Global Experience Architect • Cultural Strategist • Entrepreneur • Twin Mom on the Move

 

Shelley Oto’s career began in the Bay Area—not in a boardroom, but on a stage. As a professional dancer immersed in the cultural movement of hip-hop and street dance, she quickly learned how to build experiences that make people feel something. That intuitive understanding of community, culture, and connection became the foundation for a 25+ year career shaping some of the world’s most memorable live events and brand activations.

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Early on, Shelley founded One Cypher, one of the first online magazines dedicated to archiving the stories of unsung heroes in street dance and art culture (est. 1999). She threw iconic dance battles, marketed live music and art events throughout San Francisco, San Jose, and San Diego, and built a reputation as a creative force with entrepreneurial fire. That same spirit led her to co-create and launch multiple ventures, including Wandering Boo, Unite for Green, and The Honey Collective—solidifying her role as both a cultural storyteller and a builder of movements.

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Her marketing and production expertise spans multiple verticals—from festivals, red carpets, influencer programs, conferences, and global campaigns to content production and wellness storytelling. Over the years, Shelley has worked with powerhouse brands  including Universal, GE, Adidas, Hennessy, Red Bull, VH1, BET, MTV, Oxygen, Happy Socks, Complex, and Vibe Magazine.

 

From Culture to Global Brands

In 2011, Shelley relocated to New York to join Red Bull North America as a Culture Event Marketing Manager, overseeing programming across 13 key territories and leading what became the highest-grossing region in the global Red Bull network. She helmed some of the company’s most iconic cultural platforms — including Red Bull Music Academy, Red Bull Thre3Style, and Red Bull EmSee — producing large-scale experiences that shaped music, nightlife, and storytelling across cities.

The team’s work received widespread recognition, earning praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and Huffington Post. Her ability to build culturally resonant programs with deep community roots helped position her as a trusted voice in brand-driven cultural innovation.

 

From there, Shelley transitioned to Disney Worldwide as Senior Manager of Branded Entertainment, where she brought bold ideas to life for clients like Havas, Clarins, Sleep Number, and Disney’s own internal brands. One of her most pioneering projects was the Disney Side campaign, a user-generated initiative that culminated in Disney’s first-ever Creator Conference — a milestone that bridged digital creators with the magic of the Disney brand. Her leadership on Clarins’ "Worth the Wrinkle" campaign earned Best in Class honors at Maker Studios in 2016, further showcasing her ability to drive both innovation and results.

 

Shelley then brought her multi-hyphenate creativity and deep cultural fluency to Cashmere Agency, where she produced award-winning, critically acclaimed campaigns for some of the most defining stories in entertainment and media. Her portfolio includes work on HBO’s Euphoria and Watchmen, Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us, as well as major campaigns for Universal, LEGO, Adidas, Hennessy, GE, VH1, BET, MTV, Oxygen, Complex, and Vibe Magazine, among many others. Her work consistently blended cultural authenticity with brand strategy — resulting in experiences that were both deeply resonant and commercially impactful.

 

With a deep understanding of storytelling across entertainment, Shelley (through her consultancy company) expanded her role into representation — managing Grammy-nominated producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Khari Mateen. Under her guidance, Mateen’s work — which includes scoring Paramount’s Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, the Peabody-winning Time: The Kalief Browder Story, and the Emmy-nominated Keepers of the Game — reached broader audiences, continuing her legacy of amplifying voices and narratives that matter.

 

Strategic Leadership at Sephora

In 2021, Shelley joined Sephora as Director of Events and Design, where she led the strategic planning and execution of some of the company’s most high-profile internal programs—including the three-day Store Manager Conference in Las Vegas, Brand Summit in San Francisco, and the Sephora Festival, which featured performances from icons like Lady Gaga and Gwen Stefani alongside hundreds of leading beauty brands.

Shelley managed a multidisciplinary team of producers and designers responsible for all event design and production across the company, driving the seamless delivery of large-scale conferences, leadership meetings, virtual activations, and flagship brand experiences. Under her leadership, Sephora’s internal events became recognized as industry benchmarks for immersive storytelling, operational excellence, and creative impact.

 

Expanding the Global Stage at Airbnb

In 2024, Shelley embarked on a bold new chapter: co-leading the creation of Airbnb’s Experiences Production team from the ground up. Her mission? To reimagine how Airbnb connects guests to culture through live, immersive experiences around the world.

In just one year, Shelley:

• Built and led a global team to activate Airbnb Experiences at some of the world’s most iconic events

 

Currently leads the strategy, and team responsible for: 

• Spearheading Airbnb’s first-ever global music partnership with Lollapalooza — launching immersive experiences across Berlin, Chicago, São Paulo, and Mumbai

• Producing the first-ever Tour de France x Airbnb Experience series, featuring legendary cyclists and unforgettable moments along the 21-stage course

• Led the production of 26 Olympic and Paralympic Airbnb Experiences, hosted by decorated athletes across Europe, offering guests rare access to icons like Arianna Fontana

• Played a pivotal role in relaunching Airbnb Experiences, helping shape a bold new direction that fuses cultural fandoms, host-led storytelling, and global event platforms

Her work reflects not only the evolution of Airbnb’s cultural impact — but also a powerful belief in creating meaningful, localized experiences that scale across the globe.

 

Beyond the Stage

Shelley’s work is driven by a deep belief that fandom is a powerful force, and that the best experiences don’t just entertain—they build belonging. Alongside her marketing and production career, she has explored wellness and storytelling through projects like her TV concepts Wild Remedies and Resilient Warriors, focused on destigmatizing mental health and amplifying holistic medicine practices worldwide.

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A twin mom, world traveler, and creative architect, Shelley has spent her career proving that culture can move markets—and that unforgettable experiences don’t just happen. They’re built with vision, precision, and heart.