Hi! I’m Maria Velasco, and I’m so excited to introduce myself as an Account Executive at Smart Connections PR.
My career in PR hasn’t been perfectly linear, but I think that the experiences I’ve had along the way are what make it interesting. After I graduated from the University of Central Florida with my Bachelor of Arts in Human Communication, I moved to Spain to teach English and ended up staying a lot longer than I had initially planned.
My experience living abroad taught me so many life lessons, which helped me grow both as a person and in my career. I developed skills such as adaptability, communicating across cultures, and approaching every conversation with curiosity. Those lessons now show up in my work every day, whether it’s building relationships, understanding different perspectives, or crafting stories that resonate with the right audience.
During my time in Spain, I went on to pursue my Master’s in Advertising Communication, which opened the door to an internship at Omnicom PR Group. It was my first deep dive into agency life, where I got to work with huge global brands and learned the ins and outs of PR. I handled all aspects of work, which included media list development and activity reporting and media outreach management and press release writing in English and Spanish.
Eventually, I had the opportunity to join Digital and Savvy, a boutique PR agency, as an Account Executive—and yes, it was every bit as fast-paced and inspiring as you’d imagine. I worked with PR to support high-profile clients, including Gary Vaynerchuk, by handling interview scheduling and event organization and developing content for major company announcements.
At the same time, I got to support brands like Cheetos, Pepsi, and Stella Artois as they ventured into the world of NFTs. The experience provided me with direct observation of how creativity meets technology through storytelling, which completely captured my interest.
On top of this, I also helped with GaryVee’s podcast, which introduced me to so many amazing shows and sparked my love for podcasts in general. Soon, I landed a role at a podcast PR company, Lemonpie, which specializes in helping B2B tech founders land interviews and share their stories.
It then occurred to me that I could combine my curiosity about tech with my love for storytelling. I was very interested in how technology was changing businesses, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. That’s when I decided I chose to work directly in tech PR. I have dedicated the last three years to shining a light on innovation and helping tech companies tell their stories in ways that reach and resonate with the right audiences. My work experience with SaaS, cybersecurity, AI, and manufacturing clients has shown me different industry perspectives while deepening my passion for public relations.
I’m so excited to bring everything I’ve learned to the wonderful team at Smart Connections PR and to keep learning, growing, and doing what I love alongside such talented people.
