Marcela M. Berland is the founding President of Latin Insights and an internationally recognized leader in strategic communications, crisis management, and women’s issues. With a strong reputation as a trusted advisor and strategist, she expertly leverages consumer insights, market trends, and emerging technologies to develop innovative and actionable strategies for corporate and political clients. Marcela has been recognized through numerous awards granted for excellence advancing women issues, leadership and entrepreneurship. She is a 2021 Forbes Next 1,000 honoree. The award celebrates bold and inspiring entrepreneurs. She has also received the 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year Award by LIDE, the 2022 WEES Leadership Award and the 2023 Trailblazer Award by BF. Marcela is a founding member of the CNBC Changemakers Advisory Board, recognizing extraordinary women, and is an active member of the Women Economic Forum. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at NYU, bringing her extensive real-world experience into the classroom.
In Latin America, Marcela has been a political strategist for Presidents Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic, Álvaro Colom of Guatemala, Martín Torrijos of Panamá, Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic, Vicente Fox of Mexico, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez of Costa Rica, Carlos Andrés Pérez of Venezuela, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada of Bolivia, Jaime Paz Zamora of Bolivia, Fernando de la Rúa of Argentina, and Rodrigo Borja of Ecuador. Her work addressed women issues, innovation, digital strategies, smart cities, foreign investment, unemployment, and political and economic reform. In addition, she has worked for Mayor Bloomberg in New York City, New Democrats Network, and Governor Rafael Hernandez Colón of Puerto Rico.
Marcela has conducted many studies in the U.S., Latin America, and Europe on behalf of corporations and governments. Her clients include Airbnb, WeWork, Audible, Marsh McLennan, Facebook, Brazil Tourism, the Department of Commerce and Tourism of Florida, the Department of Tourism of Costa Rica, Pro-Chile, New York City Tourism, Panama Canal Authority, Earthjustice, Nissan, Carnival Cruise Line, Circle Line, American Airlines, United Airlines, TWA, the Organization of American States, the World Bank, USAID, the Department of Homeland Security, NHCC, Microsoft, Skype, Univision, New Line Cinema, El Diario/La Prensa, Hispanic Trends Magazine, LeapFrog, Scholastic, Discovery Communications, Inc., Discovery Kids, VH1, NBC, Viacom, Disney, The League of Theater Owners and Producers, Qwest Communications, Starbucks, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, A&P, Unilever, Anheuser-Busch Inc., Heineken, Prudential Securities, Scotiabank, Lladró, Merrill Lynch, Texaco, Shell, British Petroleum, Atlantic, Harley Davidson, AARP, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, DuPont Pharmaceutical, Cigna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Alcon, Symrise, Perry Ellis, Autism Speaks, and Underwriters Laboratories among others.
On behalf of USAID and the government of Romania, she assisted in the formulation and evaluation of the Romanian privatization program. Her international experience also includes work conducted in Eastern Europe shortly after the end of communist rule in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland. Her studies on emerging democratic government were compiled in the book Strategies of Democratization.
In addition, she has worked closely with Fox News Latino, U.S. News & World Report and The Hollywood Reporter, creating special polling reports on a wide variety of issues. She has been asked to write a column on DEI and women issues at Latino Leaders Magazine. She has also worked with El Caribe and El Siglo, two of the leading newspapers in the Dominican Republic.
She is currently authoring a book titled "Public Relations in the Digital Era." Marcela's prior scholarly contributions include co-authoring and publishing notable works like "Strategies of Democratization" and "Dynamics of Societal Learning About Global Environmental Change." Her media presence extends to frequent appearances on platforms like CBS News, CNN en Español, and NY1 News, among others.
