Director of Marketing & Communications | Public Affairs, PR & Advocacy | Social Media Creative Director Bilingual English/Spanish
Real stories
for real people.
Human made, for humans.
For 13 years, I’ve used storytelling to connect people, communities, and brands. I was chosen to photograph Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos because of my ability to capture the person behind the position, revealing the human side of leadership through images that brought people closer. That same approach shaped my six years leading communications for Colombia’s consulate in Orlando and continues to guide my work today: building creative teams, developing social media strategies, and creating content that connects with audiences and drives business growth.
Different stages, one belief: before the algorithm, there is a person.
Real stories grow real businesses.
Coffee for the Soul · Director of Public Affairs, Marketing & Communications
I established the marketing department at Coffee for the Soul, a Colombian coffeehouse chain with locations across Florida. I built and led a five-person creative team, overseeing marketing, communications, public relations, and content production.
When the brand transitioned from CFS Coffee to Coffee for the Soul, the new name called for a new kind of storytelling. We put the people behind the brand in front of the camera: baristas, customers, neighbors, and local creators. Through community engagement and strategic partnerships, we grew our email audience from 12,000 to 32,000 contacts and increased email open rates from 16% to 43%.
Beyond content, we optimized Facebook and Google advertising campaigns. I also introduced automated workflows using n8n to streamline responses to customer reviews, social media comments, and direct messages.
Using Toast, the company’s point-of-sale platform, we developed a system to connect marketing campaigns with actual purchases. In less than two years, monthly sales attributed to marketing grew from $16,000 to $217,000—a 13.6-fold increase. During that same period, Coffee for the Soul expanded from 12 to 23 locations.
INFLUENCERS
WHO CONNECT.
CAMPAIGNS THAT CONVERT.
I partnered with local creators who genuinely loved the brand, negotiated agreements, and developed unique promo codes to track results. Every collaboration had clear deliverables, usage rights, and a measurable connection to sales.
BUILDING COMMUNITY. Growing Business.
776 partnerships · +416% month-over-month conversions
We turned coffee shops into gathering places through run clubs, open mics, study groups, and community events. Working with local partners and public officials, we created experiences that brought people through the doors and gave us authentic content worth sharing long after the events ended.
Made in-house.
Made to connect.
From the people behind the bar to the rituals around a morning coffee, we created original content that captured what made the brand worth visiting. Every photo, video, and story was made with a purpose: to give people something worth watching, sharing, and remembering.
Hispanic Chamber of Metro Orlando
Social Media Manager
I lead social media strategy and content creation for one of the nation’s top 10 Hispanic chambers, representing more than 2,500 members. From developing content strategies and producing original photography and video to managing social channels and analyzing performance, I oversee the entire process from idea to impact.
The stories belong to the members themselves: entrepreneurs, business owners, and community leaders whose voices bring the organization to life. Through Instagram collaborations with partners like JPMorgan Chase, Orlando Health, and AdventHealth, we extend those stories beyond our own audience, connecting businesses and communities through authentic content.
No actors. No paid media. Just a community, on screen.
MY OWN CHannel
Juan David Tena
A reputation built on real faces.
Through @juantenaphoto, I’ve built an organic community of more than 19,000 followers around documentary and humanitarian photography. No paid advertising, no shortcuts—just stories that connect people across cultures, communities, and experiences.
My work has reached audiences ranging from everyday people to elected officials, business leaders, and media professionals. But the goal has always been the same: to create images that make people stop, look closer, and care.
My art is a statement.
I believe photography can do more than capture a face. It can help us see the humanity in someone whose life looks different from our own. Every portrait I make is an invitation to look closer, move beyond assumptions, and recognize the dignity we share.
That belief inspired Portraits of FusionFest, a photographic celebration of Central Florida’s cultural diversity. The project became the first solo exhibition by a Colombian artist at the Orlando Museum of Art. Today, portraits from the collection are displayed in the office of Orlando’s mayor.
Bridges, not walls.
The face that stops the scroll.
A Wayuu grandmother from the desert of La Guajira. No script, no filter, no trend. Just a real face carrying a lifetime of stories.
Years behind the camera have taught me something about attention: in a feed full of noise, people still stop for something real. A face, a moment, a story that makes them look a little closer.
I bring that same eye to every brand I work with. Behind every business are people with stories worth telling. Find the real person. Tell their story with respect.
Let the audience feel it.
BEHIND THE PRESIDENCY.
BEYOND THE TITLE.
Photographer & Content Creator | Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos | Nobel Peace Prize
I was chosen to photograph Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for something beyond technical skill: my ability to capture the person behind the position. The goal was to reveal the humanity of a world leader through authentic moments that brought people closer to the man behind the presidency.
From Colombia’s peace process to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, I documented history as it unfolded, looking beyond official appearances to capture the moments that revealed the person behind the office.
SOCIAL MEDIA IN A CRISIS · VISUAL STORYTELLING · REAL IMPACT
Some content is measured in views. This was measured in families brought home.
During COVID-19, hundreds of Colombians in Florida were stranded with no way home. I led the Colombian Consulate’s communications in English and Spanish, using photography and storytelling to document their situations and bring attention to an urgent humanitarian need.
But the images did more than tell a story. They became evidence that helped secure private sponsorships, support flight authorizations in both the United States and Colombia, and communicate the urgency of our mission to the partners who made it possible.
Through this collective effort, we brought more than 650 people home from the Orlando jurisdiction alone, in the middle of a global pandemic.
The impact wasn’t measured in followers or views. It was measured in people reunited with their families.
650+
Returned home
3
Humanitarian flights
Countries that authorized the flights
2
FROM THE JUNGLES OF COLOMBIA TO the streets IN ORLANDO, ONE THING REMAINS:
PEOPLE CONNECT WITH PEOPLE.
Let’s make content people actually want to watch. Content that looks like them, sounds like them, and tells their stories.