About Marsha Stone
Marsha Stone is a seasoned behavioral health leader, nationally recognized speaker, and one of the few female CEOs in the addiction and mental health recovery space. In 2023, she launched Foundation Stone Family of Programs, a network of boutique treatment centers including Foundation Stone Wellness, The Pearl, and Legacy Texas, aimed at addressing substance use disorder, co-occurring conditions, and mental health with a deeply integrative and human-centered approach.
With over two decades in executive leadership and a deeply personal connection to addiction recovery, Marsha founded Foundation Stone after a career-defining departure from her previous company. Amid personal and professional challenges, she leaned into her own healing journey and emerged with a bold new vision: to build a recovery model rooted in transparency, authenticity, and holistic well-being.
The Challenges
Rebuilding Trust, Identity, and Influence in a Saturated Wellness Market
When Marsha launched Foundation Stone, she was emerging from a difficult chapter—having left the company she built, navigating professional betrayal, and facing personal struggles, including grief, hormonal changes, and burnout.
Foundation Stone wasn’t just a business; it was a reinvention. The key challenges included:
- Re-establishing Marsha’s credibility in the behavioral health space as a trusted thought leader
- Introducing a new, values-based company in a crowded and often commodified treatment market
- Building brand awareness across media, email, social, and search in an industry wary of “buzzwords” and burnout
The Solution
Brand Development, Earned Media, and Thought Leadership
Zilker Media partnered with Marsha to create an integrated thought leadership platform to lift her personal brand and Foundation Stone’s credibility as the company launched.
Services Provided
Over the course of the partnership, Zilker Media supported Marsha and Foundation Stone with:
- Brand Strategy
- Earned Media Strategy and Execution
- Owned and Rented Media Execution
- Ad Hoc Design Projects
Zilker Media’s partnership with Marsha Stone and Foundation Stone demonstrates the power of blending earned media momentum with a strong owned and rented media ecosystem. Through authentic storytelling, a robust digital presence, and strategic thought leadership, Marsha now leads a platform that mirrors the depth of her experience and the heart of her mission, offering a sustainable foundation for long-term influence in the behavioral health and wellness space.
The Execution
Authentic Storytelling Meets Quantifiable Impact
In under 12 months, Marsha and Foundation Stone moved from “brand new” to recognized and respected. Zilker Media’s support extended across:
Podcasts & Profiles
- Featured on Dominate Your Day, Just Getting Started, and Bold Journey, using her voice to bridge personal recovery and professional reinvention
Thought Leadership by Data
- Leveraged TRAC9 outcomes from Foundation Stone Wellness to pitch data-driven stories:
- 54% increase in Global Recovery Score by week 4
- 60% boost in optimism and 43% symptom reduction vs national benchmarks
LinkedIn Engagement
- 150K+ impressions and 4,000+ engagements on Marsha’s posts in just 12 months
- Foundation Stone’s May content outperformed personal content with an engagement rate of nearly 10%, which is unusual for corporate channels
The Results
From Reinvention to Industry Influence
The Marsha Stone and Foundation Stone campaign demonstrates how vulnerability, clarity, and consistent content can turn reinvention into brand authority.
- 46+ earned media placements across industry-leading publications
- 1,200+ new LinkedIn followers and 1,000+ newsletter subscribers
- Foundation Stone solidified as a leader in holistic, trauma-informed recovery
- Marsha positioned as a keynote speaker and media expert on recovery, ethics, leadership, and resilience
- Winner of Austin Business Journal’s Best CEO in 2024