Until recently, a black-and-white photo of a woman holding her face in her hands was used to depict Mary Ellen Steinam — also known as Ellen Steinam — across social media and on the website of a marketing company founded by Toronto Police Service Board member Nadine Spencer.
Steinam worked as chief operating officer of Spencer’s company BrandEQ for more than a decade, according to her LinkedIn page. Her profile said she was based in New York and had previously held other prominent marketing jobs at Nestle and Saatchi & Saatchi as far back as 1994.
On Facebook and X, she shared posts and photos of Spencer — cheering on her boss and BrandEQ.
But despite Steinam’s online presence, it’s unclear if she actually exists.
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“Although Mary is no longer an employee of BrandEQ, your due diligence should be able to verify that these are not ‘fabricated’ people,” said lawyer Audrey DeMarsico in an email.
In addition to Steinam, an employee named Lawrence Lightman, with the title “client liaison,” appeared on various versions of BrandEQ’s website as far back as 2013.
Spencer did not respond to repeated questions about the use of Churchill’s photo, but maintained that Lightman is not a fabricated employee in the statements through her lawyer.
The third photo, used on the website for BrandEQ Black, the company’s cultural sensitivity arm, represented a director named Mark Lion.
In a statement, DeMarsico, Spencer’s lawyer, said that website was under construction and “should not have been published in its current form which includes template content,” adding that this has been rectified.
“I’ve spent the last 12 years of my career building a successful marketing business with a focus on breaking down systemic barriers faced by the Black community,” said Spencer.
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