Marcela Gómez is CEO and founding partner of Culture Shift Team, with over 30 years of experience effectively connecting with diverse and continuously changing U.S. demographics, Marcela leads CST’s public relations, marketing and advertising division. Marcela has worked with clients in health care, advanced mobility, clean energy, education, public utilities, government, banking and finance, wireless, sports, food, and the arts. Her expertise includes the development of marketing, communications and grassroots campaigns, from conception and brand development to production.
A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Marcela graduated from high school in Charlotte, North Carolina, and earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising from Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogotá. Following graduation, Marcela moved to Miami, Florida to work as advertising coordinator with Editorial Unilit. In 1996 she joined Thomas Nelson Publisher’s Spanish language division in Nashville, Tennessee as a sales representative and later as marketing director.
Her life as an entrepreneur started in 2002 in Nashville, Tennessee with Hispanic Marketing Group, in 2017 she became founding partner of Culture Shift Team, a business consulting firm and public relations, marketing and advertising agency specialized in helping companies better understand the shifting demographics and culture that create business opportunities in the marketplace and workplace.
In 2020 she relocated to New York City from where she continues to help lead Culture Shift Team as the firm’s CEO and leads the firm’s multicultural marketing and advertising division. She enjoys traveling, films, theater, ballet, opera, the symphony, and long walks in Manhattan. She is the current president of the National Speakers Association New York Chapter, and a member of Duke University’s Innovation Center Acceleration Team.
Marcela has a 34-year-old son, Esteban Pedraza, who’s most recent film, “Bogotá Story” premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023 and won Best of Festival at the 2024 Palm Springs Shortfest (Oscar Qualifying).
ACCOLADES
2018 Certificate of Recognition, Presented by Mayor David Briley, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
2018 Resolution for a Decade of Service to the Tennessee Latin American Chamber of Commerce, Presented by the Council of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
2017 Community Leadership Award, presented by the Nashville Kitchen Cabinet (The National Restaurant Association and The Tennessee Hospitality & Tourism Association.)
2017 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Music City Gold Pen Award of Excellence for Community Relations; nMotion Campaign of the Metropolitan Nashville Transit Authority. (Team member with MP&F Public Relations, MEPR Agency, and The Ferrell McDaniel Company)
2017 PRSA Nashville Parthenon Award for Multicultural Outreach; nMotion Campaign of the Metropolitan Nashville Transit Authority. (Team member with MP&F Public Relations, MEPR Agency, and The Ferrell McDaniel Company)
Marcela was awarded the 2016 International Champion Award from the Office of International Affairs, Tennessee State University.
Audience Favorite award, Dancing for Safe Haven Fundraising Gala, 2016.
2015 National Football League's Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award presented by the Tennessee Titans.
2014 PRSA Nashville Parthenon Awards forCommunity Relations; NashvilleNext Campaign of the Metropolitan Nashville Planning Department. (Team member with MP&F Public Relations, MEPR Agency, and The Ferrell McDaniel Company)
2014 PRSA Nashville Parthenon Award for Posters, Displays or Exhibits; NashvilleNext Campaign of the Metropolitan Nashville Planning Department. (Team member with MP&F Public Relations, MEPR Agency, and The Ferrell McDaniel Company)
2014 PRSA Nashville Parthenon Award Public Relations Campaign; NashvilleNext Campaign of the Metropolitan Nashville Planning Department. (Team member with MP&F Public Relations, MEPR Agency, and The Ferrell McDaniel Company)
2014 PRSA Nashville Parthenon Award Research; NashvilleNext Campaign of the Metropolitan Nashville Planning Department. (Team member with MP&F Public Relations, MEPR Agency, and The Ferrell McDaniel Company)
2011 Tennessee Advocate Award for Assisting Entrepreneurs in Marketing, Counseling and Financing by the Small Business Administration District Office in Tennessee.
In 2011, Ms. Gómez was one of the 25 Most Beautiful People in Nashville by the Nashville Lifestyle Magazine.
Vendor of the Year, MP&F Public Relations, (2009).
The Nashville Post identified Hispanic Marketing Group as one of “25 Emerging Companies in Nashville” and the Nashville Business Journal three years in a row named the firm as a finalist in the emerging business category for its “Best in Business Awards.”
In 2007, Ms. Gómez won as one of the 30 Women of Influence by The Nashville Business Journal.