Résumé

Eli Schafer

Marketing · Research · AI-driven growth

Marketer and researcher with over a year of marketing internship experience in integrated strategy, market research, technical SEO and operations, plus two years of full-time leadership service. Has worked and studied alongside people from 70+ countries. Builds and markets products independently: an iOS app with 283 downloads in 90 days and a web app marketed to 300+ users.

Honolulu, HI · from Vancouver Island, BC(808) 216-0912eli@schafersites.comLinkedIn
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Work experience3 yrs 2 mo

Total time in the roles below, counted once where they overlap. Updated to Oct 2026.

13months since my first marketing internship (Sep 2025)
10 moat the Polynesian Cultural Center, across two terms
7,000+hours of full-time service (70–80 hour weeks for two years)
70+countries represented among people I’ve worked and studied with
20222023202420252026
Service · England
Full-time service
Waimea Valley
Go Adventure Hawaii
Polynesian Cultural Center
Marketing · now

Professional experience

Four roles, newest first.

Marketing Intern

Polynesian Cultural Center · Lāʻie, HI

Jan 2026 – Present10 moTwo internship termsCurrent role
  • Currently working on the performance and search visibility of polynesia.com, using PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse and Chrome UX Report data.
  • Conducted a cost–benefit analysis of marketing tools, platforms and processes to identify inefficiencies and cost-saving opportunities.
  • Evaluated internal systems (project management, communication and onboarding) to improve productivity and clarity of roles.
  • Researched and proposed solutions to streamline onboarding for new marketing team members, to reduce ramp-up time and confusion.
  • Analyzed software utilization to identify underused or redundant tools, informing a consolidation roadmap presented to leadership.
Website project →Operations audit →PageSpeed InsightsLighthouseAhrefsExcelTrelloNotion

Marketing Intern

Go Adventure Hawaii · Haleiwa, HI

Sep – Dec 20253 moSep 1 – Dec 12
  • Built a comprehensive integrated marketing communication plan covering SEO, brand storytelling, buyer personas, social media, merchandise and AI-powered inbound support for a Hawaii adventure tourism brand.
  • Applied the StoryBrand framework, competitor analysis and keyword research to reposition the brand around safety, education and transformation.
  • Designed and documented a 24/7 AI voice assistant (Voiceflow and Twilio) to capture bookings from missed calls.
  • Developed a seven-product merchandise line, costed through Printful, at a 47.5% blended margin.
IMC plan →Merchandise →AI voice assistant →StoryBrandVoiceflowTwilioPrintfulKeyword researchCanva

Market Research Intern

Waimea Valley · Waialua, HI

Sep – Dec 20254 mo
  • Conducted mixed-method research (surveys, focus groups and in-person interviews) to gather visitor insights.
  • Facilitated a focus group of seven participants and built the graphs and findings behind three recommendations.
  • Designed and analyzed qualitative and quantitative data to identify trends, pain points and opportunities.
  • Performed sentiment and keyword analysis on open-ended responses to extract actionable insights, and delivered data-driven recommendations to improve guest experience and marketing communication.
Focus group study →Focus groupsSurveysSentiment analysisExcel

Self-Funded Volunteer

England

Jan 2022 – Dec 20232 yrsFull-time, self-funded
  • Worked 70–80 hours a week for two years while adhering to strict organizational policies and performance standards.
  • Trained and coached 120+ individuals per month on performance skills, goal tracking and outcome validation, improving productivity and accountability.
  • Led weekly workshops on goal setting, leadership development and relationship building.
  • Tracked activity output and performance metrics; produced weekly reports for supervisors and monthly executive summaries to support strategic decisions.
  • Mentored for more than 24 months by a high-performing executive, gaining exposure to leadership and organizational strategy.
CoachingWorkshop designReportingCross-cultural leadership

Ventures & projects

Things I built and ran myself.

Founder · HearHim

iOS app and website

2026
  • Designed, built and marketed a Swift/SwiftUI app that blocks distracting apps until a reading goal is met.
  • 283 downloads in 90 days; ran Meta and TikTok campaigns and fixed a technical SEO issue that kept the site at two indexed pages.
Case study →

Founder · PlaylistScout

Web app and Chrome extension

2026
  • Rebuilt an extension into a subscription product with Stripe billing and a 35-page search-driven site.
  • Marketed to 300+ users.
Case study →

Host & Creator · The AI Podcast

Podcast and LinkedIn

2023 – present
  • Rebuilt the show’s format around audience research: +35% listener retention in three months and +60% social engagement.
Case study →

Creator · the.schafers

Instagram, personal project

Six-week test
  • Grew a new account to 47,321 views with no ad spend; 95.6% of reach came from non-followers.
Case study →

Founder · Schafer Sites

Web design studio

Ongoing
  • Design and build custom websites for small and local businesses, from design and code to hosting and launch.
Visit →

Full portfolio and case studies: schafersites.com/portfolio