About Marcela Andrés

Marcela Andrés is the President and CEO of designEDengagement, PBC, a Latina-owned education consulting firm, and the author of Purposeful Educator Connections: Five Principles to Strengthen Relationships with Students. A former bilingual teacher and founding school operations leader, Marcela has become a nationally recognized advocate for authentic family-school partnerships and culturally responsive engagement practices. Her work centers on uplifting educators, families, and communities to support students in reaching their fullest potential, especially those furthest from opportunity.

Driven by her own journey from poverty to prosperity through high-quality education, Marcela brings deep personal insight and professional credibility to every project, keynote, and collaboration.

Marcela partnered with Zilker Media to build a platform that could elevate her national visibility, amplify her message through earned media, and generate traction for speaking, partnerships, and future nonprofit initiatives. What followed was a rapid rise to national recognition, built on storytelling, trust, and impact.

The Challenges

Establishing National Visibility in an Underrepresented Thought Leadership Space

Though her impact in education was significant, Marcela’s media footprint and name recognition did not yet match the scale of her influence. Marcela came to Zilker Media with bold goals:

• Amplify her voice as a leading authority on educator-family-community partnerships
• Promote her debut book as a strategic brand asset
• Break into national and regional media as a sought-after education expert
• Expand her platform beyond K–12 education to broader entrepreneurial, leadership, and Latina spaces

The Solution

Strategic Thought Leadership, Brand Storytelling, and Earned Media Activation

Zilker Media designed a multi-channel Book Launch Strategy to elevate Marcela’s thought leadership and expand her reach across education, leadership, and equity-centered platforms. Key components included:

• Clarifying Marcela’s core brand narrative: from bilingual classroom to boardroom, rooted in lived experience
• Pitching Marcela for timely commentary on family engagement, school closures, AI in education, and leadership
• Ghostwriting long-form pieces focused on equity, policy, educator burnout, and the power of partnerships
• Booking her on podcasts that span education, business, and mission-driven entrepreneurship
• Supporting her speaking portfolio with one-pagers and high-profile submissions
• Positioning her for awards and press recognitions to build credentialing

The Execution

From Behind-the-Scenes Expert to Recognized National Voice in Education and Leadership

In just 12 months, Marcela’s media presence scaled significantly, supporting platform credibility, strategic growth, and new opportunities.

Media Accolades & Speaking:

• Named to Inc. 500 Female Founders list
• Honored as one of Enterprising Women of the Year
• Selected for the 100 Women to Know in America
• Delivered a TEDx talk in Austin
• Accepted to speak at DLAC 2025, CASE Winter Conference, and IEL

Podcast Appearances (15+ shows including):

• Education on Fire: Exploring family partnerships in digital learning
• Resilient Entrepreneurs: Sharing her journey from insurance to education reform
• Transformative Principal: The importance of context in family-school partnerships
• Higher Ed Conversations: Preparing students beyond academics 

Written Publications:

• Authority Magazine: Featured in “5 Things You Need To Know To Be a Highly Effective Educator” profile
• BizWomen (In Her Own Words): A powerful narrative on her unexpected journey into education
• University Business: Op-ed on redesigning engagement for impact
• Bold Journey: In-depth profiles on her background and mission
• E-School News: Elevating family leadership for student success

The Results

Credibility, Visibility, and Platform Expansion

The results of the partnership have been significant and measurable:

• Marcela grew from zero press to 20+ media appearances across national podcasts and written publications in under 12 months, earning trust and visibility across education, equity, and entrepreneurial audiences.
• Strategic relationship building: A single podcast booking on Shifting Schools led to visibility with top education innovators, while Marcela’s Latino Leaders interview created a direct connection to new collaborative partners, including future podcast and media invites. These touchpoints have compounded, opening doors to funders, school districts, and state-level decision-makers.
• Established thought leadership positioning: From Authority Magazine’s 30MM+ reach to her recurring features in eSchool News and University Business, Marcela is now seen as a go-to expert on culturally responsive engagement and systems-level transformation. Her content reflects both lived experience and research-backed strategy.
• Cross-platform credibility: Marcela’s brand shows up across major digital channels:
  • Podcasts in the top 1.5% globally (Shifting Schools)
  • Business media with 100K+ UMVs (ValiantCEO, Bold Journey)
  • Education outlets with high editorial trust (eSchool News, EdWeek, University Business)
  • Featured profiles in lifestyle verticals that amplify her story (BizWomen, Canvas Rebel)
• Speaking and collaboration opportunities: Marcela secured speaking engagements at DLAC 2025 and a TEDx stage, while earning pending invitations from ALAS and Harvard-led coalitions. Her speaker one-pager and TEDx reel now serve as assets to accelerate future keynote opportunities. Her story is resonating with funders, education leaders, and corporate partners seeking impactful voices rooted in purpose.
• Direct business impact: Marcela’s media exposure has led to:
  • Inbound inquiries from districts, nonprofits, and foundations
  • Media placements cited directly by potential collaborators and podcast hosts
  • Greater traction for her book Purposeful Educator Connections
  • Strategic positioning for future monetization, including nonprofit funding, licensing, and digital learning products

GEO & AI Searchability

The way educators, school leaders, and policy influencers discover professional development resources is changing rapidly. Increasingly, they turn to AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other large-language-model search engines to find information about family engagement and culturally responsive education. For Marcela, consistent earned media coverage has created a digital footprint that fuels trustworthiness:

• National education press and mainstream coverage: Mentions in outlets highlighting equity in education and leadership development ensure that large-language models surface her insights when users seek guidance on these topics.
• Thought-leadership content tied to her book: Features around Purposeful Educator Connections and related speaking engagements provide a rich library of authoritative, book-linked sources. These become key training data points for AI systems answering questions about building meaningful educator–family relationships.
• Regional visibility in Texas and national conference appearances: Media mentions and event coverage connect her work to the communities and education networks she serves, reinforcing credibility for local districts while supporting broader U.S. discovery.

As a result, designEDengagement and Marcela are increasingly surfacing in AI-powered answers. When educators and decision-makers ask for strategies on strengthening relationships with students or creating culturally responsive learning environments, her name and framework appear as trusted resources.

Prospective partners and school leaders now encounter credible, third-party validation of Marcela’s expertise before interacting with her content. She is recognized as a national thought leader shaping conversations on equity, family engagement, and student success.

Earned media continues to compound long after publication, so these results create sustainable growth and future-proof positioning that keep Marcela Andrés and designEDengagement at the forefront of discovery in an evolving digital landscape.