Mariana Atencio at Microsoft

Mariana Atencio digs into what makes each of us special and the ways in which we can become a force for good in a broken world.

As a bilingual correspondent for NBC News, Fusion TV, and Univision, Atencio holds a unique perspective—having immigrated from Venezuela to America as a young adult, having overcome challenges to graduate from Columbia University and eventually become a national news correspondent, and having seen firsthand the humanity that is ever so present in the midst of both adversity and opportunity.


Atencio’s story is the powerful, inspiring story of life in the United States as an immigrant. Yet it is at its core a human story. It is all of our stories, and it is a call to every man, woman, and child to unlock the magic of their potential and begin to thrive.

Atencio is a next generation, globetrotting journalist. Her reports focus on Latinos, Millennials, social justice, and global youth unrest reporting from the ground in Haiti, Venezuela, Ferguson, Mexico, and Hong Kong. Prior to NBC, Atencio worked at Univision and Fusion Networks, where she won a Peabody Award, an Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, and a Gracie Award. Atencio was born and raised in Venezuela and awarded a full merit scholarship from Columbia University's Journalism School.