Not-so-average: Jasmine C. Green, Casting Agent & Founder

“I am a sister. I am an aunt to about six nieces and nephews. I am a godmother of two children. I am a wife to my lovely husband. I am also a daughter to my adoptive mom,” Jasmine Green explained, after being asked the question ‘who are you?’ “I am a casting director. I am a CEO and founder of a model agency called MARZ Management,” she continued. “I am also an entrepreneur. I have several other businesses that I manage. And I am a child of God.” MARZ Management specializes in providing creative talent solutions tailored to entities such as ad agencies, production companies, casting directors and more. Through her business and her work, Green’s main focus is supporting women within the modeling industry.

How did you get to work in fashion?

Originally from Baltimore, Md, Green lost both of her parents at the age of 12 causing her to live between homes until she was 18 years old. One of those homes belonged to her aunt who loved fashion introducing Green to the art of dressing. However, it was one of her older sisters who introduced her to the industry of fashion.

‘This was around the time when America’s Next Top Model had just come out and I remember I kept telling my sister I want to model. At this time my mom was still alive and I would walk around the house with my mom’s big ole shoes and I would take her scarves and tie them around my body and say: ‘I’m going to be a model.’”

She learned all she knew about fashion through her mom, one of her older sisters, and her aunt “so by the time I was 16 I ended up being introduced to the model industry.” Her aunt helped her get signed to an agency, and things were great until they realized things were progressively slowing down. A year into modeling, her aunt asked her if she would like to continue. Her agent relocated so she had to pivot.

She began freelancing while working toward high school graduation. Green graduated in 2012 then made her way to Towson University located in Baltimore, Md. to study psychology and mass communication. Unfortunately her freshman year was tainted by an sexual assault experience during a photoshoot.

“I realized that the protection of an agency meant a lot, versus being a freelance model,” Green said. She thought of ways to connect with “legit people in the industry,” and as a result she started traveling back and forth to New York to leverage opportunities.

In the midst of traveling, she also managed to work her way up to president of her school’s modeling team, Modelz of Distinction, meaning she was producing three to four fashion shows a semester. “And then I started producing shows outside of the college campus or I would work with local fashion designers. I would hire designers from all over the world while I was in college and traveling up to New York on the weekends just so I could go to castings.”

Throughout her adventures, Green began to realize that there were many challenges that accompanied the journey she chose - “especially being a Black woman.” As graduation neared, she met a designer who needed assistance with preparing for 2015 Fashion Week. She recalled that right before the show, in the midst of model chaos, she thought “‘I could do this forever.’”

She also met models from all over the world - Eritrea, Venezuela, Brazil, Europe, etc. These models shared their stories with Green. Some couldn’t visit home, some experienced sexual assault, and some even suffered from eating disorders.

All of their stories caused her to reflect on her own experiences and she noticed just how much it takes to be a model, but also how much it takes from a model. Moreover, “I realized how a lot of those girls that I met were actually not Black or brown,” Green expressed.

“They resembled the brown skin of a Black woman but they weren’t actually Black women .I didn’t think it was a problem when I was signed to an agency but I realized, looking back, I was the token. I was the only Black girl in the sector of my agency at the time.”

Her reflections gave her the epitome that would change the trajectory of her career - diversity, inclusion, and access play a huge role in the industry. And with that she found her calling. She started her business MARZ Management [named after her late mother Marzetta] in 2016, the day after she graduated college with bachelor’s of arts degrees in psychology and mass communication. “I really just wanted to help Black and brown women,” Green expressed. “But I realized as I got into that space that all women needed the support and help in different aspects, whether it’s mental health or eating disorders that they might battle or they just need guidance. She prides herself on teaching women how to reach for the stars, “in a healthy way.”

What’s your current fashion job?

“I actually wear many hats,” said Green. As the founder and CEO of MARZ, she produces events such as fashion shows, provides career coaching, mentorship and acts as an advocate for models within the industry. “I just love seeing the growth aspect of a model,” she expressed. Outside of MARZ, she’s an influencer and public speaker.

What does an average work day look like?

Her days usually start with a 6:30 am internal wake up call, she then prays and sets aside quality time with her husband to discuss the day, or the week. By 9:30 am or 10 am she is dressed and prepped to sit face to face with her laptop.

“When you have a team, you always have to incorporate one-on-one time with them. And I’m sure every entrepreneur can understand that,” she said. “So sometimes I’ll spend my morning trying to prepare for my meetings or my emails.”

During that time she’s also checking in with her models to inform them on what’s to come or what they should prepare for. She said she also ensures that she spends time with her clients. “A lot of people don’t realize as a CEO, your network is the biggest thing that you’re really leaning into,” Green said.

She added that she spends a lot of time reviewing bookings, processing payroll, researching grant options , and more. The middle of her days consist of photoshoots, checking on contracts, negotiating contracts, negotiating budgets, or looking into new projects.

Green’s days wound down with content creation, dinner prep, and speech prep. “If it’s not Fashion Week or if it’s not around Fashion Week, I typically have a lighter load. But when it’s around Fashion Week, I’m probably on my laptop until like 7 or 7:30 pm,” Green said. “Typically, I like to end my day at 5:30. I literally have an alarm that says ‘time to stop working.’”

A word of career advice

“The biggest thing I wish I did earlier was to invest in myself and my growth,” she said.

“Part of investing is serving other people. I think a lot of times in this generation, people do not serve others. They think they’re owed something. And I think that your biggest investment could be your time, and you will learn everything that probably would have cost you 1500 dollar by sitting and reading some course.”

She continued by stating it’s best to always remain a student. There are local workshops and meetings provided by your city, or one near you. “Stay curious about the business you’re in,” Green said. “If you’re stuck on a path, you will always hit a wall and feel stagnant, because your curiosity has to lead you to a point where you’re able to be flexible so that you can actually grow flexibility allows you to actually see the growth instead of staying stagnant.”

Green added that it’s helpful to set goals within the first three to five years of business.
“If you don’t meet the goals, that’s okay,” she continued. “Embrace failure. One of my mentors told me: ‘it's okay to fail, and to understand that sometimes failure is a season’. So if it's three to six months, cool, but if you're finding yourself in years of failure there's some revisiting that you need to do, because that's not a season that is a lifestyle.” The only way to live in a moment of success and growth is to pay attention and learn from your failures, she concluded.