Hey, I’m Marielena Marroquin!

I help organizations focus on culturally responsive community engagement and strategic planning to enhance organizational effectiveness and community impact.

About our Founder

Marielena Marroquin is a recent Master of Public Administration (MPA) graduate from the University of Kansas, where she developed her expertise in public administration, non-profit management, policy, and law. A native of New Jersey, Marielena has proudly called the Kansas City Metropolitan area home for the past ten years, earning her the affectionate title of a "Kansasitanian."

Marielena, a proud Latina with Puerto Rican and Gutelaman roots, brings a vibrant cultural perspective to her work. Her heritage and experiences have influenced and profoundly shaped her passion for fostering genuine connections within diverse communities and the need to understand and reinforce transculturation in the workplace. Her commitment to cultural responsiveness and adaptive solutions is the heart of Cultura Consultants KC's mission.

As the founder of Cultura Consultants KC, Marielena's visionary leadership strives to transcend traditional DEI initiatives. Her innovative approach includes authentic community listening sessions, comprehensive strategic planning, and creating inclusive and adaptive projects that truly reflect and address the community's needs.

My Approach

Community Engagement

Focusing on the three tenants of Community engagement: collaboration, consultation, and communication.

  1. Collaboration: We collaborate with community members and organizations to create engagement projects, ensuring active participation and shared ownership of initiatives.

  2. Consultation: We conduct culturally responsive listening sessions to authentically understand and elevate diverse community voices, ensuring our strategies resonate with and reflect actual community needs.

  3. Communication: We maintain open, transparent, and continuous dialogue with all stakeholders, fostering trust and ensuring that our adaptive solutions are informed by and responsive to the unique dynamics of the community.

Beyond DEI

Cultura Consultants KC goes beyond traditional DEI and translation efforts by embedding culturally responsive and adaptive solutions into every aspect of community engagement and strategic planning, ensuring genuine and impactful connections.

  1. Deep Cultural Integration: We don't just focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion; we deeply integrate cultural responsiveness into our methodologies, recognizing and honoring the unique cultural dynamics of each community we serve.

  2. Adaptive Solutions: Our strategies are not static. We continuously adapt and evolve our approaches based on ongoing community feedback and cultural insights, ensuring our solutions are both relevant and effective.

  3. Empowered Participation: We move beyond mere translation by fostering authentic, empowered participation from community members, ensuring that their voices drive the development and implementation of initiatives.

  4. Sustainable Impact: Our focus is on creating lasting, sustainable impact by aligning organizational goals with the true needs and values of the community, ensuring long-term success and mutual growth.

Our Services

  • Speaking Engagments

    Elevate your event with inspiring and impactful keynote speaking that captivates audiences and drives meaningful conversations. I blend insightful storytelling with actionable insights, ensuring an unforgettable experience that motivates and empowers attendees.

  • Strategic Planning

    My strategic planning services provide a comprehensive approach to identifying your organization's goals and devising actionable plans. By leveraging deep industry expertise and innovative thinking, we help you navigate complexities, optimize resources, and drive sustained success.

  • Coaching

    Experience transformative 1:1 coaching and group that empowers NGO and public service leaders to foster a more dynamic and positive work culture using adaptive work principles. Through personalized guidance and practical strategies, we help you navigate challenges, enhance team collaboration, and drive impactful organizational change.

  • Translation services

    Our translation services transcend mere language conversion, embracing transliteration and transculturation principles to communicate with the diverse Latino community effectively. Recognizing and respecting cultural nuances ensures your message resonates authentically across varied Latino audiences, acknowledging their rich diversity.

What the Community is saying…

Erica Andrade, MPA

President & CEO

El Centro, Inc.

“Trabajar con Marielena ha sido una experiencia esclarecedora. Su enfoque visionario, fundamentado en métodos culturalmente receptivos con principios de diversidad, equidad e inclusión (DEI por sus siglas en inglés), junto con su habilidad para utilizar soluciones técnicas, ha permitido a nuestro equipo abordar desafíos adaptativos con una eficiencia e inclusividad sin precedentes.”

Matt Klinemann

Director of Community Development

Vibrant Health

“Marielena has demonstrated an incredible talent for listening to her clients and translating community needs into effective strategies.”

Get in Touch!

Schedule a free 1:1 discovery call with me to discuss your organizations needs

FAQ

  • First things first, don't be nervous. We'll start with a free consultation to determine your orginzatonal needs (and if we'll make great collaborators).

  • My one-hour consultation is Free!

    During that time, I will listen and assess your organization's needs and the project's scope. Prices vary depending on the scope and desired timeline.

  • Adaptive work takes time, and my approach is to design a program that will best fit your organization. Usually, I prefer to enter into 3, 6, 9, or 12-month contracts.

OUR LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Cultura Consultants KC acknowledges that our work takes place on the ancestral homelands of the Kaw (Kanza or Kansa), Jiwere (Otoe), Nutachi (Missouria), and Wahzhazhe (Osage) Nations and Peoples. We honor the elders, both past and present, and this calls us to commit to continuing to learn their stories as well as how to be better stewards of the land that we occupy.