a Peabody award–winning journalist, author & speaker, among AdWeek’s “Young Influentials”, and the co-founder of “Go Like”, a multimedia production company. 

As a former anchor at Univision/Fusion and national correspondent at NBC News, she’s traveled the world to report on some of the most volatile conflicts of our times, in both English and Spanish, for over a decade.

Her TED Talk “What Makes You Special?” is one of the top 10 most watched on Youtube, translated into 11 languages. Her first book, Perfectly You, was an Amazon Best Seller for Latino Biographies, and selected as an Audible Editor’s Pick and AppleBooks “Must Listen”. 

Mariana came to the United States after losing the hope of becoming a journalist in her home country of Venezuela. As an immigrant and the new girl on television, she was faced with a choice: be what everybody else expected or find her own voice and purpose. She realized that re-defining herself beyond labels was the only way forward. Her story, full of ups and downs, took her from the trenches of the pro-democracy movement in Caracas to Capitol Hill, while powering through family tragedy, covering politics, immigration and the Latinx community.

Mariana’s Tedx Talk “What Makes You Special?” is one of the top 10 most viewed on YouTube, translated into 11 languages. Her passion as a speaker started when she was valedictorian in high school in Venezuela. Over time, she developed an interactive and relatable approach, giving the audience tools to get motivated and discover things about themselves through her storytelling and innovative exercises.

She has keynoted at the United Nation’s Girl Up Summit; the American Library Association; the LinkedIn Annual Conference alongside speakers like Michelle Obama; Spotify; Microsoft and City Private Bank. Topics include authenticity, storytelling, reinventing yourself, networking, empowerment, immigration and diversity, among others.

Each speech and role as speaker, host or Master of Ceremonies is customized to the client needs and audience size.

Mariana came to the U.S. on a scholarship to study journalism at Columbia University. She got her first break anchoring and reporting at Univision and Fusion, where she started out at the Documentaries and Investigative Unit; then hosted a morning show and co-anchored the 2016 Democratic Debate. She made “the cross over’ from Spanish to English-speaking television as a national correspondent for NBC News, where her work was awarded the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Presidential Award, Columbia University’s First Decade Award, a Hillman Prize and a national Emmy nomination.

Named among the top young Latinas in American newsrooms and AdWeek’s ‘Young Influentials’, she has covered many of the most important stories of the last ten years, including the elections of Barack Obama and Donald Trump; the family separation crisis at the U.S. Southern Border; the student protests in Hong Kong; hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.

When the Government shut down the most important television station in her home country in 2007, Mariana went out to protest as a student and found her calling: telling the stories those in power were trying to cover up. Storytelling is at the heart of all the content she creates, from original television productions to speeches, streaming, brand partnerships, books and social media.

Mariana specializes in storytelling that’s authentic, empathetic and immersive with a focus on the human experience. Given today’s changing media landscape, her content can be adapted and customized to multiple platforms and audiences, yet always remains fresh and positive. Her experience in traditional and new media drove her to launch ‘Go Like’, a multimedia production company connecting different generations, cultures and languages through immersive content.

Published by Harper Collins in both English and Spanish in 2019, Mariana’s first book “Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real” was an Amazon Best Seller for Latino Biographies, an Audible Editor’s Pick and an Apple Books “Must Listen.” It was picked up by Target and Walmart and selected for the American Library Association’s Annual Conference where Mariana keynoted.

Actress Eva Longoria and journalist Maria Elena Salinas called it a “must read” for women everywhere, while the book release was covered by Forbes; Refinery29; The Today Show; and People En Español. The “Perfectly You” book tour included 8 stops in Miami, New York, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Seattle and Barcelona. Most recently, Mariana was invited by The New York Times to talk about the book’s impact.

Veteran TV producer Mirna Couto began mentoring Mariana when she was just starting out on television. Their partnership led to success and a common mission: bring people together through positivity. With that in mind, they co-founded “GoLike” in 2018. Its name comes from the viral hashtag #GoLikeMariana, which Mariana uses to motivate her online community. GoLike’s first product was “Perfectly You”, the Amazon best-selling memoir published in two languages.

The company produces original scripted and non-scripted television programming; speaker series; podcasts; books and brand partnerships that showcase the value of living life to the fullest, highlighting how we are all connected in the pursuit of peace and happiness.