Marcela Berland

Founder President and CEO of Latin Insights. An expert in strategic communications and public affairs, she has conducted extensive research in the Hispanic market and Latin America for more than two decades. Over the past several years, her focus has been on research and consulting in support of corporate marketing and communications in the Hispanic arena, campaign management communications in both Latin America and the U.S. In Latin America, Ms. Berland has been a political strategist for Presidents 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, and Rodrigo Borja of Ecuador. Her work addressed issues of privatization, foreign investment, unemployment, corruption and political and economic reform. In addition, she has worked for Mayor Bloomberg in New York City, and Governor Rafael Hernandez Colón of Puerto Rico. In addition, she has worked for Mayor Bloomberg in New York City, and Governor Rafael Hernandez Colon of Puerto Rico. Currently she is assisting President Martin Torrijos of Panama and other political figures in Latin America and the United States. On behalf of the 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". Ms. Berland has also conducted many studies in the U.S., Latin America, and Europe on behalf of corporations and governments. Among her clients have been the Department of Commerce and Tourism of Florida, the Department of Tourism of Costa Rica, Pro-Chile, New York City Mayor Bloomberg, New Democrats Network, the Organization of American States, Department of Homeland Security, Univision, El Diario/La Presna, Hispanic Trends Magazine, LeapFrog, Scholastic, Discovery Communications, Inc., Discovery Kids, New Line Cinema, VH1, the National Association of Broadcasters, NBC, Viacom, The League of Theater Owners and Producers (New York City), QWest Communications, Minolta, Microsoft, The Coca-Cola Company, A&P, Unilever, Anheuser-Busch Inc., Prudential Securities, Heineken, Merrill Lynch, New York Athletic Club, Texaco, Shell, British Petroleum, Atlantic, United Airlines, TWA, Harley Davidson, ADP, Johnson & Johnson, DuPoint Pharmaceutical, Cigna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer, among others. 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 also worked with El Caribe and El Siglo, two of the leading newspapers in the Dominican Republic. Ms. Berland has collaborated on several books and published essays including Strategies of Democratization, ed, Tatu Vanhanen (Washington: Ed, Taylor & Francis, 1992), Dynamics of Societal Learning about Global Environmental Change, (ISSC/UNESCO, 1991), and Racionalidad del Peronismo, ed. Jose E Miguens and Frederick C. Turner (Buenos Aires: Ed Planeta, 1988). She has also published articles in the United States, Argentina and Mexico on entertainment and labor issues, environmental regulation, democratization and the burgeoning Hispanic market. Ms. Berland has been a guest speaker at numerous conferences in the U.S. and abroad. She has presented papers at the World association of Public Opinion Research, the American Association of Public Opinion Research, Harvard University, the University of Connecticut, and the Catholic University of Argentina among others. More recently she has addressed the National Association of Hispanic Publications, the Congress of Hemispheric Chambers of Commerce, the National Hispanic Corporate Council, and the Stern School of Business at New York University. Prior to Latin Insights, Ms. Berland was Managing Director at Bozell, Sawyer and Miller, and president of the Latin America division at Penn & Schoen. In 1990, she worked at Market & Opinion Research International (MORI), London, as Director of their Corporate and Environmental Practice. From 1982 to 1989, she was a Professor of Political Science and a founder and director of the Center of U.S. Studies at the Catholic University of Argentina in Buenos Aires. Ms. Berland holds a Licenciatura Summa Cum Laude in Political Science and International Relations from the Catholic University of Argentina where she received a Fullbright Scholarship; a Delta Kappa Gamma Scholarship and a Monica Mourier de Archibal Scholarship to study in the U.S. She holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the University of Connecticut.