HL | Milestone Series – Honors Esperanza (Escobar) Teasdale, ACC

HL | Milestone Series – Honors Esperanza (Escobar) Teasdale, ACC

May 15, 2026 | Milestone

HL | Milestone Series – Honors Esperanza (Escobar) Teasdale, ACC

Culture • Influence • Legacy

Some careers are defined by the brands they help build. Others are defined by the people they inspire and the legacy they create.

Esperanza Teasdale has done both.

With more than three decades of leadership at PepsiCo and Unilever, Esperanza built strategies that helped shape iconic brands including Pepsi and Propel while guiding relationships with major retailers such as 7-Eleven and Dollar General. Throughout her corporate journey, she earned a reputation for blending business strategy, creativity, and analytics to deliver measurable growth with purpose.

Esperanza Teasdale will be recognized during the HL | Milestone Series — New York, taking place on May 20, 2026. This invitation-only reception brings together a curated audience of executives, entrepreneurs, and community leaders for an evening of connection, conversation, and recognition.

👉 Event details & RSVP: https://bit.ly/4bApDkE

A highly respected expert in Hispanic marketing, Esperanza has long championed the idea that cultural understanding is not simply a communications strategy it is a business advantage.

Today, as Founder of Mariposa Zenith, Esperanza helps leaders move from reactive to intentional by integrating mindfulness, cultural fluency, and inclusive leadership into how they lead and serve others.

An ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), certified yoga instructor, and passionate advocate for intentional leadership, she teaches what she calls The Cultural Fluency Advantage and The Mindful Leadership Advantage frameworks designed to help leaders achieve stronger results while leading with clarity, empathy, and purpose.

Milestone Moments

  • Inducted into the American Marketing Association New York Hall of Fame (2025)
  • Named Hispanic Marketer of the Year by the Hispanic Marketing Council (2024)
  • Launched PepsiCo’s Juntos Crecemos initiative to support Hispanic small business growth
  • Recognized as one of People en Español’s 25 Most Powerful Women (2021)
  • Founded Mariposa Zenith in 2025 to help leaders unlock their highest potential

A Legacy of Purpose-Driven Leadership

Esperanza’s professional journey reflects a powerful evolution—from driving growth for some of the world’s most recognized brands to helping leaders cultivate greater awareness, stronger cultures, and more meaningful impact.

Her work reminds us that influence is most powerful when it is intentional.

The HL | Milestone Series is a national platform designed to celebrate leadership across business, community, education, and innovation.

The 2026 HL | Milestone Series is made possible through the support of Wells Fargo, the series’ funding partner, whose commitment to community engagement and financial empowerment helps bring these important conversations and recognitions to life.

HL | Milestone Series – Honors Saraciea J. Fennell

HL | Milestone Series – Honors Saraciea J. Fennell

May 14, 2026 | Milestone

HL | Milestone Series – Honors Saraciea J. Fennell

Building Community Through Storytelling, Books, and Literary Advocacy

Saraciea J. Fennell has transformed her love of books and storytelling into a powerful movement that celebrates culture, elevates underrepresented voices, and creates opportunities for writers and readers throughout the Bronx and beyond.

A Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised Black Honduran American writer, editor, and publicist, Saraciea is the founder of The Bronx is Reading and Honduran Garifuna Writers. Through her work, she has created spaces where Black and Latine stories are not only shared, but championed.

Saraciea J. Fennell will be recognized during the HL | Milestone Series — New York, taking place on May 20, 2026. This invitation-only reception brings together a curated audience of executives, entrepreneurs, and community leaders for an evening of connection, conversation, and recognition.

👉 Event details & RSVP: https://bit.ly/4bApDkE

Her milestone is defined by creating platforms that expand access to literature, foster cultural pride, and help emerging writers find their path to publication.

Through The Bronx Book Festival, now celebrating its ninth year, Saraciea has helped distribute more than 6,000 free books to members of the Bronx community while connecting aspiring writers with editors, agents, and publishing professionals. Those efforts have already helped several Bronx writers secure book deals with major publishers.

As an award-winning editor, Saraciea has shaped nationally recognized anthologies including The Black Girl Survives in This One and Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed. Her writing and editorial work has appeared in LatinaMediaCo, Refinery29, Mitú, and The Washington Post.

Her work continues to demonstrate that storytelling is more than an art form—it is a tool for representation, empowerment, and lasting community impact.

Milestone Moments

  • Award-winning writer, editor, and publicist
  • Founder of The Bronx is Reading and The Bronx Book Festival
  • Celebrating nine years of the Bronx Book Festival
  • Helped provide more than 6,000 free books to the Bronx community
  • Connected emerging writers with publishing professionals, leading to multiple major publishing deals
  • Editor of The Black Girl Survives in This One and Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed

Saraciea J. Fennell’s leadership reflects the power of storytelling to build community, amplify voices, and create opportunities for future generations.

The HL | Milestone Series is a national platform designed to celebrate leadership across business, community, education, and innovation.

The 2026 HL | Milestone Series is made possible through the support of Wells Fargo, the series’ funding partner, whose commitment to community engagement and financial empowerment helps bring these important conversations and recognitions to life.