Spotlight on Brooke Baldasare Marin '02

Brooke Baldasare Marin '02 attributes her success to the life lessons she learned while at Shorecrest. “Shorecrest taught me the determination to always be better than I was yesterday and to never stop striving as a servant leader,” she shared. 

Brooke reflects fondly on her leadership roles such as Captain of the Varsity Cheerleading Squad and the comedic lead in the Upper School Performing Arts production of “Crazy for You.” “Both leadership roles allowed me to learn that being brave, hard working, and determined result in success.”  

After Shorecrest, Brooke graduated from University of South Florida and went on to receive her master's of theology from Columbia Theological Seminary and Juris Doctor from Charlotte School of Law. She continued to design and discover new ways to lead throughout.

While at USF, Brooke was a member of their Women’s Sailing Team, president of Phi Alpha Delta Law Pre-Law Fraternity and president of the Pre-Law Society. She helped develop the University’s Political Science Internship Program, which still exists today. While at Charlotte School of Law, Brooke was the first law student in North Carolina chosen to argue an immigration case before the United States Board of Immigration Appeals, which is just under the Supreme Court.  

At the age of 23 she opened her first business, Sky Résumé’s Career Center. She worked with major corporations who were forced to terminate executive roles and entire departments during the 2007-2011 economic downturn. The success rate of placing these executives and employees in new roles was what caught CNN, Monster Jobs and others’ attention. She was also featured by Atlanta’s renowned “Women on the Move” program as an outstanding female entrepreneur making a difference.

Today Brooke is CEO and co-founder of FreshWater Companies - Lending, Realty & Insurance along with her husband, Aaron. They serve clients across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. In addition to its core business functions, FreshWater funds and builds fresh water wells in partnership with a nonprofit that provides clean water in Zambia, especially benefitting children, families, and schools. They feel incredibly blessed to serve clients, and at the same time to be involved in giving more people in Sub-Saharan Africa access to clean, fresh water.

Brooke and her husband, Aaron, have two sons. The family resides in Charlotte, NC.