An Empowered Journalist
Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Mariana earned a journalism degree from Universidad Católica. However, the government of Hugo Chávez completely shut down independent media outlets in her home country. She participated in student protests for democracy but after being assaulted in an armed robbery, Mariana left for the United States when she received a full-merit scholarship to Columbia University’s Journalism School, where she earned her master’s degree in broadcast journalism.
Coming to America from Venezuela, 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. To her, the most important stories are ones that build bridges and foster understanding.
Award-Winning Investigative News
Mariana got her big break anchoring and reporting at Univision, where she also worked for the Documentaries and Investigative Unit. There, she won a Peabody Award and an Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Award for her work uncovering illegal weapons sold across the border in Mexico. She also won a Gracie Award for directing, writing, and reporting PRESSionados, a documentary about press freedom in Latin America. Following her awards, she hosted The Morning Show on Fusion, a Disney and Univision joint venture, and co-anchored the 2016 Democratic Presidential debate.
Eventually, Mariana made the crossover from Spanish to English-speaking television as a national correspondent for NBC News. At NBC, she was known for her boots-on-the-ground, engaging, and empathic fieldwork. Her investigative work on Latin America, the Latino community, cartel violence, and women’s and migrants’ rights earned her three Emmy nominations, a Hillman Prize, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Presidential Award. Throughout her broadcast career, Mariana has reported from places like Haiti, the Syrian border, and China, underscoring the common threads in our humanity and that we are all more alike than different. She has interviewed dozens of notable figures, including Pope Francis, President Joe Biden, King Felipe VI of Spain, Nancy Pelosi, chef and humanitarian José Andrés, author Yuval Noah Harari, and director Francis Ford Coppola.
Hire Mariana Atencio for Keynote Speaking
Mariana’s TEDx talk What Makes YOU Special? garnered over 23 million views and catapulted Mariana into a new storytelling outlet: speaking. As a keynote speaker, Mariana is on a mission to create immense impact. Specifically, she discusses The Power of Authenticity and how organizations that build authenticity gain momentum toward tremendous, positive organizational change.
Doubling down on this message, she wrote her bestselling memoir, Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real. Perfectly You is a call to action that unleashes personal and professional authenticity to find purpose and break barriers.
Lost in Panama
Currently head of her own media production company, Mariana pursues stories that capture her curiosity. In 2022 she launched the hit true crime podcast series Lost in Panama, an investigation into the disappearance of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon. Straightaway, Lost in Panama made Apple Podcasts’ top #10 list. More significantly, it shed light on the issue of missing women and girls in the region and led Mariana to headline Foreign Policy magazine’s HerPower summit on tackling gender inequality in the Americas.
Further Accomplishments
Mariana’s journey is featured on the award-winning HBO series Habla, and People magazine called her storytelling platform “a media empire.” Ten years after she arrived in the United States, Mariana won Columbia University’s First Decade Award for her impressive career. Mariana is also a 2021 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a spokesperson for the American Latino Museum.
