Master of Ceremonies

As the Marketing & PR Coordinator at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), I worked  in marketing and managed HHF’s social media. I also had the opportunity to be the Master of Ceremonies (MC) for HHF’s national initiatives, including the Mind, Body and Spirit Seminars and LOFT STEM Leadership Symposia in partnership with the Marine Corps and the U.S. Army.

Traveling across the country brought so much joy to my vida. I was able to meet professionals in different sectors and learn more about the great work of so many leaders across the country.

These events were hosted at national universities in the U.S., including Florida International University, Wayne State University, Tulane University and Lehman College to name a few. As high school students are preparing for life after high school, these seminars served as the perfect space to ask questions and network with working professionals.

I myself remember being in high school and thinking to myself, what am I going to do after high school? What will I major in college? Will I be mentored by someone in my 20’s?

The amount of questions I had were endless and I was so eager to find out the answers, hoping that time could go by faster to get to those answers. Now, at age 23 I have learned to appreciate time more than anything else.

Semper Fidelis

The Marines Corps are known for their motto, Semper Fidelis, translated from Latin, Semper Fidelis means “Always Faithful.” Remaining faithful when encountering obstacles in life can make all the difference, especially to our spirits.  I aspire to lead a professional career filled with lots of success, but more importantly success that stems from leading a life of love.

The Marines do embody the spirit when they are speaking to a crowd and they are living examples of achieving balance of life, that is body, mind and spirit of course. My father served in the Marines at a point in his life and MC’ing these events really made my heart so full. I was extremely grateful to connect with a group of outstanding Marines in my professional career.

While MC’ing one of these events, I tripped and fell to the ground in front of a crowd of over 100 people, tearing my slacks at the knee. Some giggled and others were shocked, but I picked myself up, laughed it off and continued doing the job. Thinking back on that moment, simper fidelis, “always faithful” was definitely alive in my spirit that day. Also, I made sure to remind myself after this moment to not wear heels at a work event where I can easily slip on any surface.

Nonetheless, these opportunities reminded me the importance of being present and appreciating in person communication, as some people aren’t graced with opportunities to network with others and learn about the mind, body and spirit in an educational setting.

In 2017 Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s  Marketing and Communications (M&C) accomplished many milestones and hit larger numbers on social media all with the support of our followers! Thank you to you all for riding along this journey with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube as we pave our way in the digital space. We are here to tell our stories – stories that are more important now than ever to continue to inspire  youth, professionals and leaders to follow their true passions.

The M&C department led by Cynthia Pleitez, Marketing & Communications Strategist and Isla Martinez, Marketing & PR Coordinator, worked closely with HHF’s CEO Antonio Tijerino, brands, award-winning communications agencies, celebrity publicists, Grammy-Award winning teams and media like: Univision Communications Inc, The Walt Disney Company, NBC Universal |Telemundo, Google, U.S Army, U.S. Marines, PBS, NASCAR, Johnnie Walker, Colgate-Palmolive,  AT&T, Best Buy Foundation, Havasformulatin and many more to deliver for our great Hispanic audience. “I want to connect all of America’s Latino writers, designers, videographers, digital storytellers, photojournalists, artists and journalists to The Hispanic Heritage Foundation using strategic communications” said Cynthia.

In Music
In the spring, HHF had its own Latinos on Fast Track, LOFT Music Stage at Locales Festival in Miami and the M&C team was there front and center! Fat Joe closed out the festival along with a surprise appearance by Marc Anthony. As a nonprofit sponsor, HHF was honored to feature a variety of talented artists on the LOFT Stage. Also in music, HHF produced it’s very own first music video,#WeDreamAmerica, the National Anthem Project in support of the Dreamer community in the United States. Filmmaker, Milcho and Grammy/ Latin Grammy nominated Latin band, Locos por Juana took part in the National Anthem project! Hearing the vocals as they were being laid on the track,  filming and finding Dreamers in Washington, D.C., New York and Miami inspired us all. The #WeDreamAmerica campaign paid tribute to the patriotism, appreciation and great promise immigrants have for the United States. HHF, CEO and President Antonio Tijerino and Locos por Juana urged Congress to pass a clean DREAM Act and Washington, DC,  Mayor Muriel Bowser proclaimed December 6th, 2017 “DREAMer Day.”

Public Relations
The Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA) National ¡BRAVO! Awards are the most prestigious awards in Hispanic communication: the highest accolade in the Hispanic PR industry.  HHF took home the 2017 Non-Profit Campaign of the Year Award for our 29th Anniversary Hispanic Heritage Awards campaign. It’s a recognition of innovative, creative, and cultural competence of Hispanic/Latino campaigns recognized by the industry’s leading professional organizations. HHF’s M&C Strategist  received the award in New York City on behalf of HHF’s President and CEO, Antonio Tijerino.

“For HHF to win The Hispanic Public Relations Association’s Bravo Award, the most prestigious award in the industry, to have our CEO’s leadership and our work recognized in front of the top communications professionals in the industry is the ultimate privilege,” said Cynthia.

On YouTube
HHF had the honor in awarding singer J Balvin with the Vision Award. J Balvin serenaded the audience with his acoustic performance of ‘Sigo Extrañándote’ and ‘Ginza,’ astounding all the lucky guests at the Warner Theatre. In June, his performance hit 1 million views on our YouTube which has grown to 2 million, shattering HHF YouTube history! Watch J Balvin’s Hispanic Heritage Awards performance here. With more views came an increase in subscribers, HHF’s YouTube channel had 146 subscribers as of last year and now has over 5,000 subscribers! M&C Strategist, Cynthia said, “Thrilled we hit 2 million Youtube views in a single video! Ultimately I just want all of America to know the beauty and talent Hispanics in America have to offer. I’m here to show the world that we’re not going anywhere and while we’re here our voices will be heard. We’re delivering more content in 2018.”

Univision Communications Inc. Fellowship
HHF partnered with Univision Communications Inc. for the launch of a Digital Communications Fellowship, under the supervision of Univision CSR Director, Liliana Ranon and HHF’s M&C Strategist, Cynthia. The Digital Communications Fellow, Salvador Yanez- Ruiz is an extension of HHF’s M&C department and assists with delivering a comprehensive media creation strategy, identifying opportunities to use within the Univision and Fusion Media Group (FMG) asset and developments content for our HHF online content and community.

Social Media
On social media, there was 168%+ growth on Instagram, 50%+ growth on Facebook, 27%+ growth on Twitter, along with an official verification from Twitterthe morning of our 30th Anniversary Hispanic Heritage Awards! We engaged with top talent, companies, sponsors and secured a social media sponsor, Being Latino, one of the nation’s leading U.S. Hispanic social media marketing companies where we shared livestreams of the red carpet on Facebook. To check out all of the coverage from the 30th HHA’s use the #HHA30 online.

 “2017 was a great year for us here at HHF in building relationships, highlighting the work of transformative leaders at HHF and connecting with top companies, talent and leaders who are truly making a difference. With every video, image, social media post, blog and press release came the opportunity to connect and impact our audience using communications. We’re grateful for the opportunity to serve our greater purpose everyday,” said Isla.

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