Meet The Team

Eleni’s track to a marketing career began practically at birth.

As the daughter and granddaughter of small business owners on both sides of the family, Eleni spent many Saturday mornings learning the ropes (and responsibilities) of operating a successful restaurant. Fast forward a couple decades, and she’s developed her passion for small business into a company of her own.

Formerly known as Sokos Social, our firm was a Manatee Chamber Small Business Of The Year Finalist in 2019. Eleni was named to SRQ Media’s first-ever 35 Under 35 list in 2021 and is also very proud to have been named the first-ever Manatee Young Professionals (MYP) MVP of the Year in 2019.

In 2021, Eleni and her life/business partner, Jason Simpson, opened Kefi Streetside Cafe in downtown Bradenton, serving Mediterranean-inspired breakfast and lunch with Buddy Brew coffee in an open-air courtyard reminiscent of Greek cafes beside the Aegean Sea. Most recently, Eleni joined the ownership group of Cafe L’Europe, a Sarasota fine dining icon with nearly 50 years of excellence on St. Armands Circle.

A lifelong Bradenton resident, Eleni's professional background prior to launching Sokos Social in 2014 included marketing for arts organizations including The Ringling, home & garden consumer products, a chef-driven brewery specializing in the native flavors of Florida, and, of course, the hospitality industry.

Eleni serves her community on the Manatee Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, this year on the Executive Committee as the Treasurer role. She appears regularly as a guest host on ABC7’s Suncoast View, is a graduate of Leadership Manatee's Class of 2017-18 and donates her time to a number of charitable event committees.

She has also participated on the Board of Directors of the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation, an Executive Committee member of the Manatee Young Professionals Leadership Board, on the Manatee Seminole Club board, and a past Board Member of the Hernando de Soto Historical Society.

Danae DeShazer is a professional director, choreographer, teaching artist, actor and singer. In addition to her life as an artist, she has 10 years' experience in marketing, public relations, multimedia consulting, social media management, creative direction, and more.

Currently in her role as Director of Brand Strategy at Sokos Solutions, she creates systems for our team of tight-knit creatives and marketing experts, ensuring projects and campaigns are completed with 99.9999% accuracy. Danae also oversees and leads the content team, campaign strategy, creative design, and leads brand strategy for our creative studio, Cause An Effect, having recently completed branding projects for local clients like Your Honeycomb, Connect Central, First 1,000 Days Suncoast, and Oysters Rock Hospitality.

She is currently in the Leadership Manatee Class of 2022-23. She was part of the third cohort of “The Start-Up Circle,” a Realize Bradenton program for emerging entrepreneurs. She has previously served on the Public Relations Committee for Visit Sarasota County, and was actively involved in the Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association, where she held positions on the Board of Directors as Vice President of Media Relations and Director of Emerging Communications. Previous roles in the Sarasota-area include the Public Relations Director at Florida Studio Theatre, Communications Manager at the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, and a Digital Specialist at Observer Media Group.

Danae grew up all over the world (4 different continents!), but finally settled in Overland Park, Kansas. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism (News and Information), with minors in English Literature, Theater, and Psychology.

To learn more about her life's passion, visit her website at www.DanaeDeShazer.com.