Award-Winning journalist,
motivational speaker,
best-selling author
& founder of GoLike.
bio
Mariana Atencio took the world by storm in 2017 when her TEDx talk “What makes YOU special?” went viral. It was one of the first major speeches to tackle the power of authenticity with a fresh perspective. To date, it has over 20 million views and has been translated into 13 languages.
As a former anchor at Univision and national correspondent at NBC News, she has traveled the world from Haiti to Hong Kong, the Syrian border and the U.S. southern border, to report from the front lines and give a voice to those who need it most.
She was described by The Huffington Post as one of the “Top Young Voices in American Newsrooms”; made their ’40 under 40’ list, as well as AdWeek’s ‘Young Influentials’.
Delving deeper into her own immigrant story, Mariana went on to write “Perfectly You” –her best-selling memoir– which was selected by Audible and AppleBooks as a must read.
Now, she’s quickly become one of the most sought-after journalists, motivational speakers and content creators, founding her own media company, “GoLike”, and teaming up with Microsoft, the World Health Organization and the United Nations, among others, to represent and empower our communities.
She recently released the true crime investigative podcast series “Lost In Panama”, about the disappearance of two women, retracing their steps in the jungle. The show made Apple Podcasts top #10 list.
Mariana is a 2021 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and spokesperson for the American Latino Museum in D.C. Her incredible journey is featured on the award-winning HBO special “Habla Now.”
“Top 10 TEDx Talks
seen around the world.”
journalist
Mariana came to the U.S. on a full-merit scholarship to study journalism at Columbia University.
She got her big break anchoring and reporting at Univision, where she also filed for the Documentaries and Investigative Unit. She won a Peabody Award and an Investigative Reporters and Editor’s (IRE) award for her work uncovering illegal weapons sold across the border in Mexico; as well as a Gracie Award for directing, writing and reporting ‘Pressionados’, a documentary about press freedom in Latin America.
She then went on to host The Morning Show on “Fusion”, the Disney and Univision joint venture, and co-anchored the 2016 Democratic Debate.
Mariana made “the cross over” from Spanish to English-speaking television as a national correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. Her investigative work on Latin America, the Latino community, cartel violence, women and migrant’s rights earned her 3 Emmy nominations, a Hillman Prize, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Presidential Award.
On the originals front, in 2022 she launched the hit true crime podcast “Lost in Panama”, an investigation into the disappearance of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon, shedding light on the issue of missing women and girls in the region. “Lost in Panama” made the top #10 list on Apple Podcasts week of release.
Ten years after she arrived in the United States, Mariana won Columbia’s ‘First Decade Award’ for her impressive career as a journalist.
speaker
Mariana has established herself as the next generation top motivational speaker, a trailblazer with a fresh, global perspective on how to get what you want in life through storytelling, innovation, authenticity. She spent the last decade studying what it means to achieve success, transformational leadership, and true DEI, leveraging technology in the 21st century.
She crafts every keynote to create an experience for each client, whether it’s virtually or in-person. Her services include motivational speeches, digital corporate content, one-on-one coaching, consulting, Master of Ceremonies, and bootcamp style sessions.
Some of the world’s leading companies and institutions have hired Mariana to share her transformative message with their workforce, such as: Deloitte, YouTube, Pepsico, P&G, Nasdaq, Airbnb, UBS, Spotify, Citi Private Bank, LinkedIn, the World Health Organization and The United Nations.
In the post-pandemic, Mariana launched a global digital series with Microsoft interviewing thought-leaders in business, technology, and diversity to explore the new way of work and create community.
author
Published in 2019, Mariana’s first book “Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real” is a call to action to unlock the magic of both our personal and professional authenticity. Mariana’s first-book deal with Harper Collins included writing the Spanish version titled: “Perfectamente Tú: El Poder de lo Auténtico”.
The memoir was announced exclusively on Refiney29 and became an instant Amazon Best Seller selected by the New York Times and the American Library Association where Mariana was invited to keynote.
Its audio version, recorded by the author in both English and Spanish, was selected by AppleBooks and Audible’s Editor Picks.
The Today Show did a profile on the book’s success with young readers at the United Nations’ Girl Up Summit, and Forbes called it a book to “challenge you to live your full potential”.
People Magazine wrote “Mariana tells her readers not to get discouraged and to keep pursuing their dreams— without forgetting who they are in the process,” while actress Eva Longoria called it a “must read” for women everywhere.
The “Perfectly You” book tour included sold-out stops in Miami, New York, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, Seattle and Barcelona, Spain.
golike
When Mariana saw the need to tell Latino stories in the mainstream, she decided to launch GoLike, a premium media company, promoting diversity through storytelling for 360 degree platforms.
Whether it’s investigative journalism, a viral speech, a podcast, a series on TikTok or a high-level show with Microsoft, GoLike creates content that is educational, authentic and inclusive; shining a light on where our communities are now and helping them chart a new path forward.
GoLike is managed by Mariana and her sister, Graciela. The sisters make it a priority to hire Latino talent, especially women. The venture was named among the ‘100 most powerful Latina businesses’ in the U.S. and entered into high-level partnerships with the American Latino Museum and Voto Latino to encourage Latino representation and participation.
The company has secured successful brand and speaking deals with HBO, Clinique, AT&T, Wells Fargo, McDonalds, National Geographic, PEPSICO, the U.S. Census Bureau, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Girl Up Summit and many more.
Partner with GoLike to create engaging content for TV, digital, corporate and social media by emailing: mariana@golikemariana.com
“GoLike is on a mission to lift our communities through authentic storytelling for 360 degree platforms.”
