Mariana Atencio
Peabody Award-Winning Journalist; Bestselling Author; Media 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.
Featured Videos

Mariana Atencio’s Speech Topics
The Power of Being Perfectly You
It’s a fact: People are at their best – at work and in life – when they feel like they can be themselves. They’re more confident in the face of change and uncertainty, more engaged and resilient, and have a greater sense of purpose and well-being. But fear can sometimes keep us from being real. In this presentation, Mariana Atencio brings her energy, humor, and skillful storytelling to inspire people to embrace their authenticity and unleash the power that comes with being themselves. Being “Perfectly You” builds trust and connection – it attracts people like a magnet because authenticity stands out in a world of algorithms and A.I. content. Mariana’s unique personal story and infectious optimism energizes people with the courage to fully engage, adapt to constant change, and reach new levels of fulfillment at work and in life.
Sample takeaways:
• Unlock the secret of being our real selves, especially at work.
• How to discover and harness the traits that make you “Perfectly You.”
• Navigate change confidently. Increase your personal fulfillment and sense of purpose.
• Why being vulnerable and leading with empathy inspires others, builds trust, and creates more meaningful relationships.
• 4 steps authentic leaders use to cultivate transformation and innovation and enhance resilience in the face of change.
• Help leaders create a culture of authenticity that spurs engagement, connection, collaboration, and performance.
Transformative Leadership: Building Trust Through Authenticity
A title doesn’t make someone a leader. What makes a leader is followers. The challenge of leading today is that people are increasingly skeptical and distrustful. The job of every leader is to build trust through authenticity and transparency, guiding teams effectively through change and uncertainty. It takes courage to lead this way, but the benefits are undeniable. Leaders who inspire trust generate a sense of belonging and inspire people to deliver their best efforts and ideas.
In this talk, Mariana Atencio helps people tap into the transformative power of embracing their true selves as leaders. She unveils the four core traits that define authentic leaders: unyielding courage, dynamic agility, powerful communication, and an unwavering growth mindset. Her transformative formula for unlocking leadership potential focuses on actionable tools that are immediately applicable to build a culture of trust, authenticity and leading with purpose.
Key takeaways:
• Develop the skills to identify, understand, and guide your team through change effectively.
• Leverage your unique leadership abilities to build trust.
• Communicate with clarity, empathy, and transparency to navigate uncertainty.
• Unite your teams around a shared purpose to drive collective progress.
Communicating Confidently – Cut Through the Noise and Get Heard (Post-Keynote Breakout or Separate Keynote)
For everyone in business, delivering a message efficiently – internally and in different media – has gotten infinitely more complex in the age of AI. This interactive presentation will help attendees sharpen their communication skills. Mariana equips leaders – from entry level to the C-Suite – with practical tools and tested principles to speak confidently, authentically, and effectively, whether it’s for client meetings, internal communications, Zoom, an important presentation, a traditional media interview, a digital clip and/or a conference stage. Mariana will share tips that took her more than a decade of television and social media experience to learn, working at two of the world’s biggest news networks, in Spanish and English. 45-90 Minutes
Sample takeaways:
• Learn to distill your main message so it resonates across all platforms.
• Practical tips and pro tricks for in-person and virtual presentations.
• Master the power of persuasion in an era of fleeting attention spans.
• Better storytelling to create connection and leave a lasting impact.
• Establish credibility and build trust in an era of misinformation.
• How to navigate real-time interview scenarios with confidence.
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.
What other organizations say about Mariana Atencio
Mariana's communication training was phenomenal! It was practical, interactive and relatable. Her tips on effective communication were insightful, easy and actionable, just what our team of consultants and leaders were looking for. We learned more in 40 minutes than we ever thought possible! Her advice left the team inspired and confident to communicate with media and peers.
Medical Equipment
Works by Mariana Atencio
Mariana Atencio
Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real
Bring This Speaker to Your Stage
Tell us about your event and our team will confirm availability and fees right away.










