Cat Darling Agency (CDA)
New York & Los Angeles, CA | November 2025 - Current

Cat Darling Agency is a curated recruitment & cultural events agency known for creating immersive, conversation-driving experiences that blend entertainment, nightlife, brand storytelling, and cultural relevance. Working directly alongside founder Cathy Rong, I serve as Executive Assistant and Brand Partnerships Lead, helping transform creative concepts into fully realized, sponsor-backed experiences that resonate with both audiences and partners alike.

In this role, I operate at the intersection of creative development, strategic partnerships, and live event execution supporting everything from sponsor acquisition and deck development to activation ideation, talent coordination, and on-site production. I work closely with brands, venues, vendors, and agency leadership to ensure every partnership not only delivers visibility, but creates meaningful cultural impact.

One of my most notable recent achievements was leading partnership development for our flagship Game Night experience at Red Pavilion in New York City, where I successfully secured a paid sponsorship with Duolingo and helped position the brand as the evening’s title partner. Beyond sponsorship negotiations, I developed experiential concepts that connected Duolingo’s brand identity directly to the audience including pitching a live character activation where actors were styled as “Oscar,” inspired by Duolingo’s chess-course personality, creating an organic and highly shareable moment that brought the app’s chess learning platform to life in a memorable, culturally relevant way.

From concept to execution, I helped oversee partner communications, social strategy, activation logistics, branded content approvals, vendor coordination, and audience engagement ensuring every touchpoint aligned with both agency standards and sponsor objectives.

Key Contributions:

• Lead brand partnership outreach, sponsorship negotiations, and revenue generation for experiential events, securing paid partnerships with major consumer brands.

• Conceptualize and pitch immersive brand activations that translate digital products into real-world cultural moments, including live character integrations, interactive installations, and audience engagement strategies.

• Successfully secured and managed Duolingo as title sponsor for Game Night at Red Pavilion, helping fund venue, staffing, and branded guest experiences.

• Developed the “Oscar” live-character concept to organically promote Duolingo’s chess course, creating a memorable social-first activation designed for audience interaction and viral content capture.

• Produce sponsorship decks, partnership proposals, activation scopes, and executive communications tailored to Fortune 500 brands, startups, and cultural partners.

• Coordinate vendors, photographers, DJs, experiential installations, and branded deliverables to ensure seamless execution from load-in to post-event reporting.

• Manage sponsor communications, content approvals, social amplification strategy, and post-event relationship cultivation to maximize renewal opportunities.

• Serve as a trusted strategic extension of agency leadership, balancing creative vision with operational precision in fast-paced, high-visibility environments.