Peabody Award-Winning Journalist; Bestselling Author; Entrepreneur; Inspiring Storyteller; Host and Moderator
Mariana Atencio is on a mission to help people supercharge their careers, their workplace cultures, and their happiness by embracing the power of authenticity. The Peabody Award-winning journalist and bestselling author of Perfectly You has had over 23 million views of her inspiring TEDx talk which chronicles her journey from Venezuelan immigrant to U.S. national news anchor. Mariana is a dynamic keynote speaker but also an extraordinary moderator, interviewer, and event host whose warmth and intelligence will elevate any program she’s part of.
Mariana Atencio is on a mission to help people supercharge their careers, their workplace cultures, and their happiness by embracing the power of authenticity. Coming to America from Venezuela as a young girl, Mariana learned first-hand how feeling self-conscious about being different kept her from engaging. After graduating from Columbia University, Mariana wanted to take that experience into her journalism career and tell stories that build bridges and foster understanding. She became a national news anchor and correspondent, earning a Peabody Award for reporting which took her from Haiti to Hong Kong to the Syrian border. The success of her TEDx talk, “What Makes YOU Special?”, viewed over 23 million times, catapulted Mariana into a new storytelling outlet: speaking. Her first book, Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real, is a bestselling call to action to unleash the magic of personal and professional authenticity to find purpose and break barriers. Currently head of her own media production company, Mariana pursues stories that capture her curiosity. She also continues to deliver inspiring keynotes and moderate/host for major events.
The Power of Authenticity: Supercharge Your Career, Your Workplace Culture, and Your Happiness
It takes seven seconds for people to form an opinion about you. That’s why most of us are taught to fit in a box instead of embracing those parts of ourselves that stand out. As a budding national TV journalist, Mariana was often encouraged to leave parts of herself at the door. But ‘covering’ did not lead to real belonging, especially in the workplace. Embracing her uniqueness did – and Mariana’s passion is empowering others to discover how to do the same. When people feel safe to be themselves, that authenticity builds trust, fulfillment, and credibility at work and in life. They’re able to embrace a mindset of transformation to meet change more resiliently. And leaders find fostering authenticity in their team spurs engagement, collaboration, innovation, and community.
Sample takeaways:
Why most of us find it so hard to be authentic, especially at work
Discover the traits that make you “Perfectly You” and harness them
One way to increase your personal fulfillment and a sense of purpose
How being vulnerable inspires others, builds trust, and creates meaningful relationships
Mariana’s 3-UP METHOD to inspire a workplace culture of innovation and openness
Easy steps to cultivate transformation, impact outcomes, and enhance resilience in the face of change.
Moderating / Interviewing / Hosting
With experience as a national network news anchor and reporter, Mariana brings warmth and intelligence to each hosting, moderating, and interviewing assignment. Mariana’s curiosity and poise help her get the most out of those on stage with her.
The breadth of Mariana’s experience speaks to her versatility. She’s moderated conversations on embracing a mindset for change at Microsoft, on the rights of women in Iran, on gender inequality at Foreign Policy magazine’s HERPower summit, on media representation at the Paley Center for Media, on financial literacy at Nasdaq, on building a personal and professional brand at Columbia University, a panel on geopolitics and economics at Citi Private Bank’s autumn dialogues with three heads of state from Latin America, a session at the United Nations General Assembly meeting on global healthcare inequity, plus the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, PepsiCo, JP Morgan, Accenture, Spotify, Google, YouTube, Clorox, AT&T, Spectrum, and more.