate industry publicist. After all, it was her mother, Deborah Johnson, who founded Taylor Johnson in 1977 when Emily was just 6 years old. As a result, Emily literally grew up in the business, attending model open houses on weekends, sending out press releases during summer breaks and helping out with the occasional client event. Today, more than four decades after its inception, Taylor Johnson remains the go-to PR firm for real estate companies looking to raise their profile not only in Chicago, but also markets nationally and internationally. Following Deborah’s retirement in January 2008, Emily took the reins as president, leading Taylor Johnson through the recession by strategically diversifying the business to not only survive, but thrive. In addition to nurturing longstanding relationships – Taylor Johnson still represents its first client, Lexington Homes – Emily also forged new ones, expanding the firm’s roster with a wide range of residential and commercial real estate companies. These include some of the industry’s most prolific developers and builders, as well as leading brokers, architects, designers, general contractors, property managers and more. The intentional decision to pursue work across virtually every major discipline and property type, and in geographically diverse markets, has fueled Taylor Johnson’s post- recession growth. Under Emily’s leadership, Taylor Johnson has also added social media and content development to its service offerings while growing the media relations and event management services that remain the foundation of the business.A Chicago-area native who graduated from the University of Iowa, Emily prides herself on the quality of the team she’s assembled at Taylor Johnson, drawing senior-level professionals with backgrounds in journalism, law, government, integrated marketing and communications. She’s also proud of TJ TALK, a daily digest of real estate news and events that’s delivered to over 3,000 industry professionals and editorial contacts across the country. It’s just one of the ways Taylor Johnson positions its clients as thought leaders and itself as a broader resource for the industry that seeks to inform and connect. Emily and her husband, Chris, also an entrepreneur, have two daughters and a son. When she’s not working, Emily enjoys spending time boating and traveling with her family and is an avid runner.

Adam began his real estate career in 2016 as a Tenant Representative at JLL, hustling to support transactions and procure new business across the greater Chicago area. In 2019, Adam joined WeWork’s Enterprise sales team, where he represented the coworking behemoth’s global portfolio to brokers throughout the Midwest. His experience working within divergent corners of the industry has shaped his uniquely holistic perspective on the end-to-end lease transaction process. He joined Madison Rose in 2020, bringing with him a devout sense of optimism and commitment to delivering the highest possible level of service. Adam is an experienced woodworker, former DI college football player and volunteer with the Anti-Defamation League. He received a BA in Psychology from Indiana University.